Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited was a Hong Kong-based international regional airline. The airline operated a scheduled passenger network to 47 destinations in 14 countries and territories across Asia. Cathay Dragon will cease operations on 21 October 2020, after publishing plans to cut 5900 positions across the group. It was founded on 24 May 1985, by Chao Kuang Piu, the airline’s present honorary chairman.
About Cathay Dragon in brief
Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited was a Hong Kong-based international regional airline. The airline operated a scheduled passenger network to 47 destinations in 14 countries and territories across Asia. It had an all-Airbus A330 fleet of 18 aircraft. In 2010, Dragonair, together with its parent, Cathay Pacific, operated over 138,000 flights, carried nearly 27 million passengers and over 1. 80 billion kg of cargo and mail. Cathay Dragon will cease operations on 21 October 2020, after publishing plans to cut 5900 positions across the group. It was founded on 24 May 1985, by Chao Kuang Piu, the airline’s present honorary chairman. Its maiden flight departed Hong Kong for Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia after being granted an air operator’s certificate by the Hong Kong Government in July 1985. In January 1990, Cathy Pacific, Swire Group and CITIC Pacific acquired an 89 per cent stake in the airline, with CitIC Pacific holding 38 per cent; while the family of the airline’s chairman Kuang-Piu Chao reduced their holding from 22 per cent to 6 per cent, with the remainder held by minor shareholders. On 5 July 1998, Dragon Air Flight 841 was the last scheduled arrival from Chongqair Airport, Chongqing, to land at Kai Tak Airport at 3:41:41 GMT. On 17 December 1997, Dragon flew to Osaka, Japan, using a leased Boeing 747-200 freighter and a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar on a lease basis. In April 1996, China National Aviation Corporation purchased 35.
86 per cent of Dragonair and became the largest shareholder, with CathayPacific and Swire retaining 25 per cent. In May 2001, a service to Osaka was added to Dragonair’s service to the Middle East and Europe. In July 2000, Dragon commenced all-argo service to Shanghai, Europe and the Middle Middle East using a lease Boeing 747 -200 freighters and a Boeing 737-200 jetliner. In June 2001, Dragon began all-freighter service to Taipei, Taipei and Xiamen in Taiwan. In November 2002, Dragon started all-Freighter services to Shanghai and Taipei in Taiwan using a Boeing 747 747-300 freighter. In December 2003, Dragon launched a freighter service from Taipei to Osaka. In March 2004, Dragon expanded its freighter operations to Shanghai with the purchase of two Boeing 747 freighters. In August 2005, Dragon purchased a Boeing 777-200. In October 2007, Dragon bought a Boeing 757-200 to expand its cargo operations. In September 2008, Dragon added a service from Osaka to Shanghai. In February 2009, Dragon acquired a fleet of two McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft. The first Airbus A320 joined the Dragonair fleet in March 1993 and by December, there was a total of six A320 aircraft. This was followed by the introduction of the Airbus A330 into the dragonair’s fleet in July 1995. Dragonair was an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance from 2006 onwards.
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This page is based on the article Cathay Dragon published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 30, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
