Cathay Pacific Celebrates 65th Anniversary of Flights to Japan, Gifts 65,000 Miles to 65th Passenger

Cathay Pacific Airways celebrated its 65th anniversary of service to Japan on July 4th with a commemorative ceremony at Haneda Airport.

The airline opened its first route from Tokyo/Haneda to Hong Kong on July 4, 1959. Operations started with Douglas DC-6B aircraft flying twice a week. Today, it operates over 16 flights daily from six airports in five Japanese cities: Tokyo/Haneda, Tokyo/Narita, Sapporo/Chitose, Nagoya/Chubu, Osaka/Kansai, and Fukuoka.

At the ceremony held to coincide with the departure of flight CX549 (Boeing 777-300ER, registration: B-KQK) on July 4th, Nelson Chin, the airline’s General Manager for North East Asia, stated, “We have continued to play an important role in connecting Japan and Hong Kong, and the rest of the world.” He also mentioned cargo transport, noting, “Hong Kong is the world’s largest cargo hub airport, and there is a large amount of goods being transported from Japan to the world, primarily e-commerce products.”

▲Nelson Chin, General Manager for Northeast Asia at Cathay Pacific Airways

Speaking about the future outlook of the Japan routes, he predicted that inbound traffic will continue to be strong due to the popularity of Japan and the depreciation of the yen, while outbound traffic faces “the opposite situation,” hinting at challenges but noting that “there has been an increase in people, especially younger ones, looking to travel to relatively nearby places. We want to capture this as a business opportunity.” In the medium to long term, he emphasized the intention to continue investing in products and services, expressing a desire to “increase the number of Japanese crew members and focus even more on Japanese cuisine for in-flight meals.”

▲Nelson Chin presents a certificate to the 65th boarding passenger (second from the right)

Passengers on flight CX549 were presented with mementos by staff wearing cabin crew uniforms from 65 years ago. In celebration of the 65th anniversary, the 65th passenger to board received a gift of 65,000 miles.