Cathay Pacific

When an A350 with a green tail touches down in Frankfurt or a 747-8F with “Cathay Cargo” titles glides in, you have a piece of Hong Kong in your viewfinder. Cathay Pacific is one of the airlines that spotters worldwide appreciate: a clean, elegant livery, a modern long-haul fleet – and one of the big 747 freighter fleets that still exist. Here you will learn how to reliably identify the airline, which types to expect and where to get it in front of your camera in Europe.

Cathay Pacific at a glance

Cathay Pacific is Hong Kong’s flag carrier. The airline is headquartered in Cathay City, right at Hong Kong Airport on Chek Lap Kok island, and runs its entire network from there. It was founded in 1946 by two pilots: American Roy Farrell and Australian Sydney de Kantzow. Its first aircraft was a Douglas DC-3 named “Betsy” – the aircraft survived and is now on display at the Hong Kong Science Museum.

Economically, the Swire group has shaped the airline for decades. According to the most recently published figures (as of 2026), Swire Pacific holds about 45 percent of the shares, Air China about 30 percent, and the rest is traded on the stock exchange in Hong Kong. Under the roof of the Cathay Group, besides Cathay Pacific, fly the cargo division Cathay Cargo, the low-cost carrier HK Express and the cargo airline Air Hong Kong.

When it comes to alliances, Cathay Pacific has been on board from the start: the airline is one of the founding members of oneworld, which was announced in September 1998. Partners today include British Airways, Qantas and Japan Airlines. How the three big alliances differ is explained in the article on Star Alliance, oneworld and SkyTeam.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code CX: appears in the flight number, on departure boards, tickets and in schedules.
• ICAO code CPA: appears in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers.
• Callsign CATHAY: this is how the crew calls in on the radio.

The cargo division uses both codes too – so a Cathay Cargo flight also shows up on the tracker with CPA. Whether a passenger aircraft or a freighter is coming only becomes clear from the aircraft type: if it says 747, at Cathay today it is practically always a freighter. The group’s sister airlines have their own codes, such as HK Express with UO.

From Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok

For many spotters, Cathay Pacific is inseparably linked with one of the most famous approaches in aviation history. For decades the old Kai Tak Airport in the middle of the city was the airline’s home. Jumbos and TriStars in Cathay colors turned onto final approach just above the rooftops of Kowloon – pictures that still circulate among spotters today. The story behind it is told in the article on the Kai Tak approach.

On July 6, 1998, operations moved to the new Chek Lap Kok airport. Cathay opened the new airport with, among other things, a nonstop flight from New York over the polar route. Since then the entire network has run through this one airport, which is also among the most exciting in Asia for spotters. You will find tips on locations on site in the guide Plane spotting in Hong Kong.

The passenger fleet: A350 and Boeing 777

According to the publicly documented fleet overview, Cathay Pacific’s passenger fleet at the end of 2025 consisted of about 160 aircraft. The numbers change constantly because new aircraft arrive and older ones leave – take them as a snapshot.

Type	Number (end of 2025)	Use	Spotter tip
Airbus A321neo	16	Regional routes in Asia	Originally ordered for Cathay Dragon
Airbus A330-300	43	Regional and medium-haul	Will be replaced by the A330-900 in the long term
Airbus A350-900	30	Long-haul, also to Europe	About 280 seats
Airbus A350-1000	18	Long-haul, also ultra-long-haul	Longer version with six-wheel main landing gear
Boeing 777-300	17	Regional high-capacity routes	Cathay was launch customer of this version
Boeing 777-300ER	35	Long-haul worldwide	Often seen in Europe
Boeing 777-9	on order	not yet in service	Delivery announced from 2027
Airbus A330-900	on order	not yet in service	Delivery announced from 2028

On European routes you mainly meet the A350-900, the A350-1000 and the Boeing 777-300ER. The types change by season and demand, so it is worth checking the tracker before every session.

One special case is the Boeing 777-300 without the “ER.” Cathay was launch customer of this stretched version and still operates one of the largest fleets. These aircraft fly mainly on busy routes within Asia and hardly come to Europe – if you want to photograph them, you usually have to travel to Hong Kong or other Asian airports.

For the future Cathay has ordered the Boeing 777-9; the order was increased to 35 aircraft in 2025. When the first aircraft will actually arrive depends on the type’s certification, which has been postponed several times – service is announced from 2027.

A350 or 777? How to tell the long-haul types apart

On approach, both types in Cathay livery look similar at first glance: a big twinjet, green tail, white fuselage. A few features will help you right away, though.

Careful with the landing gear: the A350-1000 also has six-wheel main landing gear, while the A350-900 has only four wheels per leg. So the landing gear alone does not reliably tell the A350-1000 from the 777. The most reliable is the cockpit area with the A350’s dark window mask. You will find more details in the comparisons A350 vs. Boeing 787 and Telling the Boeing 777 and 787 apart.

Cathay Cargo: the 747 lives on

The passenger 747 has been history at Cathay since October 2016. As a freighter, though, the jumbo is firmly in service: at the end of 2025 Cathay Cargo operated 14 Boeing 747-8Fs and 6 Boeing 747-400ERFs. That makes the Cathay freighters some of the jumbos you can still see regularly in Europe.

You tell the two variants apart by length and engines: the 747-8F is clearly stretched and has engine nacelles with a serrated trailing edge, while the 747-400ERF is shorter and has smooth nacelles as well as the typical winglets of the 747-400. Which jumbo version you have in front of you is explained in detail in the guide to the 747 variants.

A replacement is on order for the older 747-400ERFs: the Airbus A350F. Cathay Cargo has ordered eight. The type has been delayed, and first deliveries are not expected before 2027. Until then the 747 remains the face of the cargo fleet.

Incidentally, the cargo subsidiary Air Hong Kong flies under its own name and its own codes, mainly for express traffic. If you see a Hong Kong freighter that does not carry “Cathay Cargo,” it is worth a second look at the registration and the tracker. General tips on the subject of cargo are in the article Recognizing cargo aircraft.

Historical types

Old photos from Kai Tak and Europe show types you no longer see at Cathay today:

• Douglas DC-3 (1946–1961) – the early years, including “Betsy.”
• Convair 880 (1962–1975) – the airline’s first jet.
• Lockheed L-1011 TriStar (1975–1996) – used on regional routes in Asia.
• Boeing 747-200, -300 and -400 – the passenger jumbos from 1979 to 2016.
• Airbus A340-200, -300 and -600 – four-engine jets for long-haul, the last until 2017.
• Boeing 777-200 – in service until 2019.

When you add older pictures to your archive, log the types as historical – otherwise someone searching for a Cathay A340 later will be puzzled.

How to recognize Cathay Pacific

The trademark is the Brushwing: a white wing symbol on a green tail, drawn as if with a brush. It was introduced in the early 1990s; since a refresh that Cathay presented in November 2015, the tail has been entirely green. The fuselage is white, with the green titles at the front. Freighters carry the titles “Cathay Cargo” instead of “Cathay Pacific.”

The second strong feature is the registration. Hong Kong shares the prefix B- with mainland China, Macau and Taiwan. On Hong Kong aircraft an H, K or L usually follows – a B-L… or B-K… on the fuselage is therefore a clear hint of Hong Kong. How the system works exactly is explained in the article on B registrations.

Now and then Cathay also flies special and alliance liveries, such as the oneworld livery on individual 777-300ERs and A330s or a retro livery for the airline’s 80th birthday on an A350-900 and a 747-8F. Such aircraft are sought-after subjects – how to track them down is shown in the articles on special liveries and alliance liveries.

Spotting Cathay Pacific in Europe

In Europe, according to the current route network, Cathay Pacific flies to London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Milan, Madrid, Barcelona, Brussels and Manchester, among others, and to Rome seasonally. Munich and Brussels are new additions in 2025. Routes and frequencies change regularly – this is a snapshot, not a promise.

• Frankfurt: The most important Cathay airport in Germany, because passenger flights and Cathay Cargo freighters land there. Good locations such as the Zeppelinheim viewing platform are presented in the Frankfurt guide; you will find information on the airport itself at Frankfurt Airport.
• Munich: In the network since 2025 and thus a new opportunity for spotters in the south. Where to stand well at Munich Airport is shown in the Munich guide.
• Zurich: For Swiss spotters the destination of choice at Zurich Airport, for example from Butzenbüel. More in the Zurich guide.
• London Heathrow: For decades one of Cathay’s most important routes in Europe. At London Heathrow Airport you will find locations such as Myrtle Avenue or Hatton Cross, more in the Heathrow guide.

Many flights from Hong Kong are overnight flights, but arrival and departure times in Europe differ by route and schedule period. So plan with the current schedule and the tracker rather than by gut feeling.

For long-haul flights the question of the runway direction in use matters especially, because you often have only one chance per day. Check wind and runway use beforehand, and plan the light with the sun position guide so you stand on the right side of the airport.

Common mix-ups

• Taking every 747 in Cathay colors for a passenger flight – since 2016 they have been exclusively Cathay Cargo freighters.
• Telling the A350-1000 and 777 apart by the landing gear alone – both have six-wheel main landing gear; the cockpit mask decides.
• Equating the 777-300 and 777-300ER – at Cathay the 777-300 flies mainly in Asia, the ER on long-haul.
• Logging HK Express as Cathay – the low-cost subsidiary has its own colors and the code UO.
• Listing Cathay Dragon as an active airline – the former regional subsidiary was shut down in 2020.
• Automatically assigning B registrations to China – Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan also use the prefix B-.

Conclusion

Cathay Pacific is one of the airlines spotters like to have in their viewfinder: elegant livery, modern A350s and Boeing 777s on long-haul and, with Cathay Cargo, one of the last big 747 freighter fleets. In Germany your chances are best in Frankfurt, because passenger and cargo flights come together there; Munich and Zurich are good alternatives. If you log the type variant and the B registration cleanly, you end up with more than just another long-haul sighting in your logbook.