Cathay City

Cathay Pacific City (Chinese: 國泰城; Jyutping: gwok3 taai3 sing4), often referred as Cathay City, is the headquarters of Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's flag-carrying airline. It is located at Hong Kong International Airport.

Cathay Pacific City
Location within Hong Kong
General information
StatusComplete
AddressCathay Pacific City, 8 Scenic Road, Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau, Hong Kong
Topped-out17 February 1998 (1998-02-17)
Design and construction
ArchitectLlewelyn-Davies
Cathay City
Traditional Chinese國泰城
Simplified Chinese国泰城

History

The airline built Cathay Pacific City so that all central employees could work in one location.[1]

The facility was initially to cost $3.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$452.8 million as of 1995). The plans called for about 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m2) of office space on 3.3 hectares (8.2 acres) of land. In 1995 the Provisional Airport Authority (PAA) agreed to lease the site to the airline.[2]

The headquarters opened in 1998.[3] The topping out ceremony was held on February 17, 1998.[4] Cathay Pacific City was scheduled to be built in increments between April and September 1998.[5] It was scheduled to open in July, when Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok was to open. It was scheduled to have over 3,000 employees. The airline's move to the centre was scheduled to begin in June. On 6 July, operational departments were scheduled to be ready for the airport. In the second half of 1998 the rest of the airline was scheduled to move in.[4] Previously the airline's headquarters were at Swire House, a building in Central named after the airline's parent company.[6] The architects were Llewelyn-Davies, who began design work in May 1995.[7] Simon Jackson and Associates outfitted the hotel interiors.[8] Cathay Pacific City had a cost of 4.9 billion Hong Kong dollars.[1]

Facility

Cathay Pacific City is located on 4 hectares (9.9 acres) of reclaimed land,[1] located at the southeast corner of the platform of Hong Kong International Airport.[8] Cathay Pacific City has 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2) of space and is one of the largest corporate head office facilities in Asia.[1]

Cathay Pacific City includes three 10-storey office buildings, a 23-storey staff hotel, a flight training centre with a safety training school,[4] a workshop and storage building, a leisure centre,[8] and an airline stores building.[9] The centre has a 40-metre (130 ft) steel pedestrian bridge.[10]

The head office of Air Hong Kong, as of 2004, is located on the fourth floor of the South Tower of Cathay Pacific City.[11] In February 2012 FlightSafety International and Gulfstream Aerospace, in a venture with Cathay Pacific, opened a learning centre for pilots of Gulfstream 450 and Gulfstream 550 aircraft at Cathay Pacific City. The centre is not marked with the FlightSafety name.[12]

The headquarters includes the Cathay Pacific Experience museum, which covers 5,000 square feet (460 m2). The main gallery of the museum chronicles the airline's early history. The second gallery focuses on the airline's development. The third gallery explains the development into the contemporary airline.[13]

To access Cathay Pacific City employees are required to show electronic passes.[14]

Public transport

From Hong Kong city centre via MTR to:

  • Tung Chung - then take the Long Win Bus route S64 from Tung Chung Railway Station. The second stop is Cathay Pacific City.
  • Airport - via Airport Express (from Hong Kong, Kowloon or Tsing Yi stations) - when reaching the airport, or if already at the airport: Take the HAS crew shuttle to Cathay Pacific City from the Terminal 1 Ground Transportation Centre.

See also

Notes
  1. "Working Environment." (Archive) Cathay Pacific. Retrieved on 16 May 2013. Versions in Traditional Chinese (Archive)/Simplified Chinese (Archive)
  2. "Weekly Financial Roundup FINANCIAL ROUNDUP FOR WEEK ENDED October 27, 1995 Cathay Pacific to build headquarters at Chek Lap Kok". Hong Kong Government's Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco. 1995-10-27. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  3. "Cathay Pacific wins award for providing a smoke-free workplace at its Hong Kong Headquarters" (Press release). Cathay Pacific. 6 January 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
  4. "CATHAY PACIFIC Cathay Pacific City topped out at CLK" M2 Presswire. 17 February 1998. Retrieved on 16 May 2013. Available at LexisNexis.
  5. Walker, Karen. "Hangover cure." Airline Business at Flight International. 1 December 1997. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  6. "World Airline Directory" (PDF). Flight International. 30 March 1985. p. 68. Retrieved 17 June 2009. "Head Office: Swire House, 9 Connaught Road, C, Hong Kong"
  7. Clarke, Rachel (6 July 1998). "Flying giant unites under the one roof". South China Morning Post.
  8. Cairns, Start page 62. "Headquarters of Cathay Pacific Airways at Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong will include a 10-storey office building, a leisure centre, a staff hotel, and a workshop and storage building. Architects: Llewelyn-Davies. Hotel interiors: Simon Jackson and Associates."
  9. Tam, Start Page 13. "10-story office building with three towers, a staff hotel, a flight training center, and an airline stores building."
  10. Careem, Zanita. "The "Mecca" of women shoppers." (Archive) The Island. 7 September 2003. Retrieved on 16 May 2013. "The Cathay Pacific City the global headquarters of the Hong Kong flagship, airline is situated in a centralised location, An integral part of Cathay Pacific City is a pedestrian bridge designed in steel, with a cantilevered glass canopy and used an arch structure to achieve its 40-metre span."
  11. "Directory: World Airlines." Flight International. 16–22 March 2004. 65. "AIR HONG KONG [LD1 (AHK) 4F South Tower; Cathay Pacific City, 8 Scenic Road, Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau, Hong Kong (SAR), China"
  12. Moll, Nigel. "FlightSafety Opens New Gulfstream Learning Center in Hong Kong." (Archive) Aviation International News. AIN Publications. 26 March 2012. Retrieved on 16 May 2013.
  13. Excellence in Exhibit + Event Design. Visual Reference Publications. 2010. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-58471-120-9.
  14. "Former flight attendant sells uniform on the net." Sydney Morning Herald. 24 September 2003. Retrieved on 16 May 2013. "A uniform is only part of the way of identifying Cathay staff. It would not enable you to access any restricted area. You need an electronic pass to get into Cathay Pacific City (the airlines secure staff area at Chek Lap Kok airport). Passes are deactivated as soon as staff leave the company."

References
  • Cairns, Robert. "Cathay City: Hong Kong International Airport." Asian Architect and Contractor. May 1998. Volume 27, Start page 62.
  • Excellence in Exhibit Plus Event Design. Visual Reference Publications. 1 February 2010. ISBN 1584711213, 9781584711216.
  • Tam, Angela. "Cathay Pacific City." Asian Architect and Contractor. July 1999. Volume 28, Start Page 13.

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