A new freighter with a unique livery will carry a special message about Cathay Pacific’s commitment to developing its home city as a major trading hub.

Hong Kong Trader is the second Boeing 747-8F to enter the fleet and features a special livery that showcases Hong Kong’s dramatic skyline. The name Hong Kong Trader is taken from CX’s original 747 that was bought from British Airways and began flying to Europe and within the region in 1982.

The delivery of B-LJA didn’t go according to the original schedule but it finally took off from the Boeing factory in Seattle on Tuesday and arrived at HKIA at 9.47pm on Wednesday – just in time to be moved in front of the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal for its starring role at Thursday’s topping-out ceremony.

Hong Kong Trader was piloted from Seattle by Gregory Brown, John Graham, Martin Baldacci and Stephen Shaw. There was a welcoming party to greet the new arrival with staff from CX, Boeing and engine manufacturer GE.

Director Cargo Nick Rhodes flew to Seattle to accept the aircraft last month and was interviewed by Boeing about the significance of Hong Kong Trader and why CX was excited about the delivery of the Dash 8s.

To view the Boeing video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVI6xLZAB-Q&feature=youtu.be

Weighing a plane takes up to half a day, requires multiple heavy duty scales and involves a team of up to 10 Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) mechanics.

It is a complex affair, but one that is essential, since the weight of a plane is integral to safety and efficiency in flight. The weight of a plane is closely linked to how the components of a plane are configured. The weight and centre of gravity also affects the characteristics of flight, such as fuel efficiency and maneuverability.

Although Airbus and Boeing already have figures regarding their aircrafts’ weight at the time of delivery, which includes structural and cabin components, their figures do not reflect the weight of crew, potable water and other operation equipments essential for service. The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department requires all Hong Kong-registered carriers to weigh newly-acquired planes after the first two years in service. Planes must be weighed at five-year intervals thereafter.

A plane also goes back on the scales every time it goes through a cabin retrofit, as the weight distribution would have changed.

All CX aircraft are weighed at HAECO or TAECO. After the initial measurements are taken, the figures will be sent to Cabin Engineering for follow-up calculations. The numbers will then be relayed on to Cargo and Airports, who has to adjust the plane’s load according to its weight.

1. Before a plane is weighed, its fuel must be let out. The potable water system and waste tank system must also be drained.

2. Engineers make sure the scales are placed in the right position and the aircraft is pushed towards the scales by a tow truck that is attached to the nose gear of the plane.

3. Scales have to be calibrated before each weighing to ensure that they are displaying accurate information.

4. Once the aircraft is pushed onto the scales, engineers wait two to three minutes for the digits to settle before taking down the measurement. Each set of wheels is supported by one set of scales in the weighing process.

5. Engineers make rough calculations with the numbers obtained from the scales. If the numbers are noticeably off range, the plane has to be weighed again. They also usually take the reading of the plane twice to ensure accuracy.

6. The weight of each set of wheels is carefully listed.

From 24 November, Cathay Pacifi c will convert three of its seven weekly Adelaide to Hong Kong flights to non-stop
services. All fl ights currently go via Melbourne.

“Cathay Pacifi c has been fl ying to Adelaide since 1992 and we’ve seen growth in demand from travellers in the business, leisure and student markets, particularly to and from China,” says General Manager Southwest Pacific Dane
Cheng.

The airline will operate an Airbus A330 on the route in a two-class – Business and Economy Class – configuration
until 24 March 2012. The new CX174/173 service means passengers arrive in Hong Kong at 2.30pm giving them time to connect to 45 destinations worldwide on the same day, including cities around Asia, the Middle East, North America and even a same-day arrival in London.

The CX104/5 service will continue to follow a HKG-ADLMEL-HKG routing on the other four days. “This is the first time CX has added fl ights on this route for the Australian summer period and it is also the first time for us to have a non-stop fl ight to or from Adelaide,” says Business Development Manager SA/NT Roz Meertens.

“The expectation is that the new Adelaide fl ight will perform strongly.” The team is focusing the promotion on highlighting the ease of connections. “The target market is across many segments and incorporates both leisure and corporate travellers,” Roz says.

Overall, it’s been a challenging year for the Australian market.

“There’s been a large increase in capacity by competitors operating to/from Australia and since the start of the year
we’ve seen very aggressive pricing initiatives introduced by our competitors,” Roz says.

“This has had an impact on our back end performance. At the same time, interestingly, the front end has performed
well, delivering an increase in both premium revenue and passenger numbers,” she adds.

Visit City Guides now to know more about the destination!

In Hong Kong, jet fuel stored in mega-sized tanks at the Aviation Fuel Supply Company (AFSC) is pumped through underground pipes to various hydrant pits at the parking bays.

Refuellers use trucks equipped with hoses to connect a pit to the aircraft fuel inlet on the wing. As fuel is uploaded, the aircraft’s computer system uses sensors and valves to achieve the optimum distribution of fuel in the tanks located inside the wings, the belly, and even the tail on some aircraft.

Refuelling may take up to 90 minutes for a long-haul flight. A flight from Hong Kong to Paris, for instance, will need 35,408 US gallons of fuel, whereas a flight from Paris to Amsterdam will only need a tenth of that. In contrast, a car needs 13 US gallons of fuel for a full tank. (A US gallon equals approximately 3.8 litres.)

The amount of fuel for any given flight has three components: fuel for the estimated flight time, fuel to be used in case of a diversion and the minimum amount of fuel as standby reserve. The minimum reserve fuel differs for each aircraft but is required by law and cannot be used up in the normal course of the trip.

The airline’s fuel suppliers differ from port to port. An airport may have a single local supplier while another will have a full range of international suppliers. When the airport has no underground hydrant system, fuel is delivered to the aircraft by mobile bowser units.

But, no matter where or how the aircraft is refuelled, it is the engineers’ job to ensure the high quality of the fuel. They use sampling tanks in the refuelling trucks to check that the fuel is free of water, dirt and other contaminants. There are also procedures and checks in place that ensure fuel is safe at all times right from the refinery all the way to the aircraft.

For the past six years, some lucky travel agents in Canada have been presented with exclusive paintings of CX aircraft as thank you gifts for supporting the airline. 
 

The idea was first touted by Sales Manager Western Canada Chris Vanden Hooven who says the team was wanted to give the top accounts something that was unique, desirable and original.

“I met the artist Dan Fallwell in 1995 in Calgary, Alberta when he was a sales executive for Canadian Airlines.  I knew he had a special talent and specialised in aviation paintings,” Chris says.

 “It was an unexpected honour to have CX approach me with the idea of painting Cathay Pacific’s past, present and future aircraft,” Dan says. “I’ve also had the opportunity to see some of my creations hanging in many corporate and travel offices.

Dan worked in the airline business for 25 years before retiring in 1997 and he says it was natural he would be drawn to painting aviation-themed paintings.

“I’m basically been a self-taught artist and have been drawing and painting since I was a teenager. I started mostly in oils and then switched to watercolour some years ago, which I now much prefer,” he says.

So far four aircraft paintings, the DC3 (Betsy), Catalina, DC6, and the Electra, have been presented to travel agents.

A further eight or nine are in the pipeline including the Boeing 707, L1011 Tristar, Boeing 747-200, Boeing 747-300, Boeing 747-400, A330 (100th aircraft livery), A340 (oneworld livery), Boeing 777-300ER (Spirit of Hong Kong livery) and the A350-900.

”However if CX orders a new aircraft type in the future we may extend the collection further,” Chris says.

Dan says most of the paintings have taken him about 20 hours to complete.

“I have two favourite paintings in the CX series – the DC3 and the L1011 which is flying over Hong Kong on approach to the old Kai Tak Airport. I’m also looking forward to completing the paintings of the B777-300 as well as the A350-900,” Dan says.

For every painting only 50 numbered prints are created for distribution with the original staying in the CX Town Office in Vancouver.

As they are not sold and only presented as special gifts to the port’s top producing agents, each has become a real collector’s item.

”Most of our top agents do have the complete set so far,” Chris says. “Though we have a couple of accounts that missed the first one or two and are determined to collect the rest in the future!”

 
BRUSH STROKES: Dan Fallwell’s CX aircraft paintings have become collector’s items.