Discover

(Redirected from Dragonair (airline))
:''For the Pokémon of the same name, see Dragonair.''
'Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited', operating as 'Dragonair', () is an airline based in Hong Kong. It is a subsidiary of Hong-Kong's largest airline Cathay Pacific, and is itself the second-largest airline in Hong Kong . It operates a passenger network covering destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, including China and also operates a cargo network to Europe, the Middle East, Japan and China. Its main base is Hong Kong International Airport^[1].

Contents

History

Subsidiaries

Destinations

Codeshare agreements

Fleet

Livery

See also

External links

References

History

The airline was established in May 1985 on the initiative of KP Chao, the airline's present honorary chairman, and started operations in July 1985 with a Boeing 737 service from Kai Tak International Airport to Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Malaysia. At the time, Dragonair was only a small player in the Asian skies, and the airline's name was Hong Kong Dragon Airlines. In 1986, the airline officially changed its name to Dragonair (although its Chinese name remained the same) and was granted licences to operate to eight cities in mainland China and a regular service to Phuket. In 1987, the airline began charter flights to mainland China. This was also the year that Dragonair became the first Hong Kong-based airline to join IATA.
In January 1990, Cathay Pacific and Swire Group acquired a 35% holding from the Chao family, while CITIC acquired a 38% share. The Chao family retained a 22% stake with the remainder held by minor shareholders. It is at this time that Cathay Pacific transferred its routes to Beijing and Shanghai to Dragonair along with its TriStars. In 1993, Airbus A320 aircraft joined the fleet, followed by Airbus A330s in 1995. The arrival of these two types of aircraft quickly led to the aging TriStars from Cathay Pacific being phased out.
A further redistribution of shares took place in April 1996, when China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC) purchased 35.86% of Dragonair and became the largest shareholder. The stake was further increased when CNAC was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 17 December 1997. In 1998, Dragonair became the last airline to have a plane landing at Kai Tak International Airport.

A Dragonair aircraft on the Tarmac in Hong Kong

On 28 September 2006 Dragonair became a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific after completion of a major shareholding realignment involving Cathay Pacific, Air China, CNAC, CITIC Pacific and Swire Pacific. It will continue to operate as a separate airline within the Cathay Pacific group, maintaining its own air operators certificate and with the brand unchanged. It has 2,745 employees (at March 2007).
Dragonair announced that its own loyalty programme, ''The Elite'', would merge into that of Cathay Pacific's (The Marco Polo Club) from 1 January 2007. Current Elite members were offered similar membership by The Marco Polo Club.^[2]
On 13 December 2006, Dragonair announced that it will join the oneworld global alliance as an affiliate member.^[3]

Subsidiaries

Dragonair Holidays 100.00% Hong Kong International Airport Services Ltd. (HIAS) 100.00% LSG Lufthansa Service Skychefs 31.94% Hong Kong Airport Services Ltd. (HAS) 30.00% Dah Chong Hong - Dragonair Airport GSE Service Ltd. (DAS) 30.00% Das Aviation Support Ltd. (DSL) 30.00% Wise Counsel Ltd. (WCL) 30.00%

Destinations

Main articles: Dragonair destinations

Codeshare agreements

Dragonair codeshares with Air China on flights between Hong Kong and mainland China (particularly Beijing), Royal Brunei on flights between Hong Kong and Bandar Seri Begawan and China Southern Airlines between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
Malaysian Airlines is another partner codesharing with Dragonair, on routes to Kota Kinabalu. The current sole shareholder of Dragonair, Cathay Pacific, has recently put on its 'CX 68--' code on Dragonair flights to Xiamen, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Phuket, Fukuoka, Sendai and Busan.

Fleet

Dragonair Airbus A330-300

The Dragonair fleet consists of the following aircraft (at September 2007) :

'Dragonair Fleet'

Aircraft	In Operation (on order)	Seat Configuration	Notes
Airbus A320-200	9	J8/Y150(158)
Airbus A321-200	6	J24/Y148(172)
Airbus A330-300	16 (1)	F12/J42/Y230(284) J42/Y273 (315)
Boeing 747-200F	1	Freighter	Bought from China Airlines, B747-209F
Boeing 747-300SF	3	Freighter	Bought from Malaysia Airlines (2) and Singapore Airlines (1)
Boeing 747-400F	1	Freighter	Wet leased from China Airlines
Boeing 747-400BCF	2 (1)	Freighter	Bought from Singapore Airlines and converted into freighters at SIAEC

Dragonair average fleet age is 7.3 years old in June 2006^[4].

Livery

Dragonair's planes are basically all white, with a red dragon on the tail, and the name Dragonair written in English dark lettering under the front passenger windows, and in Chinese red lettering over the front passenger windows also. Recently, Dragonair introduced its first livery paint on A330, with the registration code of B-HWG. The paint portrays a Dragon Boat on sides of the aircraft. The Chinese and English word of Swire was begun to be placed under the registration code of tails of aircraft after Cathay Pacific became the sole shareholder of Dragonair.

See also

★ Dragonair Holidays

★ Asia Miles

★ Cathay Pacific Airways

★ List of Hong Kong companies

External links

★ Dragonair

★ Dragonair Cargo

★ Dragonair Holidays

★ Dragonair Fleet Detail

References

1. Directory: World Airlines
2. Dragonair Loyalty programme
3. Dragonair and Oneworld
4. Dragonair Fleet Age