01-11-20
On 21st October 2020, Cathay Pacific announced that its Cathay Dragon would shut down after almost four decades in business. This proud aviation brand was over. People of Hong Kong felt very miserable about the demise of our city’s first truly local airline, originally known as ‘Dragonair’.
In 1985, some local Chinese businessmen founded Dragonair, with only one flight per day, and they had a big heart that was to carry international investors to Mainland China to help the country develop. The carrier’s business expanded little by little over the years and it became Hong Kong people’s loved airline, particularly for those who travelled to Mainland cities, close and remote.
The boutique airline did not enjoy an economy of scale and was eventually taken over by Cathay Pacific in 2006. In 2016, the carrier’s iconic red dragon logo was replaced by Cathay Pacific brush-wing design and the old logo was totally wiped out.
As a frequent traveller to Mainland China, I was blessed to have been with Dragonair for almost 35 years since 1985. Claustrophobia could cause untold misery for me as a sufferer but Dragonair was a form of alternative medicine when I had to put up with a tiny aircraft cabin. Dragonair did not really pass away because it left us with too many fond memories. Let me search for the missing pieces with you:
- Eye Candies
‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ is a famous proverb. The truth is that a book is almost always judged by its cover. Dragonair, whether on purpose or not, recruited the young and good-looking male and female flight attendants. Some dislike the idea of capitalizing on the appearance of staff members, but if it is part of a customer’s reasonable expectation in a hospitality industry, why not?
- Yummy
In the 80s, most China’s airlines offered only cold food items like bread, biscuits and even preserved eggs or vegetables. They saw the role of cabin crew was more importantly concerned with safety and not with attending passengers with good food and wine. So, when I had to fly to the Mainland, I insisted on Dragonair. The eating hour was always a sacred and joyful time as Dragonair offered me delicious dishes like dim sum and garlic-butter salmon!
- Upgrade
In those years, when I was a Hong Kong passenger seen in a neat suit and tie with a pleasant smile, I could easily get upgraded from economy to business class. I guess Dragonair, being a truly local airline, favoured Hong Kong people because we were family!
- Spirituality
Spiritual nourishment including movie entertainment and reading is a needed human experience ——something that we all want when we fly. During the 80s, inflight entertainment was not a popular concept and most China’s airlines did not even provide magazine. Smoking on flights was allowed and perhaps that was already a spiritual salvation. Dragonair could not afford providing ‘projection screen’ movie in those days but they still supplied magazines with rich and colourful contents.
- Punctual
At that time, not being punctual was the greatest shortcoming of China’s airlines. Passengers were always on time but the planes were late. The delay often ended up being a few hours or a day. Our Dragonair, until recently, enjoyed a good reputation for being respectably punctual.
- Direct
‘Point-to-point’ transit was critical for business travellers because a plane should carry us directly to a destination, rather than going through the busy hubs like Beijing and Shanghai. At that time, most China’s airlines failed in the mission but Dragonair triumphed over direct flights. I could often cut the flying time by 4 to 5 hours when I needed to work in the Mainland.
- Quick
My advice for travellers is always to avoid taking the local airline of a foreign destination. There are longer queues like crowded markets at the check-in counters there since people like to use their own brand. To the contrary, the counter of Hong Kong’s airline in a foreign airport is usually not busy. The same phenomenon was also seen in the Mainland in the old days. Dragonair operated non-stop flights between outside airports and Hong Kong only. While the heart of other passengers began racing the moment they lined up, we, Dragonair passengers, calmly spent just 5 to 15 minutes on our easy check-in.
- Toilet
In those years, cabin toilets of Mainland’s aircrafts were clean and they still smelled. I guessed probably their detergent used did not have any artificial floral scent. I loved flying with Dragonair in Mainland China because their toilets were scrubbed, sweet-smelling and provided us with cologne and hand lotion. These toilet conditions sound like bare essentials nowadays and such washroom goodies were not considered as necessities in the 80s.
- Legroom
Emergency exit row seats in an aircraft are normally reserved for passengers who can speak English since they are expected to communicate and assist foreign passengers in case of escape. Dragonair, many a time, assigned me to occupy such a seat under the mistaken belief that I could speak good English. I got the same amount of pleasure from having a bigger legroom as from enjoying my easier access to toilets.
- Eye-opening
I would not have travelled to some unknown places like Naha of Okinawa, Da Nang of Vietnam and Jeju of South Korea if Dragonair had not developed these new routes throughout the years. I could be in love with these special cities simply because Dragonair took me there.
Sadly, looking back is a way to remind us about how we do badly now. Airlines in the Mainland have improved and become better. Where is Hong Kong now?
Goodbye, Dragonair, my trusted friend! You were and will be part of Hong Kong. I will see you in another life ——when we may both be birds someday.
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