Cathay Pacific will be celebrating its 80th anniversary next year and has hinted at plans to commemorate the occasion in several ways. One of these will be the rollout of a special livery on select aircraft in what will be a revival of the Hong Kong carrier’s classic “Lettuce Leaf Sandwich” livery first seen in the 1970s.
One of the airline’s Airbus A350-900 jets was recently spotted by an aviation enthusiast undergoing a new paint scheme in a hangar in Xiamen, China. There are rumors circling that the airline will also repaint other aircraft in the scheme, with a Boeing 777-300ER and a Boeing 747-8F freighter touted as recipients.
Cathay’s New 80th Anniversary Livery Spotted
As reported by Executive Traveller, a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 was pictured undergoing the fresh paint job in a Xiamen hangar operated by Hong Kong-based MRO company HAECO (Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited). The aircraft — a nine-year-old A350-900 registered as B-LRJ — will be the first to sport Cathay’s revived Lettuce Leaf Sandwich, a scheme adorning the carrier’s fleet from 1971 to 1994.
Images posted by a user on forum HKGolden show the airframe sporting the famous Brunswick Green strip, the “filling” of the sandwich between two white-painted sections. The livery also features a large ’80’ on both sides to mark the 80th anniversary of Cathay, which has served Hong Kong since its establishment by ex-Air Force pilots Syd de Kantzow and Roy Farrell in September 1946.
A Classic Livery Fondly Remembered
With the aircraft likely to show off its new livery to paying customers in January, Cathay will be evoking strong memories in those who flew with the airline over the decades. An iconic livery in its day, the green and white of Cathay was a recognizable sight at many global airports, particularly if one of the airline’s Boeing 747s was in town.
While Cathay phased out the Lettuce Leaf theme from its fleet in the mid-1990s, the Brunswick Green color has remained a core part of its brand identity and its liveries. The carrier’s modern paint scheme features a simpler design consisting of an all-white fuselage and green-dominant tail, along with subtler green notes on the wingtips and by the cockpit.
Cathay presently operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the majority of which are widebody aircraft, given the airline’s dominant long-haul focus. Along with the Airbus A330-300 and A350-900, Cathay flies the Boeing 777, while its only narrowbody type active today is the Airbus A321neo. Meanwhile, the airline’s cargo division flies 20 Boeing 747 freighters, making it one of the world’s largest remaining 747 operators.
New Routes & Planes: A Look At Cathay’s Network Growth Strategy
The carrier has big plans for its network’s continued development.
A Big Year Ahead
Cathay has a lot in store for 2026, with a network expansion strategy to be supported by several anniversary celebrations across the calendar year. This will include the inauguration of two key lounges — its first-ever New York JFK lounge and the reopening of a renovated The Wing First Class in Hong Kong — to elevate the premium passenger experience on key routes.
The airline also plans to debut a new business class seat on its regional network, refurbishing its Airbus A330-300 fleet with fully lie-flat seats. Cathay also intends to fit these seats on select Boeing 777-300ER aircraft starting next year, enhancing the quality of its regional business class product. As it stands, Cathay’s regional business product can be inconsistent, with aircraft types offering a mix of lie-flat or recliner seating.
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