Oh Cathay Pacific, you spoil us!
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Cathay Pacific celebrates 80th anniversary with retro livery
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific is celebrating its 80th anniversary. While the airline is promising a variety of initiatives as part of this celebration, there’s one that us aviation geeks will be especially excited about.
Specifically, the oneworld airline will be rolling out two planes in its iconic “lettuce leaf sandwich” livery:
- The Airbus A350-900 with the registration code B-LRJ has entered service as of January 6, 2026
- A Cathay Pacific Cargo Boeing 747-8 is expected to enter service as of January 24, 2026
Cathay Pacific is promising one more special livery, though hasn’t yet announced the details of which livery it will be, and on what aircraft. I can’t wait to spot these planes from the Hong Kong Airport (HKG) Sky Bridge. For that matter, I’m sure I’ll see the special 747-8 in Miami, given that Cathay Pacific Cargo frequently flies to my home airport.
Cathay Pacific’s livery evolution over the years
For some background on Cathay Pacific’s liveries, the airline launched service in 1946, with a converted Douglas DC-3, nicknamed “Betsy” (a term the airline still uses). Initially the plane transported goods between Australia and China, though the founders had bigger ambitions. They named the airline Cathay Pacific Airways, due to the belief that planes would one day cross the vast expanse of the Pacific.
There wasn’t much to the livery at the time, aside from a bare-metal body with “Cathay Pacific Airways” emblazoned in red cursive lettering on the fuselage.
In the 1960s, Cathay Pacific entered the “jet age,” with a fleet of Convair 880s, sporting a green-and-white livery. The airline name printed on the fuselage was shortened to “Cathay Pacific” in red, upper-case lettering.
Then from the 1970s until the early 1990s, Cathay Pacific adopted what was known as the “lettuce leaf sandwich” livery, on the fleet of Lockheed L-1011 TriStars and Boeing 747s. The tailfin was painted in alternating stripes of white and Brunswick green, resembling a stack of salad leaves.
Then starting in the 1990s, as Cathay Pacific’s route network expanded across Europe and North America, the airline wanted a new look anchored around its identity as Hong Kong’s home carrier. So in 1994, the airline debuted the brushwing logo, a symbol of flight rendered in a swooping calligraphic stroke, which honors its Chinese heritage. The airline also swapped Brunswick green for the elegant Cathay jade.
Then in 2015, Cathay Pacific introduced a sleeker version of this livery, removing the red stripes from the tailfin and nose, among other updates.
The “lettuce leaf sandwich” livery is almost unarguably Cathay Pacific’s most iconic one, and I can’t wait to see one of these planes in person.
That being said, the “lettuce leaf sandwich” livery was a little before my time of traveling to Asia, and my fondest memories on Cathay Pacific are from the livery before the current one. So I’m rooting for the third plane with a special livery to have that paint job (though I suspect it may instead be the livery before the “lettuce leaf sandwich” one).
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific is commemorating its 80th anniversary by painting two planes in its “lettuce leaf sandwich” livery, which was the carrier’s standard livery for around two decades, from the 1970s until the 1990s. This was really when Cathay Pacific became a global player, so it’s awesome to see the livery return.
If you’re an aviation geek, be on the lookout for an A350 in this special livery. In the coming weeks, we can also expect a cargo 747 in the special livery.
Anyone else love the “lettuce leaf sandwich” livery as much as I do?
Do you know there is something very significant which is missing from the vertical stabiliser which should be present on this historic livery. That being the British Union Flag …. :-)
Looks as ugly and obsolete now, as it did when they got rid of it.
There are some great classic liveries (BA Landor, for example), but this ain't one of them!
Speculation for the 3rd livery is a new Spirit of Hong Kong.
That was such a classy livery and I miss it. I do not like the current "swoosh" livery at all.
I was based in HKG for 6 months in the 1980's and having many great memories of flying CX in and out of Kai Tek.
As mentioned below, by going by their timeline, I wouldn't be surprised to see another evolution of the brand in 10 years.
I'm not sure what branding trends would look like within 10 years!
But back to the current livery, it is minimalist. And the enlarged titles make it look better. It could've been better, sure. But it could've been worse, too. It's like whatever to me, just following minimalist trends.
I just saw this livery at SFO!!
The third aircraft will not have a heritage livery.
2026 is a significant year for Cathay. The airline will celebrate its 80th birthday most importantly, along with new products, which would include new lounges and a new regional product (on select A330s).
The airline has faced significant pain, multiple blows, and crises in its history from SARS in 2002-04 and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09 down to fuel hedging bets gone wrong, the 2019 riots in Hong Kong, COVID, and data breaches.
...2026 is a significant year for Cathay. The airline will celebrate its 80th birthday most importantly, along with new products, which would include new lounges and a new regional product (on select A330s).
The airline has faced significant pain, multiple blows, and crises in its history from SARS in 2002-04 and the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-09 down to fuel hedging bets gone wrong, the 2019 riots in Hong Kong, COVID, and data breaches.
So bringing back the "lettuce sandwich" livery is sort of like the airline dusting itself off and a proverbial rebirth for the airline going back to its glory days.
So back to the livery itself, just like Ben, the "lettuce sandwich" colours were before our time, and the first iteration of the "brushwing" was what we grew up with. In my opinion, the "lettuce sandwich" along with the previous livery was the pinnacle for Cathay competing head to head with Singapore before the major players like Emirates and Qatar came along.
Moving on:
*-8F unveil anticipated on the 26th of January; would've loved to see it on an ERF instead.
*The A350 mimics the 707 and Convair CV-880 hence the small Swire logo by the nose.
*They could've at least added "Cargo" on the -8F as it's not a passenger aircraft
*The belly could've been gray
*Might be unpopular opinion, but am I the only one who would've wanted to see the previous livery on an A350 or A321neo? I've always been curious on how it would've looked!
*Aside from the 80th anniversary, another significant anniversary would be coming up next year which would be the 30th anniversary of the handover back to China. They might do another "Spirit of Hong Kong" or a similar livery to that effect which would coincide with the arrival of the 779.
And going by their timeline and branding trends, we'd probably see ANOTHER brand and livery evolution in 10 years time (damn, that decade went by fast!) and a decade later, the airline's 100th anniversary followed by the expiration of the "One country, Two systems" principle. So who knows where and what the airline and city would look like by then.
Is 2026... the year... that Xi... goes for... involuntary 're-unification'...??
…. and his mate annexes Greenland perhaps?
Just drove by SFO on my way to work and saw this plane at its gate! I could mostly just see the tail above the perimeter fencing, so was confused at what airline it was. A very timely article from my perspective!
Drive safe. Heard you guys were getting a lot of rain recently. And king tides!
Lucky you! Its first commercial flight since the repainting is to SFO as CX870.
I’m VERY disappointed that they didn’t at least paint a grey belly on them. I get that a polished belly is not possible on a composite fuselage, but at least paint the grey belly. It feels way too white and not enough like the original.
I have to say in all my years of flying Cathay (including during the era prior to the brushstroke livery), as well as participating and reading travel and aviation sites, I have never heard the term "Lettuce Leaf" used in conjunction with Cathay's stripped livery.
Is this an internal naming of Cathay's livery by employees?
Sorry, wish you could edit. I meant to spell "striped" not "stripped," since I got called out yesterday
…. :-) Worry not DTWNYC, most of the readership cannot spell English words either.
Diving for cover now …. :-)
LOL @Aero… all-clear!
Besides, we speak ‘American’ on here!
Don’t I know it 1990, Mr Google is constantly being troubled for a definition, etc …. :-)
Back in 1988 (SHUT UP, I'M OLD!) on my first trip to Asia I flex CX first on the old 747-200, SFO-YVR-HKG; that's when they still had the Union Jack flag on the top of the tail and the Swire Group flag next to the Cathay Pacific name on the body of the plane. They had five rows of first class in the nose section, and an additional four rows upstairs. Beautiful plane.
Fun fact: to squeeze in more seats, they sealed the exit doors over the wings.
You are not THAT old Willy, surely now …. :-)
You beat me there.... My first flight to Asia was SFO-YVR-HKG in January 1989 (reg VR-HIA).
None of you mentioned how old you were in 1989 or ‘89.
My first flight to Asia was SFO-NRT in 1982. I was 8. Apparently I loved being at an airport so much, my Mom would take me to SFO just to let me run around the terminals.
Now, as an adult, I wish I knew more of Cathay’s history and livery. What an incredible history!
None of you mentioned how old you were in 1989 or ‘89.
My first flight to Asia was SFO-NRT in 1982. I was 8. Apparently I loved being at an airport so much, my Mom would take me to SFO just to let me run around the terminals.
Now, as an adult, I wish I knew more of Cathay’s history and livery. What an incredible history!
Confession time …. Evidently, according to family photographs, I first flew in a CX, DC-4 or 6 between QPG and HKG in 1956. Does that make me old or what?
@AeroB13a You would be almost if not older than my mummy!
Yes, I knew your mother very well Mike, very well indeed …. :-)
I’m only joking of course Mike, I was almost certainly around before you were a twinkle in your father’s eye. I must be getting very old actually, as I can remember what I did the 50’s and 60’s, better than what I did last week …. :-)
Cheers mate. All the best to you for the new year :D
Two of Cathay’s planes, B-LJR (747-8F) and B-LAR (A330) are in Xiamen where B-LRJ was painted. They have been there for around three weeks. Perhaps the second and third aircraft to get the retro look?
Does anybody know the font of the Cathay Pacific logo text on the image captioned "Cathay Pacific’s second livery"?
China so nice.
Cool! I'm sure Gemini Jets is already working on a diecast. Love that L1011.
Epic. Love that clip of their 747 landing at the old Kai Tak. Wow.
…. Draw up your sandbag 1990 and pin back your ears, my Kai Tak tales are long and some were even quite hairy don’t you know …. :-)
*sweating* go on...
Ok! You asked for so sit down and pin your ears back!
Approach to Runway 13 (recognised the number from somewhere?) ILS guide for a drop down low over Kowloon towards Checkerboard Hill (end of ILS, visual, manual approach from now on) at the board bank hard right to line up with and put wheels down on 13. Don’t overshoot the runway. Exit stage Left and check your landing scored by the crash crew.
An...
Ok! You asked for so sit down and pin your ears back!
Approach to Runway 13 (recognised the number from somewhere?) ILS guide for a drop down low over Kowloon towards Checkerboard Hill (end of ILS, visual, manual approach from now on) at the board bank hard right to line up with and put wheels down on 13. Don’t overshoot the runway. Exit stage Left and check your landing scored by the crash crew.
An iconic approach which I understand upset many commercial pilots, especially in the monsoon season. Certainly more than just a few military personnel lost control of their waste products, as an aborted landing and diversion was not an option. I really loved taking a Fat Albert down that route.
End of tonight’s lesson …. :-)
"Hey! Hey! Hey!"