Cathay Pacific is bringing back its most iconic retro livery for its 80th anniversary

If you remember first-hand the hair-raising experience of being in a plane that’s coming in for a landing at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak International Airport – they called the manoeuvre the ‘Kai Tak Heart Attack’ for a reason – chances are, Cathay Pacific’s latest campaign will bring back even more memories. Hong Kong’s flag carrier is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, and as part of the nostalgic walk down memory lane, the airline is staging a revival of its most recognisable retro livery: the “lettuce leaf sandwich”.

Cathay Pacific is decking out one Airbus A350 passenger plane and one Boeing 747 freighter plane from its fleet in the historic green-and-white design, modified with an “80” print incorporated into the main green stripe on the fuselage. Both aircraft will fly different routes over the coming two to three years to bring the sentimental imagery of Cathay Pacific’s “lettuce leaf sandwich” livery to travellers around the world.

“Lettuce leaf sandwich” has little to do with the food that was served aboard Cathay Pacific aircraft, and everything to do with Hongkongers’ humorous ability to aptly bestow food-related nicknames upon objects. Cathay Pacific introduced a now-legendary Brunswick-green-and-white colour palette to its Lockheed and Boeing planes in the 1970s, along with red lettering proclaiming the airline name. Green and white stripes, resembling stacked salad leaves, were painted on the tailfin, ultimately lending the livery its moniker. “Lettuce leaf sandwich” was phased out in the early 1990s, replaced with Cathay Pacific’s ‘brushwing’ logo, but the staying power of the livery remained among Radio Babies, Baby Boomers, Gen Xs, and even early millennials who travelled in their childhood.

Cathay Pacific is also bringing back vintage uniforms from the past eight decades to show off the evolution of the airline’s style. Select cabin crew members and ground staff will be wearing them throughout the year to honour Cathay Pacific’s long heritage.

According to Cathay Pacific, a third special livery will also be unveiled later this year to add to their anniversary celebrations. Will it be the Spirit of Hong Kong livery from 1997 featuring the city’s skyline, or the 2002 Asia’s World City livery? Stay tuned to find out.

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