Since Cathay Pacific was launched in September 1946 by entrepreneurs Roy Farrell and Sydney de Kantzow with two DC3 aircraft named Betsy and Nikki, the airline has grown to be one of the region's leading carriers. Now, with 59 aircraft and 15,000 staff, the move from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok has given the company its first real chance to regroup.
It will allow Cathay to consolidate staff in 20 different locations to one site at Cathay Pacific City.
Complete with shopping mall and fitness centre, the $4.9-billion complex will incorporate a 10-storey office block, a 23-storey staff hotel, a flight training centre and an airline stores building.
'One main benefit is efficiency,' said Jemma Moore, Cathay's corporate communication manager responsible for Chek Lap Kok.
'We have a 50-year lease so, although there is the initial outlay, there will be a knock-on cost saving over that time when we won't be paying 20 different rents.' Most of the 3,000 staff in the new headquarters will work in an open-plan environment that makes the most use of natural light. Every desk will be linked to the company intranet; staff will all have access to, besides the Internet, fax and voice-mail facilities.
Architects Llewelyn-Davies, who began to work on the blueprints in May 1995, were conscious of the considerable distance between Cathay Pacific City and the rest of the more developed areas of Hong Kong, therefore integrated full services into its designs.
Staff will be able to wander down a 'street' that runs 140 metres through the first floor of the office tower. There will be a bank, convenience store, photo developers and a bookstore, as well as welfare facilities, clinics and other services.