Cathay brings our skyline back down to Earth

The distinctive Spirit Of Hong Kong livery, which decorated two Cathay Pacific jumbo jets, is no more after the second aircraft flew to the mainland to have the image of Hong Kong's skyline removed.

The Boeing 747-400 had had its share of drama while carrying the artwork down its flanks. It was the victim of a potentially catastrophic maintenance error on its virgin flight carrying the design in 2000, when adhesive tape was left covering vital instruments. And a year later, the pilot who successfully landed the plane in front of a crowd of VIPs despite the mechanical glitch was one of 52 pilots sacked by Cathay during its dispute over pay and rosters.

Cathay Pacific's manager of corporate communications, Rosita Ng Lai-tung, said the airline had decided to get rid of the Spirit of Hong Kong design because it had last year introduced another livery - Asia's World City - on another plane.

Ms Ng said Cathay had decided to have only one special livery rather than two different ones. The plane would also have its business-class section upgraded during the works in Xiamen. It is expected to be back in service, bearing the regular Cathay Pacific design, in the new year.

The World City livery had been unveiled to mark five years of the Hong Kong special administrative region and to bring Cathay into line with the government's latest campaign to promote the territory, she said.

Anonymous postings from pilots on an internet chat room for air crew expressed sadness about the retirement of Spirit Of Hong Kong II. 'It's one of the best liveries around and it will be sad to see it go,' said one.