Cathay Pacific ‘I Can Fly’ students visit Boeing, Airbus plants
Cathay Pacific Airways today welcomed home top students from the “I Can Fly” programme who took trips of a lifetime to the Boeing and Airbus aircraft factories in the United States and France.
The five-day trips were their reward for excelling throughout the year-long programme, during which they learned about aviation and took part in community service projects in Hong Kong. Throughout, Cathay Pacific pilots acted as the students’ mentors.
A third “I Can Fly” group will visit the BAE Flying School in Adelaide, Australia, from 17 August, where Cathay Pacific cadets undergo their initial flight training. In all, 100 students will take part in the trips.
The group that took off for the Boeing plant in Seattle toured the B777 and B747 assembly lines as well as the Boeing Field Flight Test Centre and Museum of Flight.
As luck would have it, they were in town in time for the annual SEAFAIR, where they saw the U.S. Navy Blue Angels aerobatics display team in action.
“It was a great experience for the kids. Most had never visited the United States,” said Corporate Communication Executive Sherman Liu, who accompanied the group. “They didn’t expect the Boeing factory would be so huge. The museum was special because it showed how aviation evolved from the simplest gliders to the most modern commercial aircraft. There was even a retired Air Force One aircraft. We got to see inside where the U.S. President used to sit.”
The group that visited Airbus in Toulouse toured the final assembly line of the super-jumbo A380 and also saw the mock-up for the A340-600 and inside a real Concorde. They also visited Toulouse and the Walled City of Carcassonne, a fortified medieval town.
“The students were so excited when they saw the A380 assembly line. Their efforts over the past year definitely paid off, and it was great to see their dreams come true,” said Information Officer Carina Chow, who accompanied the Airbus group.
Cathay Pacific, together with the support of Airbus, Boeing and BAE Flying School, fully sponsored the three trips. Some 1,000 local students aged between 13 and 18 years took part in the “I Can Fly” programme.
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| In the Boeing 777 production hangar where a new aircraft is being fitted out. | I Can Fly student together in Seattle |
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| At Boeing's flight test centre in Seattle | 29 students visited Airbus factory in Toulouse |
