Cathay Pacific turned the skies above Victoria Harbour into a classroom on 1 November 2025, hosting 180 youths from the government-backed Strive & Rise mentorship scheme on a 90-minute sightseeing flight aboard a newly retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER. Dubbed “Discovery Flight 2025”, the event is part of Cathay’s revamped “I Can Fly” programme aimed at nurturing Hong Kong’s next generation of aviators and aerospace engineers.
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, who joined the flight as guest of honour, praised the carrier for staging more than 40 youth-focused aviation activities this year—even as it ramps up its global network recovery. Cathay’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau told participants that “the sky is the limit,” encouraging students to consider careers that will keep Hong Kong at the forefront of international aviation.
![Cathay Pacific’s Discovery Flight 2025 Gives 180 First-Time Flyers an Aerial Tour—and Showcases Hong Kong’s Aviation Hub]()
Beyond its CSR overtones, the flight doubled as a live demonstration of Cathay’s refreshed wide-body cabin product, including upgraded Wi-Fi and new economy-class seats—features the airline hopes will lure back corporate travellers after pandemic-era cutbacks. Executives say first-hand feedback from the students will feed into further service tweaks before the busy Lunar New Year travel season.
For the wider mobility ecosystem, the event underscores Hong Kong’s strategy of pairing hard-infrastructure investments—such as HKIA’s third runway and SkyCity logistics hub—with human-capital pipelines. By giving under-privileged teenagers a seat in the cockpit jump-seat during taxiing and letting them tour Cathay Cargo Terminal, the airline seeks to plant seeds for a future workforce that multinationals relocating staff to Hong Kong can tap.
Cathay plans to expand the I Can Fly programme to reach 2,500 youths next year, including immersive engineering workshops and a hackathon on sustainable aviation fuel—aligning with government goals to maintain the city’s status as Asia’s premier international aviation hub.
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki, who joined the flight as guest of honour, praised the carrier for staging more than 40 youth-focused aviation activities this year—even as it ramps up its global network recovery. Cathay’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau told participants that “the sky is the limit,” encouraging students to consider careers that will keep Hong Kong at the forefront of international aviation.
Beyond its CSR overtones, the flight doubled as a live demonstration of Cathay’s refreshed wide-body cabin product, including upgraded Wi-Fi and new economy-class seats—features the airline hopes will lure back corporate travellers after pandemic-era cutbacks. Executives say first-hand feedback from the students will feed into further service tweaks before the busy Lunar New Year travel season.
For the wider mobility ecosystem, the event underscores Hong Kong’s strategy of pairing hard-infrastructure investments—such as HKIA’s third runway and SkyCity logistics hub—with human-capital pipelines. By giving under-privileged teenagers a seat in the cockpit jump-seat during taxiing and letting them tour Cathay Cargo Terminal, the airline seeks to plant seeds for a future workforce that multinationals relocating staff to Hong Kong can tap.
Cathay plans to expand the I Can Fly programme to reach 2,500 youths next year, including immersive engineering workshops and a hackathon on sustainable aviation fuel—aligning with government goals to maintain the city’s status as Asia’s premier international aviation hub.
