HDA - Cathay Dragon

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Airline Name
Cathay Dragon

IATA: KA / ICAO: HDA / Callsign: DRAGON

Country of Origin
Hong Kong

Aircraft Types Used (from those available in WoA)
A320 (A320-200) - (15 previously operated)

A321 (A321-200) - (8 previously operated)

A333 (A330-300) - (29 previously operated)

The Spirit of Hong Kong livery - Registration: B-HYB

A21NX (A321-200NEOX) (Never operated but 32 ordered in 2017 and several completed and painted. Order was cancelled due to covid and some were instead transferred to Cathay Pacific as Dragon was shut down but would be a worthy addition),

Why should this airline be added?
A special significance, the livery of Hong Kong Dragon is worth commemorating, and I want to see it reappear in the airport.

The airline was the rebrand of Dragonair in November 2016 after it had operated since 2005 under Cathay’s control and prior to that as an independent airline since 1985 when it was founded. Dargonair was unable to compete with Cathay Pacific due to the Hong Kong Government’s one-route-one-airline policy which lasted till 2001 so a lot of the flights undertaken by Dragonair were to China and within East Asia on routes Cathay wasn’t interested in.

The airline, and Dragonair, would make fantastic additions as local airlines at HKG as it has just been added, as well as Dragonair offering a range of cargo aircraft to add more diversity to cargo operations at the airport.

Cathay Dragon route network,

[Hirohitoswaifu]

In addition to this, would be nice to have Dragonair livery.

[Mitya]

A21NX

[Dreamliner]

Was the plane delivered in this livery or not? My understanding was it was painted in Cathay’s livery before delivery.

[Mitya]

This is what I managed to find about the A21NX. There might be some additional information, but I could be wrong in some details.

In 2017, the Cathay Pacific Group had an order/memorandum for 32 A321neo aircraft, which were initially intended for Cathay Dragon. However, after the restructuring (the closure of the Cathay Dragon brand in October 2020), these aircraft and orders were redistributed within the group — some went to Cathay Pacific, and some to HK Express.
- B-HPB (MSN 9228) — delivered November 4, 2020 (official handover November 14, 2020); marked as “Originally ordered for Cathay Dragon,” then repainted into Cathay Pacific livery.
- B-HPD (MSN 10091) — delivered December 9, 2020; also from the orders originally intended for Cathay Dragon, later operated by Cathay Pacific.
- B-HPE, B-HPF — subsequent deliveries in 2021–2022, also marked as “originally ordered for Cathay Dragon” and operated within the group under Cathay Pacific.
(This is not a complete list…)

Overall, considering the fact that Cathay Dragon no longer exists as a separate airline since 2020, if it were added to WOA, I think the A21NX could also be included — because these aircraft were essentially ready for full operation, already having full livery and registration numbers.
If this airline still existed today and the A21NX were merely a planned delivery without actual production and painting, just a mock-up, then I probably wouldn’t even mention it. But in this case, with the aircraft already built and the airline no longer active, I think there is a rationale for it.

[Mitya]

[MUB_MIB]

I think this airline should be added in next update too, like Thai Airways & Thai Smile or Alitalia & ITA Airways

[Hirohitoswaifu]

I’ve added this into the main post after I tidied it up. Hope we see it and Dragonair soon as they would both really suit the local ops at HKG.