Patrick Tsai
Also in August, Cathay celebrated the 100th birthday of its former Deputy Chairman, Patrick Tsai. Patrick joined Cathay as assistant district sales manager in 1962. His 36-year career encompassed the highs and lowest points of Cathay’s history: from industrial disputes, and recessions, to the trauma of supporting next-of-kin after the bombing of a Cathay Convair over war-torn Vietnam. From the acquisition of Hong Kong-London traffic rights, which marked Cathay’s emergence as an international carrier, to the successful negotiation of the airline’s status through 1997, he earned a reputation over the years as a skilled diplomatist. In the early 1960s, when Cathay suspended its Sydney services, because it was unable to compete, he recalls that when he showed his target and actual sales figures to his Managing Director, the latter joked: “If I were you, I would jump out of the window.” Patrick replied: “After you, sir.”
Patrick was appointed Director of Cathay in 1979 and joined the Board of John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Limited in 1982. On his retirement in 1998 he noted that: “Once you join the airline business, you never think of leaving; it’s a lot of fun and offers more experience in every field than you’d have in many other industries.”
All at Swire send Win and Patrick our warmest wishes and congratulations.
