Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited (in simplified Chinese 港龙航空有限公司), or Dragonair for short, is the second largest airline in Hong Kong. Dragonair uses Hong Kong International Airport as the base and together with Cathay Pacific, the largest airline of Hong Kong, they help connect Hong Kong to other parts of the world. Dragonair offers about 400 flights per week. Passenger destinations include Asian region, and major markets in mainland China. Dragonair on November 1, 2007 joined Oneworld, one of the alliances of airlines all over the world.
Dragonair is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Company. The Head Office of this company is located in the Dragonair House at 11 Tung Fai Road in Hong Kong International Airport. The construction of this House was completed on June 26, 2000 and there is also another well-equipped flight training center near this House. Dragonair also has five subsidiary companies, operating in all areas of aviation operations. As it is the subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, Dragonair uses the Marco Polo Club and Asia Miles Award Scheme of Cathay Pacific.
In fact, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines has a long history, even older than Cathay Pacific. It was founded in May 1985 by the businessman Chao Kuang-piu, Pao Yue Kong, Henry Fok Ying Tung, and Chinese-funded institutions like China Resources, China Merchants, etc. These organizations and individuals composed the “Hong Kong and Macau International Investment Co., Ltd.” and set up the Dragonair. In July of the same year, the company started to provide services by using a B737-200 passenger aircraft to provide flight services between Hong Kong and Kota in Malaysia.
In 1986, the English name of the Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Hong Kong Dragon Airlines was decided to be replaced by Dragonair, while the Chinese name remained unchanged. In 1987, Dragonair became the first Hong Kong-based airline to join the International Air Transport Association. In November 1989, Pao Yue Kong and Chao Kuang-piu sold their 38% of holdings of Dragonair to other parties and marked the change of Dragonair.