Kaptin M:
Thanks, I am not even distantly related to 411A.
If you, Hole Digger and Cheap Tractor, would care to go work your way back through this thread, you would come to the point where a reasonably serious discussion commenced on the real or perceived control Swire have over CX.
The removal of the Union Jack from CX a/c prior to the brushstroke design was at the time widely interpreted as a gesture towards CITIC Pacific (and by extension to
PR China), who had initially purchased a 12.5% stake in CX in 1991 and who had other joint business interests with Swire. In 1996, CITIC Pacific increased its shareholding in CX to 25%. In the pre-97 days, an application was filed by CNAC to start up a HK-based carrier that could have threatened Cathay's very existence unless
PR China could be somehow accommodated within the existing CX structure. You will also note that the CNAC application has never been withdrawn.
If you have any notion of politics and business in China, you will know that even minor outward changes can signal major fundamental shifts.
It's a pity that you have no contributions of greater gravity to make in this respect, gentlemen.