San Francisco, CA, 2014-9-10 — /Travel PR News/ — Cathay Pacific Airways is welcoming applications for the first Chicago-area iteration of its successful “I Can Fly” program, an eight-week introduction to aviation for high school juniors and seniors.
“I Can Fly,” a program run by Cathay Pacific in many ports around the world since 2003, invites high schoolers with a true passion for travel and aviation on a unique educational adventure. Hosted at the airline’s US headquarters in San Francisco since 2009, this is the first time the program will be offered to Chicago-area students.
“It is our goal to show the students of Chicago the limitless opportunities for pursuing a career in this exciting field,” said Tom Owen, Senior Vice President, Americas, Cathay Pacific. “The eight-week academy will cover a range of aviation topics and allows a group of classmates to learn various aspects, from flight operations to in-flight services and cargo. These real-world settings have shown to provide invaluable perspective for young students who are preparing to make choices in post-secondary education and their careers.”
Interested eleventh- and twelfth-grade high school students may submit applications online at http://us.cathaypacific.com/icanfly from now until September 19, 2014.
The “I Can Fly” Chicago 2014 program will run from October 2 – December 2 and will be guided entirely by dedicated Cathay Pacific staff volunteers, including Sandra Quirk, Sales Director, Midwest USA; Bridget Bell, Cargo Manager, Midwest USA; Manuela Elia, Airport Station Manager, Chicago O’Hare Airport; and special guest instructor, Pilot Lynda Meeks, Airbus Flight Simulator Instructor for Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong and founder of non-profit Girls with Wings.
The program runs weekly and operates after school hours at O’Hare International Airport, its vicinity or downtown Chicago. For further details or to apply to the “I Can Fly” Chicago 2014 program, please visit http://us.cathaypacific.com/icanfly.
Cathay Pacific launched daily flights from Chicago to Hong Kong in 2011. In August 2014, three additional weekly flights were added, bringing the total to ten flights per week.
About Cathay Pacific:
The international flag carrier of Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Airways operates 111 flights per week to Hong Kong and beyond, including over 22 destinations in Mainland China, from five cities in the USA and two in Canada: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York (JFK), Newark, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver.
2014 saw a huge increase in capacity, with the launch of a daily Newark service, the addition of a fourth daily flight from Los Angeles, three additional flights per week from Chicago, and beginning in May 2015, a new four-times-weekly Boston to Hong Kong service. Cathay Pacific Cargo freighters service 15 cities across the Americas using the latest 747-8 equipment and will add its sixteenth point to Calgary from October 2014.
Cathay Pacific is a member of the oneworld alliance.
More information, including current fares and availability, may be found by visiting the airline’s website at cathaypacific.com/us, Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cathaypacificus, or Twitter handle @CathayPacificUS. For North American reservations, dial toll-free: 1-800-233-2742.
Cathay Pacific Airways was awarded the “World’s Best Airline” honor in the 2014 annual Skytrax World Airline Awards™ for a record fourth time – the only airline to achieve such a feat – with more than 18 million airline passengers from around the world voting for their favourite travel experiences.
###