Nineteen-ninety-two was a difficult year for Cathay Pacific. The airline industry was still mired in the downturn precipitated by the collapse of the Japanese economy. There was excess capacity: a lot of airlines and aircraft were competing for a diminishing number of passengers. This led to what then-Cathay Pacific chairman Peter Sutch described as ‘fare wars’. While this was good for those who could afford to fly, it wasn’t great for the bottom line.

To help, Cathay Pacific deferred some new aircraft in the hope that when they joined the fleet the global economy would be in better shape. Route launches were in short supply, but one that did happen that year was Adelaide. It was to prove that relationships forged in adversity are often the strongest.

On 3 October, the South Australian city became Cathay Pacific’s 40th destination. The service was operated initially by a Boeing 747, a big plane for a new route, but then this was a weekly service at first. The aircraft touched down on a day marked by – count them – 18 hours of sunshine.

Adelaide’s predominantly clear blue skies are ideal for novice flyers, something that Flight Training Adelaide has been trading on since 1982 – but it was not until 1994 that Cathay Pacific sent its first group of would-be pilots there to learn the theory and practicalities of flying. To date, around 1,800 Cathay Pacific pilots have spent time in Adelaide learning their craft – more than half of the airlines’ flight crew.