Cathay Pacific recently committed a blunder that had them poking fun at themselves over the absurdity of it all. One of its planes, a Boeing 777-367, was fresh from its paint job when it was discovered that it was missing the letter “F” from its name on the side of the plane.
Photos of the spelling error were first spotted on the Hong Kong Aviation Discussion Board (HKADB) on Facebook before making the rounds on social media last week, prompting Cathay Pacific — or should we say Cathay Paciic? — to address the matter lightheartedly.
“Oops this special livery won’t last long!” Cathay Pacific tweeted on Sept. 18. “She’s going back to the shop!”
Oops this special livery won’t last long! She’s going back to the shop!
(Source: HKADB) pic.twitter.com/20SRQpKXET— Cathay Pacific (@cathaypacific) September 19, 2018
But while some were entertained by Cathay Pacific’s blunder, others weren’t so amused. One engineer from Haeco, a sister company of the airline, was perplexed and couldn’t understand how such a mistake could happen.
“The spacing is too on-point for a mishap,” the engineer told The South China Morning Post on Sept. 19. “We have stencils. Should be a blank gap in between letters if it was a real mistake, I think.”
A certain Suleman Siddiqui, meanwhile, took to the HKADB’s forum and suggested the workers be literate in English.
“Maybe have your painters be literate in English,” he was quoted as saying. “That would be a good idea.”
Thus far, it’s unknown whether Cathay Pacific or Haeco engineers are to blame for the spelling error, but one thing is for certain: according to the report, the typo is likely to be expensive and would cost thousands of dollars to fix. Cody Cepeda/NVG
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