在回香港的飛機上，我閱讀了航空雜誌。讓我很有感觸的是一篇關於國泰航空公司的故事。據說，在二戰以後，一個名叫羅伊的美國飛行員和一個名叫悉尼的澳大利亞飛行員開始在上海駕駛客運和貨運航班。1946年，
他們移居到香港並成立一家航空公司，取名為國泰航空。’泰’這個詞來自於古老的中國文字，它的寓意是吉祥。’國’這個詞語，寓意著他們希望有一天他們公司的業務可以擴展到國際地區。伴隨著野心的擴大和來自JK太古（1893―1983）的資本，其業務擴展始於1949年國泰將兩架DC3改造為一架具有四個引擎和一個電流的DC4斯凱馬斯特。1955年國泰的製造了第一架加壓式飛機；1959年國泰把飛機速度提升；1962年國泰與肯韋爾聯合進入噴氣時代；1970年國泰發展第一架波音、寬體洛克希德吸附儀；1980年國泰成立從香港至倫敦的航線；1955年國泰的空中客車誕生；2002年國泰與DHL成立合資公司，運行八架貨運航班；2006年國泰航空慶祝公司成立60周年，港龍航空和中國航空也是在同一年合併。國泰航空正計畫在2012年擁有六架波音747-8F型貨運飛機。
我希望有一天我能講一個類似的故事關於我自己的法律事業發展，雖然內容未必追得及國泰的成功經驗！
The Success of Swire/Cathay
On my way back to Hong Kong, I read a flight magazine. One of the articles that I read which stimulated my train of thoughts was the Cathay Pacific Story. It said that after WW II, there was an American pilot and an Australian pilot called Roy and Sydney who started passenger and cargo flights in Shanghai. Then in 1946, they moved to Hong Kong and set up their Airline Company by the name of Cathay Pacific. The word Cathay was translated from an ancient Chinese word which means auspicious. The word Pacific was used since their intention was for their business to one day reach beyond Asia and across the Pacific Ocean to America.
With the ambition and capital from J. K. Swire (1893-1983), business started with two DC-3s which transformed into a four-engine DC-4 Skymaster in 1949. Their first pressurised plane was developed in 1955; with rapid expansion in 1959 they entered into jet age with Convair in 1962. Then it was the Boeing in 1970, wide-bodied Lockheed Tristars; inaugurated flight from Hong Kong to London in 1980; airbus in 1995; forming joint- venture with DHL to run 8 cargo flights in 2002; celebrating her 60th anniversary in 2006, synergising with Dragonair and China Air in the same year; then setting up his own 6 Boeing 747-8F cargo by 2012….
I hope that one day I would be able to tell a story about my legal practice with some similar if not all the same success!!