Cathay 'I Can Fly' program lands in Chengdu

When volcanic ash threatens trans-Pacific flights, flight dispatcher Yolanda Yip Wai-suen must rapidly replan routes and recalculate fuel loads to keep passengers safe.

Almost two decades ago, Yip’s understanding of aviation was limited to TV clips of pilots and cabin crew – until a formative flight training trip to Adelaide through Cathay Pacific’s "I Can Fly" program in 2007 solidified her lifelong career dream.

Yip is just one of more than 8,800 young people whose paths have been transformed by the "I Can Fly" program since it launched in 2003. This year, for Cathay’s 80th anniversary, the 10th edition brought together 80 teenagers from Hong Kong and the mainland for a cross-regional study tour in Chengdu – a long-term talent investment for the industry.

This week, Yip returned to the program not as a young participant, but as a volunteer alumni representative, sharing her industry experience with the new cohort.

The shift from ground handler to dispatcher required passing rigorous exams on meteorology, aircraft faults, and flight documentation. “Without the knowledge I gained from 'I Can Fly,' the training would have been far harder,” she said.

“We hope this experience helps young people find their life direction,” said Lavinia Lau Hoi-zee, Cathay Pacific’s chief customer and commercial officer.

“The investment pays off as long as participants enter any aviation field,” she said. She added most teens only know pilots and cabin crew at first, but site visits expose them to unseen roles like dispatch, maintenance, and cargo.

Another volunteer mentor this year is Wilson Wu Wenshuo, now a second officer on Cathay's A350 fleet.

Wu was inspired by volunteer mentors when he joined the mainland "I Can Fly" session in 2019. “They did not see aviation merely as a means to make a living, but as a lifelong passion and way of life,” Wu recalled. “That passion completely reshaped my life plans.”

He studied aviation from 2020 and abandoned overseas studies to join Cathay after receiving an offer in 2023.

This program also acts as a powerful cultural bridge linking young aviation dreamers from Hong Kong and the mainland.

Fourteen-year-old Nadege Beland signed up after her elder brother took part in the 2024 "I Can Fly" program and shared vivid camp stories, motivating her to sign up for this year’s cohort.

During the Chengdu leg, she visited the Civil Aviation Flight University of China and got hands-on experience on a full-motion flight simulator.

“We only ever see simulators on YouTube,” Beland said. “Sitting inside a real unit fitted with panoramic 3D screens and rows of control buttons felt absolutely incredible.”

Fellow Hong Kong participant Moses Chan Chung-hang, a Form Six graduate. A long-haul Cathay Pacific flight in 2025 ignited an all-consuming obsession with aircraft systems, and he now plans to apply for aviation training program at the Polytechnic University and CAFUC.

Despite different backgrounds from Hong Kong and Chengdu, friendships formed instantly. “We hit it off from the start,” Chan said.

“We taught them Cantonese, and they taught us Mandarin," Beland added.

The group will visit aviation facilities in Chengdu, then tour Cathay City, HAECO, and the Civil Aviation Department in Hong Kong. Top performers will earn a follow-up trip to Adelaide for flight training.

As the cross-regional aviation journey begins, Yip stood before the 80 young participants and led them in reciting the official program pledge: “I pledge to strive my best, learn about aviation, serve our community, reach for my dreams, so I can fly.”

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓