"Oops this special livery won't last long! She's going back to the shop!" the airline tweeted alongside a photo of the name spelled "Cathay Paciic." The gaffe was spotted by a member of the Hong Kong Aviation Discussion Board, according to the airline, before it went viral.  While the luxury airline tried to pass the mistake off as a joke, some commentators took it seriously.

"The spacing is too on-point for a mishap. We have stencils. Should be a blank gap in between letters if it was a real mistake I think," an unnamed engineer at the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited told the South China Morning Post.