In March 2024, Cathay Pacific formally unveiled the details of its new business class product, which is an exciting development for the carrier. The catch is that the entry into service for this product has been delayed. However, there’s some good news, as the first aircraft with these cabins is expected to enter service in the coming weeks, so let’s cover all the details.
New Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 business class details
Hong Kong-based oneworld member Cathay Pacific will be introducing a new business class on its Boeing 777-300ERs, and the product will be known as Aria Suite. Below you can see a 90-second teaser video about the updated cabins.
Here’s what we do know about Cathay Pacific’s new Aria Suite business class:
- These are reverse herringbone seats in a 1-2-1 configuration
- The seats have privacy doors, which is increasingly becoming the standard in business class
- The seats have great tech, including 24″ 4K entertainment screens that’s in a fixed position, bluetooth audio, and wireless charging
- The seats have enclosed storage compartments
The seat designed hasn’t yet been formally announced. I’ve heard some suggest that it’s the AIRTEK product from JPA Design, in which case Cathay Pacific would be the launch customer for this seat. I’ve heard other say that it’s the Collins Aerospace Elements seat, which debuted on Starlux’s Airbus A350-900s, though it’s also being installed on newly delivered Etihad Boeing 787-9s.
Personally, I think it looks like a customized version of the Elements seat, as it contains some features that are identical to what you’ll find with that product, but I guess we’ll find out soon for sure.
Cathay Pacific will first be reconfiguring its three class Boeing 777-300ERs, and below you can see the updated seat map for the jets featuring the Aria Suite product. The airline is greatly boosting premium capacity as these planes are being reconfigured:
- Currently the three cabin 777-300ERs have 368 seats, including 40 business class seats, 32 premium economy seats, and 296 economy seats
- Once reconfigured, the three cabin 777-300ERs will have 361 seats, including 45 business class seats, 48 premium economy seats, and 268 economy seats
Losing 28 economy seats in order to gain five business class seats and 16 premium economy seats is quite a deal! 😉
This business class product will be debuting shortly
Cathay Pacific finally appears to be ready to launch its new business class product. For now, the airline has scheduled the reconfigured 777-300ER on the Hong Kong (HKG) to Beijing (PEK) route between October 18 and October 31, 2024. Specifically, the jet is expected to operate the following frequencies:
CX332 Hong Kong to Beijing departing 12:00PM arriving 3:30PM
CX331 Beijing to Hong Kong departing 4:50PM arriving 8:35PM
It goes without saying that this is presumably subject to change, as all aircraft assignments are in advance. Furthermore, the airline hasn’t formally announced this, but rather seat maps have just been updated for these flights.
Presumably the airline is first flying this jet on short haul flights for crew familiarization and to work out any kinks, and then the jet will debut on long haul flights. It remains to be seen which long haul route will see the aircraft first, though.
For what it’s worth, it appears that B-KPO is the first 777 to get the new cabins, as the 14-year-old jet has been in Xiamen (XMN) since July 2024. Meanwhile B-KQQ is the second 777 to get new cabins, with the 10-year-old aircraft being in the hangar in Hong Kong (HKG) since September 2024.
Will other Cathay Pacific aircraft get these new seats?
Keep in mind that Cathay Pacific was initially intending to introduce all-new premium cabins on its Boeing 777-9s, of which the airline has 21 on order. However, that aircraft has been delayed by at least five years due to certification issues, from 2020 to 2025 (or later).
Presumably Cathay Pacific decided it was time to refresh its cabins even before those planes enter service. I would assume that Cathay Pacific intends to introduce the same product on 777-9s, since I can’t imagine the airline would introduce two separate long haul business class products just a couple of years apart.
So far there’s no indication of Cathay Pacific refreshing its Airbus A350s with the same product, though I imagine that could come at some point as well.
What about Cathay Pacific first class?
Some of Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 777-300ERs feature a first class cabin. This consists of six seats, spread across two rows in a 1-1-1 configuration. While this isn’t the world’s most private first class, it is one of my favorites.
With Cathay Pacific introducing a new business class product on 777s, what about first class? Well, Cathay Pacific is developing a new first class seat, which is rumored to be named Halo Suite. However, this will only be introduced on Boeing 777-9s in 2025 and beyond, so there are no plans for this to make its debut on existing 777s in 2024.
As a matter of fact, Cathay Pacific intends to remove first class from its 777s, as the jets are reconfigured with the new cabins. So eventually no 777-300ERs will feature first class, while all 777-9s will feature first class.
I imagine that Cathay Pacific will first try to reconfigure its three cabin 777s, before reconfiguring the ones with four cabins. Now, it remains to be seen how this timeline works out, especially with continued delays on the 777-9.
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific will introduce a new business class product on its Boeing 777-300ERs, which will be known as Aria Suite. You can expect new reverse herringbone seats with privacy doors and great tech, in what looks to be a very nice improvement over the existing seat. I’d assume that this is the same product that will eventually be installed on Boeing 777-9s.
We’re finally going to see this introduced shortly, as the first jet with the new cabins should be entering service in the coming weeks, with the first flights being between Hong Kong and Beijing.
I’m impressed by this premium product investment, given what a tough few years Cathay Pacific has had! Obviously the airline is committed to offering a quality product, and that’s always exciting to see.
What do you make of Cathay Pacific’s new Aria Suite business class?