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Cathay Pacific reveals new business class seats
I’ll admit it has been a while since I’ve flown Cathay Pacific, but prior to Covid, they were one of my favourite airlines thanks to their consistent service and food on board as well as their wonderful lounges. Although their seats are still relatively modern in a 1-2-1 configuration on long haul they are beginning to show their age a bit. So, it is great to see a new design and colour scheme for Cathay’s new business class and premium economy seats.
Cathay Pacific has revealed its newly retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, launching in Hong Kong in October 2024. The new cabin has been designed to maximise comfort and enjoyment, including an all-new Business class — Aria Suite — a new Premium Economy, and a refreshed Economy class cabin.
The retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER is configured in a three-class layout with a total of 361 seats, comprising 45 flat-bed Business, 48 Premium Economy, and 268 Economy seats.
Business class – Aria Suite
The new design retains some features of Cathay Pacific’s existing business class seats, such as the reverse herringbone arrangement, a generous bed, and ample storage. However, the Aria Suite also features a range of enhancements.
The Aria Suite features has much more privacy with the addition of a suite door. Centre-seat customers can deploy the movable partition to get more privacy, or to have it open for a shared Business class experience with their travel partner.
Once inside the suite you can customise the ambience through the various lighting options at the touch of a button.
Alternatively, customers can just let Cathay Pacific set the mood for them with the airline’s activity-based pre-sets.
Aria Suites will have a 24-inch 4K ultra high definition screen — the largest ever offered by the airline. Now becoming standard on new business class seats across airlines, you can also pair your Bluetooth-enabled headphones to enjoy an
the entertainment.
If you need to charge your phone, the marble-style side console has a built-in wireless charger. Alternatively, USB-A, USB-C, and AC power outlets are also available and the large table features an integrated personal electronic device holder.
Cathay Pacific has worked on the principle of a place for everything, with a unique space for customers to stow their belongings safely and securely. The console offers a slide-away drawer that reveals a compartment perfect for their passport, glasses, watch, and wallet. An internal light illuminates the space, making it easy to view the contents. I’ve not seen anything quite like this before and I like it (as long as I don’t forget them since they are well hidden!)
The seat also features a multi-tier design that comprises the side cabinet with the sliding drawer, and side stowage sections. The side cabinet, which sits on the upper console, includes a headphone hook, a dedicated tray for water bottle stowage, and a large personal mirror enclosed in the door.
The side stowage is thoughtfully designed to provide additional storage for customers while extending the bed surface area. The lid is covered in premium leather for added comfort. Customers can easily lift the latch to access the stowage inside, which accommodates small items like shoes and handbags, and features an internal light for added visibility.
The suite includes a large meal table which customers can pull down or towards themselves using the handle conveniently located under the monitor. It features a bi-fold design and a dark wood grain design.
The leather aisle-side armrest offers multiple height and when down, it extends the bed surface. It looks like the footwell are and ottoman are spacious compared to some of the cubby holes you see.
Cathay Pacific has also paid close attention to the finish of the suite. The overall colour scheme is understated and elegant and should wear well. It definitely has touches of luxury with its suede walls, natural wool seat fabric which should be more breathable, and gold-accented touchpoints. The headrest is soft and made from premium leather, as is the ottoman that extends the length of the bed.
Premium Economy
Premium economy also looks smart with a leather headrest, customised seat cushions and leather-padded footrest (leather-wrapped in front-row seats). Each Premium Economy seat features customised wings near the headrest and between the centre-most seats, an arm-level divider helps to create a defined personal space.
There’s a 15.6-inch 4K ultra-high-definition screen Bluetooth audio streaming using your own Bluetooth-enabled headphones. At each seat, customers have space to store their amenities as well as a bottle holder located in front of them. Customers also have a storage space by their side located within their seat, which is fitted with a USB-C power port, and a simple tap of the side-storage light makes looking for personal items in the storage compartment easy. To keep drinks easily within reach, the centre console features a cocktail table with an additional, extendable surface for greater convenience.
The Premium Economy cabin also has two dedicated lavatories, each featuring a touchless flush, a foot-activated waste bin, infrared-activated faucet and three-stage lighting to minimise disturbance to the cabin (never heard of that before either).
You can find more pictures on Cathay Pacific here.
The Wine Flyer up to 9000 Avios bonus
The Wine Flyer has launched a new offer to celebrate its two-year birthday, which you can stack with the Amex offer to get a total of 9000 Avios. The Wine Flyer is offering 5000 Avios when spending £149.99 or 3000 Avios when spending £129.99 on the pre-mixed cases of 12 bottles of red, white, rosé, or fizz.
The Bonus Avios will generally be awarded into your BAEC account immediately and no later than 30 days from the end of the offer period. You can only use the code twice per customer and the offer ends 20 October.
Use code AUTUMNBONUS at checkout.
You can combine this with the Avios available via the BA Amex cards. You get 4000 Avios for spending £125+ at The Wine Flyer on the paid BA Premium Plus Amex or 3000 Avios for spending £100+ at The Wine Flyer on the free card.
