Cathay to launch new business class suites this week

What to expect from the new-look Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 ahead of its first flight.

By David Flynn, October 13 2024

Cathay to launch new business class suites this week

Cathay Pacific’s first new-look Boeing 777 will take wing this month, and will also serve as the launchpad for the airline’s fresh take on business class – the private Aria suites – along with the latest generation of premium economy recliners.

The first of 30 of the Boeing 777-300ER jets to receive a multi-million dollar makeover, it’s currently schedule to make an inaugural flight to Beijing on Friday October 18, 2024.

Lavinia Lau, Cathay’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, has previously told Executive Traveller the rest of the 777 fleet will be upgraded at a rate of one per month, a process which will take through to 2027 if one jet is done at a time.

That timeline runs parallel to delivery of Cathay’s Boeing 777-9s, with 22 of the next-gen jets likely to arrive from 2026 onwards.

Here’s what travellers can expect to see on board Cathay Pacific’s new-look Boeing 777.

Cathay's Boeing 777 is getting a tip-to-tail revamp with new suites, seats and more...

No first class

As first reported by Executive Traveller, Cathay is removing first class from the refurbished 777s, with the Aria Suites business class cabin moving to the very front of the plane.

The move will make Cathay first class exclusive to the Boeing 777-9 fleet, which will be crowned by a luxurious new first class design which could possibly carry the ‘Halo’ brand.

Going, going, gone: Cathay Pacific's Boeing 777-300ER first class suites.

However, most 777-300ERs equipped with the familiar ‘open suites’ of first class will remain flying for several years and won’t be wheeled into the refit hangar until the latter part of the refurbishment program, avoiding a sudden drop in the availability of first class.

“A core (first class) network will be maintained,” Vivian Lo, Cathay’s General Manager of Customer Experience and Design, told Executive Traveller, “and while there would be eventually some reduction in capacity it would only be around the tail end of the transition.”

The still popular 'open suite' first class of Cathay Pacific's 777-300ER fleet.

Cathay’s new 777 Aria Suites business class

All of the revamped Cathay 777s – which the airline has coded as the 777J configuration – will have 45 of the new business class Aria Suites, spread across two cabins.

Cathay Pacific's new Boeing 777 business class seatmap.

At first glance, apart from obvious aspects such as high curved walls and a sliding door, the Aria Suites seem like a highly-evolved version of Cathay’s current long-standing business class.

Cathay Pacific's new 777 Aria Suites business class.

That includes keeping most of what Cathay Pacific’s business class travellers appreciate, built around an angled orientation which delivers a greater sense of personal space over the tighter confines of a forward-facing seat.

Cathay Pacific's current 777 business class.

At the same time, as passengers are facing away from the aisle, there’s an increased degree of privacy even with the door of these high-walled cocoons left open.

Cathay's Aria Suites business class offers a degree of privacy even with the door open.

“I think a lot of the design features are more or less the same because they are driven by customer insights (which) remain very, very true in terms of expectations about privacy and comfort,” Lo told Executive Traveller.

Window or middle? With the 777 Aria Suites they're all good, Cathay says.

While seats in the first row of each cabin – rows 11 and 19 – may have a little extra legroom, Cathay decided against turning them into superior ‘business plus’ berths with everything from companion dining and even-larger video screens to personal wardrobes (a path taken by several other airlines including Air New Zealand, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa).

“Most of the window seats are more or less the same (and) all the middle seats are almost the same,” Lo said, so the only choice passengers really need to make is ‘window’ or ‘middle’.

And speaking of middle seats, Aria introduces something noticeably lacking in Cathay’s current business class: a divider between the paired middle seats.

Huzzah! A sliding privacy divider between the middle seats on Cathay Pacific's 777 Aria Suites.

Leave it closed if you’re flying solo, or slide it open if you’re travelling with your partner or a friend.

Each Aria Suite includes a large lush 24” 4K widescreen monitor fixed into the seating module rather than mounted on a swing-out arm, so that the screens can be used on a gate-to-gate basis.

Cathay's Aria Suites boast a large 4K video screen with Bluetooth audio streaming.

There’s also streaming Bluetooth audio to your own noise-cancelling headphones or earbuds, while other high-tech touches include wireless device charging and free WiFi.

The Aria Suites table includes a convenient tablet and smartphone nook.

As a unique finishing touch, each of the 30 Boeing 777s will have its own piece of art mounted at the rear of the cabin.

Flying art: each 777 will be adorned with a piece of HK-inspired artwork.

The curated collection features work by artists with a deep connection with Hong Kong, with each piece offering a different perspective ranging from urban landscapes to vividly imagined dreamscapes.

Also read: Cathay to close, renovate The Wing Hong Kong lounges

Cathay’s new 777 premium economy

Set in its own dedicated cabin behind business class is Cathay’s latest premium economy proposition.