Cathay Pacific adds more Sydney-Hong Kong flights

Mere days after Qantas’ Sydney-Hong Kong superjumbo switch, Oneworld partner Cathay Pacific is giving the route a supercharge of its own, adding a fourth daily flight between the cities from today.

Complementing its existing trio of departures, CX162 takes wing from Sydney at 10:55am and arrives in Hong Kong at 5:10pm. On the reverse, CX161 sees wheels up from Hong Kong at 9:20pm, touching down at 9:35am the next day.

Schedules show an A350-900 plying the route: fitted with 38 lie-flat beds in business class (sure to be put to good use on the overnight return to Sydney), followed by a small premium economy cabin of 28 seats.

Each business class seat transforms to a lie-flat bed at the touch of a button.

Coinciding with the airline’s 49th anniversary of flights between Sydney and Hong Kong, the extra flight is a precursor to even more Australian connections later this year, with both Perth and Brisbane primed for an increase from December.

Frosti Lau, Cathay Pacific Regional General Manager of Southwest Pacific, says the airline has “a longstanding commitment to the Sydney market, and this service reaffirms our dedication to continuing to restore capacity and connectivity across the Cathay Pacific network.”

In Hong Kong, business class passengers and frequent flyers will soon enjoy an elevated experience at Cathay’s five Hong Kong lounges – The Wing First, The Wing Business, The Pier First, The Pier Business and The Deck, with the airline signalling plans to take over key front of house roles from contractor Sodexo from this month.

A pre-flight snack is always a good idea at The Deck's Noodle Bar.

A spokesperson from the airline described this as “an opportunity for us to deliver premium service to our valuable customers the Cathay Pacific way at key front-of-house roles, and align service excellence across our customer touchpoints.”

Executive Traveller understands Cathay’s take-over will begin at The Pier First, before sweeping through other lounges in the months to follow.

Cathay is also counting down to the ribbon-cutting of its new ‘seaport lounge’ at Shenzhen’s Shekou Ferry Port, which has been repeatedly delayed past an original opening date in August 2023.