Cathay Pacific unlocks business class 'early bird' fares for 2020

Business travellers planning ahead for their 2020 trips can take advantage of some sharply-priced 'early bird' fares from Cathay Pacific.

On sale from now through to October 31 2019, these competitively-priced business class fares apply to travel between January 13 and September 16, 2020 to almost two dozen of Cathay Pacific's destinations across the UK, Europe and North America, with the option of breaking your journey in Hong Kong to take some meetings or just take some time off.

Here's a sampler of the business class return fares on offer.

• Sydney - Madrid from $5,976
• Sydney - Paris from $6,025
• Sydney - London from $6,112
• Sydney - New York from $6,738
• Melbourne - Zurich from $5,969
• Melbourne - Rome from $5,985
• Melbourne - London from $6,037
• Melbourne - New York from $6,721
• Perth - Amsterdam from $5,369
• Perth - London from $6,026
• Perth - New York from $6,721
• Perth - Vancouver from $6,780
• Brisbane - Barcelona from $5,975
• Adelaide - Milan from $5,379
• Adelaide - London from $5,931

All these flights feature comfortable business class seats which convert into a fully-flat bed, plus direct aisle access for every passenger, and many of the routes are flown by Cathay's latest Airbus A350 jetliners.

Here's the full list of Cathay's eligible early bird 2020 routes from Australia:

• UK & Ireland: London (Heathrow and Gatwick), Manchester, Dublin
• Europe: Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Rome, Zurich, Frankfurt
• USA: New York (JFK & Newark NJ), Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco
• Canada: Vancouver, Toronto
• Israel: Tel Aviv

Your stopovers at Hong Kong will include access to Cathay Pacific business class lounges (we highly recommend The Pier Business Class), although if you hold eligible Oneworld Emerald status (such as Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club Diamond or Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum) you'll be welcomed at Cathay's first class lounges.

Another reason to consider Cathay Pacific for your US trip is that you can forget the hassles and headaches of transiting via Los Angeles, waiting for your checked luggage just so you can re-check it onto the next flight, and then trudging between terminals.

Read more: Six reasons why you should be flying to New York via Hong Kong

These discounted 'early bird' business class tickets will usually book into Cathay Pacific's I-class fare category. A Sydney to London return trip could net you Silver status in either the Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club or Qantas Frequent Flyer scheme.

The Marco Polo Club's Silver tier is equivalent to Qantas Silver as far as the Oneworld alliance goes, but if you're going to be doing a lot of flying with Cathay Pacific or its regional offshoot Cathay Dragon, Marco Polo Silver offers the advantage of access to Cathay's business class lounges prior to any Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon flight, even in economy.

Read more: Your guide to Cathay Pacific's Marco Polo Club loyalty program

Additional material by Brandon Loo

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.