Cathay Pacific’s latest Business Class product is now flying to Sydney, London and Beijing. With impressive tech upgrades like a 24″ 4K touchscreen and more privacy thanks to sliding doors, Aria Suite is a worthy evolution compared to the previous Business Class seat. Premium Economy and Economy feature refreshed seats as well.

Yes, you can book the Aria Suite with points, but one program has a clear advantage when it comes to reward seat availability. Here’s what you need to know.

Which routes is the Aria Suite flying on?

As of 11 April 2025, here’s where you can find Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 777s with Aria Suite regularly scheduled:

  • CX161: Hong Kong to Sydney (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday)
  • CX162: Sydney to Hong Kong (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday)
  • CX255: Hong Kong to London (daily)
  • CX250: London to Hong Kong (daily)
  • CX334: Hong Kong to Beijing (daily)
  • CX335: Beijing to Hong Kong (daily)

Outside of this schedule, you might find Aria Suite appearing on a different route on a one-off basis. Similarly, there’s also a chance Cathay Pacific could substitute one of those flights with a non-Aria Suite plane for operational reasons.

The Aria Suite-equipped Boeing 777s also have 48 Premium Economy seats.

This schedule is locked in until the end of October 2025, when a new winter timetable will take over. We might see a reshuffling of routes with Aria Suite then.

How to book Aria Suite with Cathay Asia Miles

Unsurprisingly, Cathay’s own program offers the most reward seats with Aria Suite. From Sydney to Hong Kong, you only need 58,000 Asia Miles + fees and taxes, one-way in Business. That’s a considerable improvement over the 75,000 Qantas Points + fees and taxes it would cost with Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Availability is generally good throughout the year, with some off-peak months, such as August, seeing more seats across multiple dates. Be sure to check the seat map to see if you’re actually scheduled to get Aria Suite. An easy way to tell is that the front cabin ends with a sole seat on the right (18K).

Asia Miles offers the easiest way to book Aria Suite.

The best availability for Aria Suite to London is in October 2025.

  • Hong Kong-Beijing (one-way): 28,000 Asia Miles + fees and taxes
  • Hong Kong-Sydney (one-way): 58,000 Asia Miles + fees and taxes
  • Hong Kong-London (one-way): 84,000 Asia Miles + fees and taxes

How to book Aria Suite with Qantas Points

Unfortunately, Cathay Pacific makes far fewer reward seats available to partner programs, such as Qantas Frequent Flyer. At the time of writing, we can only see reward seats available on the Hong Kong-Beijing (and return) legs. You can easily tell if a flight has the Aria Suite as the seat description will say ‘Private suite’ rather than ‘lie-flat seat’.

If you are able to find reward seats on Aria Suite with Qantas Points, here’s how much it will cost you to book on or before 4 August 2025.

  • Hong Kong-Beijing (one-way): 43,800 Qantas Points + fees and taxes
  • Hong Kong-Sydney (one-way): 75,000 Qantas Points + fees and taxes
  • Hong Kong-London (one-way): 104,500 Qantas Points + fees and taxes

After 5 August 2025, the number of points needed will increase:

  • Hong Kong-Beijing (one-way): 46,0000 Qantas Points + fees and taxes
  • Hong Kong-Sydney (one-way): 90,000 Qantas Points + fees and taxes
  • Hong Kong-London (one-way): 125,400 Qantas Points + fees and taxes

Summing up

If flying on Cathay Pacific’s Aria Suite is on your radar, you might be better off as a Cathay member. Not only do you have access to far more Business reward seats, but the actual number of miles you need is also considerably lower than with Qantas Frequent Flyer.

With a flexible bank loyalty program like American Express Membership Rewards, Cathay is a 2:1 transfer partner. For 58,000 Asia Miles (to book Sydney-Hong Kong in Business), you would need 116,000 MR points.

Qantas is also a 2:1 transfer partner for Platinum Card holders. To book the same Sydney-Hong Kong flight, I would need 90,000 Qantas Points after 5 August – that’s 180,000 MR points.

Fewer miles and more availability… I know which program I would be sending the points to.


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How to book Cathay Pacific’s new Aria Suite with points was last modified: May 5th, 2025 by Brandon Loo