Cathay Pacific reveals new Boeing 777 Business Class Aria Suite

Cathay Pacific’s long-awaited Boeing 777 refresh is drawing nearer to its mid-2024 debut. Overnight, the Hong Kong-based airline released a longer teaser video highlighting what we can expect in Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy – including the incoming flagship product, the Aria Suites.

The all-new seats will be retrofitted to Cathay’s existing Boeing 777-300ER jets and will also feature on the future Boeing 777-9 fleet as well.

Cathay Pacific’s new Business Class: Aria Suites

Gone are the bold (and some may say, tired) greens of yesteryear. Cathay’s new Aria Suites exude warmth with a pastel colour palette. But the changes go beyond skin-deep.

We don’t have official confirmation on who the seat manufacturer is (JPA Airtek and Collins Elements are two models that spring to mind). But we can see the Aria Suites takes on a familiar ‘reverse herringbone’ approach.

Each suite comes outfitted with a sliding door and will have significantly more storage space than the last-gen Cirrus seat that Cathay Pacific currently uses. Passengers in the middle pairs of seats can raise or lower an electronic divider as desired. Something novel for a flagship Business Class seat is an integrated tablet holder on the tray table, just in case you want to watch your own entertainment instead.

Passengers can also look forward to tech improvements such as wireless charging, a 24″ 4K touchscreen that’s fixed in place rather than on a swivel, and Bluetooth headphone connectivity so you can pair your own buds to the screen.

Book Cathay Pacific Business Class reward seats with Qantas Points – Hong Kong to London is 104,500 pts + taxes.

Cathay Pacific’s new Premium Economy

Premium Economy will see a sizeable evolution with sleek, new seats with privacy wings and a built-in reading light. The airline promises ‘generous recline and legroom’, though we’re yet to see the numbers.

Every seat will have a 15.6″ 4K touchscreen and the same Bluetooth connectivity. The teaser video shows the front row of Premium Economy will boast extendable leg rests. Another question we have is whether the other rows will feature this as well.

Cathay Pacific’s new Economy

There’s only so much airlines can do with Economy – this refresh sees a modern facelift in materials and technology. Crucially, Cathay will also offer Bluetooth audio streaming in Economy. An under-screen compartment will offer increased storage space and can also double as a phone holder.

As with most other Boeing 777 operators, Cathay Pacific currently flies a 3-4-3 layout in Economy. We expect this will remain the same in the refit.

Can you book Cathay’s new Boeing 777 with points?

Point Hacks understands that the first Boeing 777-300ER with these new seats is expected to take off in the latter half of 2024, debuting on a long-haul route such as Hong Kong to London or New York (our money’s on London).

You can’t specifically book these new cabins with points, yet. But if you happen to find a reward seat for later in 2024 on a route such as Hong Kong-London, then there’s a slight chance that the flight could swap to the Boeing 777-300ER with new interiors once the schedule is finalised.

A swap to the Cathay Pacific Aria Suites would be a welcome surprise.

Also read: The Ultimate Guide to Cathay (formerly Asia Miles) →