Flying the brand new Cathay Pacific business-class Aria Suite between London and Hong Kong

Fast take: The brand new Aria Suites are taking Cathay Pacific’s already stellar enterprise class to the following stage.

Professionals

• The brand new seats provide up-to-the-minute tech.
• Luxurious facilities embrace Bamford bedding and skincare merchandise.
• Inflight menus provide loads of scrumptious Asian and Western choices.

Cons

• Just a few planes function the brand new Aria Suites in the mean time.
• Tray tables are designed in such a manner that they will really feel tight.
• Award availability by means of accomplice applications is just about nil.

Again in March 2024, Cathay Pacific launched particulars on a brand new business-class product known as “Aria Suites.” These seats characterize the primary main overhaul of the airline’s enterprise class in a number of years, so, naturally, frequent flyers had been ready with bated breath for them to enter service.

Together with closing doorways for privateness, Aria Suites function latest-generation know-how, together with 4K leisure screens with revolutionary experiential options, in addition to some ergonomic enhancements over the airline’s older seats.

After a stint flying between Hong Kong and Beijing, Cathay Pacific deployed planes with Aria Suites on considered one of its premier long-haul routes, between Hong Kong and London, in January 2025.

Award availability on the route has been respectable (simply watch out which flight you guide to make sure your aircraft has the brand new suites), so I took the chance to check out the brand new Aria Suites for myself in early March.

This is what it was like flying Cathay Pacific enterprise class within the new Aria Suite and the way I booked it.

How a lot does it price to guide Cathay Pacific enterprise class?

The price of a Cathay Pacific business-class ticket will depend upon each the place and if you end up flying. For my route from London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Hong Kong Worldwide Airport (HKG), one-way fares are at the moment round $4,500, with round-trip fares costing about $6,200. (Airfare pricing is downright mind-boggling, is not it?)

Cathay Pacific is a part of the Oneworld alliance, so, theoretically, you’ll be able to redeem American Airways AAdvantage miles, Alaska Airways Mileage Plan miles or British Airways Avios for award tickets. However the reality is, Cathay Pacific not often, if ever, releases premium cabin award area to its companions lately.

So, if you wish to fly the Aria Suite for your self, your greatest guess will probably be to make use of miles from Cathay Pacific’s personal Asia Miles program. The price of my ticket was 84,000 Asia Miles plus $389 in taxes and costs.

Even in the event you do not usually credit score flights to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles — or if you have not even heard of this system — the excellent news is which you can refill your account rapidly since it is a switch accomplice of the next applications:

The next playing cards all at the moment provide appreciable welcome bonuses or on a regular basis incomes potential with factors and miles which you can switch into your Cathay Pacific Asia Miles account:

When you guide your ticket, it is possible for you to to pick out a seat without cost.

Simply be aware that Cathay Pacific at the moment operates 4 (sure, 4) completely different Boeing 777-300ER configurations. One is especially for regional flights, however the different three are deployed on a few of its premier long-haul routes.

In an effort to guarantee that you’re on a aircraft with the brand new Aria Suites, cross-check the flight you might be on with Cathay’s website. It must be denoted as a 77J and could have 45 business-class seats aboard.

Checking into and boarding Cathay Pacific enterprise class

Cathay Pacific business-class passengers can get pleasure from the next precedence companies on the airport.

Cathay Pacific operates from Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport. The airline has devoted check-in counters for first- and business-class passengers, and nobody was in line once I obtained there, so I checked in rapidly after which made my manner by means of safety.

The lounges on this terminal are all clustered near the principle concourse, the place you will additionally discover eating places and purchasing.

Cathay Pacific operates lounge “C,” which it’s essential to entry by way of elevators. The area includes a first-class part, a separate part for enterprise class and a shared set of bathe services accessible on a first-come, first-served foundation.

I had entry to the business-class lounge, which ignored a part of the tarmac. The primary part of the lounge is a eating space with loads of booth-style seating and a counter the place you’ll be able to order numerous varieties of noodles, soups and dim sum.

Previous this can be a small self-serve buffet space with numerous cold and hot dishes, plus some recent fruit and salads, pastries, a espresso machine and a collection of Jing teas.

Past that is the principle dwelling room-style lounge space, which has a row of chairs and ottomans going through the home windows and quite a lot of different seating vignettes. There’s additionally a staffed bar the place you’ll be able to order complimentary wine, beer, cocktails and nonalcoholic drinks.

Regardless of visiting the smaller area throughout a busy time of day — Cathay flights to Hong Kong depart at each 4:50 and 5:50 p.m. day by day — the lounge didn’t really feel crowded.

After consuming a bowl of wonton soup and sending a number of final emails by way of the complimentary Wi-Fi, I made my option to the gate, which was a five-minute stroll away. There have been two strains — one for financial system and premium financial system passengers and one other for business- and first-class passengers. After having my boarding move scanned, I used to be admitted to the gate space.

Boarding commenced 50 minutes earlier than departure time and was accomplished in simply over half-hour, so we pushed again proper on time.

How snug is Cathay Pacific enterprise class?

The Boeing 777-300ERs which were reconfigured with Aria Suites have 45 seats in enterprise class and no first-class cabin. The airline’s different 777-300ER configuration has between 40 and 53 seats, so this falls squarely within the center.

This is a snapshot of the business-class cabin and seat stats:

The business-class cabin aboard the reconfigured Boeing 777-300ERs consists of two sections.

The ahead, bigger part has 25 seats in six rows of 4 seats every plus a single seat — 18K — off by itself within the again on the right-hand facet. I might keep away from that one, because it’s virtually within the galley.

The smaller aft part the place I sat has 5 rows of 4 seats every. All rows are specified by a 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone configuration; these on the perimeters face out towards the window whereas the two-seat sections working down the center are angled towards each other.

That makes the facet seats — A and Okay — higher for solo vacationers and the middle seats — D and G — higher for {couples}. Don’t fret, these heart seats nonetheless have substantial sliding privateness dividers in case you need some alone time.

The brand new Aria Suites are modified variations of Collins Aerospace Components seats that additionally, you will discover aboard Starlux’s flagship A350s. These really feel barely roomier than earlier variations of the favored reverse-herringbone seating fashion you will discover on Cathay Pacific’s different long-haul jets.

Aria Suites have 43 inches of pitch, measure 21 inches vast on the armrest and round 25 inches on the shoulders, and recline to lie-flat beds which might be 78 inches lengthy.

You may decrease the bigger armrest alongside the aisle for a number of additional inches of room, and you may even pull it ahead and flat to create slightly extra floor space in lie-flat mode — an clever function.

The hole between the big armrest and the previous seatback is about 10 inches, which could be a squeeze to get by means of.

Additionally notable is a departure from the airline’s signature inexperienced upholstery. As an alternative, these new seats are in a way more impartial palette with throughlines of cream, taupe, sand and brown. This creates a extra grounded inflight look that looks like a method evolution for the airline, although you’ll nonetheless discover some pops of inexperienced, together with alongside the privateness dividers between center seats and as accents within the cubbies.

As an alternative of laminatelike surfaces, passengers ought to benefit from the wooden grain finishes of the armrests and tray tables, in addition to a marbleized seat-side shelf that lends the suites a extra upscale really feel.

One ingenious function is a shallow cubby set inside the suite’s bigger armrest that has a sliding high panel quite than one which flips up, so you’ll be able to preserve a tool or drink on it, even whereas accessing it.

There’s additionally an elongated desk-style lamp mounted on the seatback for ample lighting. That is really the principle lighting supply for the seat since there aren’t any overhead lights. You may management it by way of the inflight leisure display screen and use its numerous small, centered beams to gentle up completely different components of the seat and tray desk.

There are each USB-A and USB-C charging ports, plus a common energy plug to the facet of the seat. There’s additionally a wi-fi charging pad on the vast armrest, although this isn’t marked and doesn’t appear to be purposeful but.

The seat shell alongside the broader armrest additionally has an embedded touchscreen management for the leisure system, a cupboard holding a offered pair of noise-canceling headphones and a pop-out self-importance mirror for prelanding primping.

Underneath the armrest, there’s a touchscreen console with preset seating positions in addition to the power to maneuver particular person parts just like the seatback and legrest. This made the seat really feel extra versatile than many different business-class fixtures on the market, and I may customise the assorted components of it to my liking. This display screen additionally had controls for the sunshine in addition to a flight attendant name button. Once I was not utilizing these, I may faucet it to see how a lot time there was left within the flight, which was a helpful function.

The seat’s tray desk slides out from below the leisure system and unfolds to a full space of 15 inches by 18 inches, with a pill holder built-in into its design.

After meal service, the flight attendants got here by means of the cabin to unlatch the suites’ doorways. Curiously, many different airways do that shortly after takeoff so passengers can get pleasure from privateness even throughout meal service, however I discovered I didn’t thoughts ready since opening and shutting a seat’s door can really feel like a chore if you end up attempting to eat.

Of all of the airplane seat doorways I’ve encountered, these had been among the many best to maneuver, sliding open and shut fairly simply.

They don’t absolutely enclose the seat as they solely attain the highest of the seat shell, and there’s a little hole when they’re absolutely prolonged, which might be to scale back rattling. Additionally they have a 12-inch hole to the ground. That mentioned, they offered loads of shielding from exercise on the aisle.

Every seat reclines to a lie-flat mattress, which flight attendants will enable you to make up with the offered Bamford-branded fitted mattress pad, light-weight cover and full-size pillow. These had been cozy however breathable — a plus since Cathay’s 777s do not have overhead air nozzles — and had been fairly snug for an extended midflight snooze.

One other spotlight of those new cabins is the bespoke paintings created by Hong Kong artists that spotlights the town’s pure environment and bustling streets. Most passengers are unlikely to see these, although, since they’re between the entrance cabin and the cockpit.

The business-class part has simply three toilets for 45 passengers. That is a fairly excessive ratio, however there have been not often any waits, partly as a result of one of many inflight leisure system’s new options is a display screen the place you’ll be able to monitor which toilets are in use.

It didn’t appear purposeful for the one within the aft galley, however it was correct for the 2 on the entrance of the aircraft.

The restrooms had been saved spotless all through the flight, and so they had been stocked with Bamford hand wash and physique lotion plus disinfectant hand gel. I particularly appreciated the touchless sinks and bathroom flush.

Facilities in Cathay Pacific Aria Suites

I discovered the Bamford pillow and bedding, the food and drinks menus, and the Bamford amenity kits (which got here in 4 colours) ready at my seat once I boarded.

The kits contained mouthwash, a dental equipment, an eye fixed masks, ear plugs and Bamford-branded cooling physique gel, physique balm and herb-scented pillow mist.

Aria Suites have 24-inch 4K touchscreen leisure methods. Though the airline offers primary noise-canceling headphones, you’ll be able to join your personal Bluetooth headphones to the system for a good higher viewing expertise (and I might recommend doing so).

The system was ultra-crisp and offered tons of of viewing and listening choices, together with new motion pictures comparable to “Moana 2,” “Gladiator II” and “Heretic,” together with loads of choices from China, the remainder of Asia and a particular part dedicated to Okay-dramas from Korea. As for TV choices, there have been latest episodes of “Excessive Potential” and “The Day of the Jackal,” amongst different selections, plus tons of of musical albums to select from, together with Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.” Among the many video games had been “Who Desires To Be A Millionaire?” and “Offended Birds.” There was even an possibility for duty-free purchasing, which provided spirits, electronics and high-end magnificence merchandise.

Passengers who wished to relaxation may use the “don’t disturb” operate. In the event that they wished to be roused, they might customise the operate with “wake-up service” choices earlier than the primary and second meal companies.

The airline provides free Wi-Fi for first- and business-class passengers. In any other case, it is $9.95 for a one-hour move and $21.95 for the full-flight possibility with no information caps. I used to be capable of change Wi-Fi entry backwards and forwards between my cellphone and pc simply, and the speeds had been excellent, permitting me to get plenty of work completed whereas browsing on-line.

How was the meals in Cathay Pacific enterprise class?

Enterprise-class passengers are invited to preorder their most important meal from 10 days as much as 24 hours earlier than departure, although in actuality, the choices had been accessible once I was logged into my reservation greater than two weeks upfront.

Among the many nondietary-specific selections had been:

• Noodle soup with fish and shrimp balls, preserved cabbage and choy sum
• Roasted hen breast in jus and bread sauce with child carrots and inexperienced beans
• Shanghainese braised pork stomach with pak choy, shiitake mushrooms and steamed jasmine rice
• Roasted cauliflower in chickpea stew with mint raita
• Spice-crusted cod with roasted cherry tomato sauce, sauteed spinach and coconut lentils
• Traditional beef hamburger with Gruyere cheese, coleslaw and pickles on a brioche bun with fries

These had been the identical selections offered on the inflight menus, so the benefit of ordering forward is especially to make sure you get the entree of your alternative.

The appetizers included pea soup with ricotta and micro greens, in addition to poached prawns with horseradish and tomato sauce, child gem lettuce, avocado and sieved egg.

I chosen the shrimp, adopted by the pork. The shrimp tasted fairly recent, although the pork was slightly chewy.

There was additionally a cheese course of brie, cheddar and Roquefort, or a alternative of desserts, together with:

• Inexperienced tea tiramisu
• Glazed lemon tart with raspberry
• Varied Haagen-Dazs ice cream flavors
• Pralines
• Seasonal fruit

The drinks menu included Taittinger Brut Reserve Champagne, which flight attendants additionally served as a predeparture beverage, together with water and juice.

The opposite wines included:

• A 2020 Domaine de la Bressande rully from Burgundy in France
• A 2023 Framingham sauvignon blanc from Marlborough in New Zealand
• Echo de Lynch-Bages from Bordeaux in France
• A 2020 Grant Burge Filsell shiraz from the Barossa Valley in Australia
• A 2018 Dow’s Late Bottled Classic port from the Duoro Valley in Portugal

There was additionally a collection of spirits, juices, Illy coffees, Jing teas, Hong Kong-style milk tea, basic cocktails and a signature cocktail and mocktail.

The primary meal service commenced about 80 minutes into the flight and concluded inside 2 1/2 hours. Aside from dessert, the flight attendants introduced drinks and dishes individually to every passenger quite than by way of a trolley — an upscale contact, however one which causes the service to take longer. Given the size of this flight, that is not a significant situation, although.

The second meal menu, which flight attendants requested passengers to fill out forward of time, was extra like a breakfast or brunch. It featured fruit plates and pastries, plus a alternative of most important dishes, together with:

• Cacao-chia pudding with coconut yogurt and blackberries
• A twice-baked souffle omelet with sauteed kale and cherry tomatoes
• Salted hen and mushroom congee with pan-fried turnip cake and XO sauce
• Poached eggs with grilled bacon, sauteed mushrooms, vine tomatoes and potato rosti
• Categorical breakfast with a pastry and sizzling drink

The primary meal was massive and I used to be anticipating an enormous dinner with mates upon touchdown in Hong Kong, so I selected the healthiest possibility: the pudding with berries. It was tangy and refreshing, simply what I wanted earlier than hitting the bottom. Together with it, I loved a cappuccino to perk me up.

Would you suggest Cathay Pacific Aria Suites?

Cathay Pacific business-class Aria Suites characterize a complicated evolution from the airline’s different business-class seats. Not solely do they really feel extra spacious and thoughtfully designed, however the leisure system is superb, with all types of revolutionary options.

The closing door works in addition to, if not higher than, every other I’ve skilled whereas flying and lends these seats a excessive diploma of privateness that makes flights much more stress-free.

Whereas it may be downright unattainable to redeem accomplice miles for Cathay Pacific enterprise class, availability is pretty widespread when redeeming the airline’s personal Asia Miles, making this a deal with inside attain for a lot of flyers.

To get a good higher concept of what the Cathay Pacific expertise is like, take a look at our video assessment:

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