Cathay Pacific’s New Business Class Aria Suite: What to Expect
The airline also gave a sneak peek of the new Premium Economy and Economy seats coming to its aircraft this year
Photo: Courtesy of Cathay Pacific / YouTube
Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flag carrier airline, has shared exciting news about its upcoming Boeing 777-300ER cabins. The airline has released a teaser video of its highly anticipated Aria Suite business class product, which will be available later this year.
Cathay Pacific first announced that it would be launching an all-new business class cabin in August 2023. However, very little information was shared about the product’s specific details at the time. A brief 40-second clip was released showcasing the new seat’s golden-brown color scheme, elegant curvature, wood-like surfaces, and large in-flight entertainment screen. A confirmed launch date is in Q2 2024.
Now, a longer 90-second video has been released, providing a closer look at the Aria Suite and the entire cabin.
Cathay Pacific is currently retrofitting the interiors of its fleet of Boeing 777-300ER planes, which includes revamping the Premium Economy and Economy cabins and introducing the Aria Suites.
“Rediscover our Boeing 777-300ER fleet, designed with you in mind,” said Cathay Pacific on its social media channels. “From the quiet luxury of our all-new Business class experience, Aria Suite, to the enhanced privacy of our new Premium Economy, every aspect has been carefully considered to bring you maximum comfort.”
Photo: Courtesy of Cathay Pacific / YouTube
“With meticulous attention to every detail – no matter how small – you’ll feel the difference throughout your journey. Our new Boeing 777-300ER cabins take flight this year.”
The teaser video shows that the new Aria Suites come with personalized lighting, a 24-inch 4K IFE screen, wireless charging capabilities, and a sliding privacy divider and sliding door for ‘unparalleled privacy.’ The seats are also fully reclinable, offering passengers’ maximum comfort.’
Photo: Boeing 777-300ER. Courtesy of Cathay Pacific
The sneak peek of the new seats looks promising for premium travelers, perhaps justifying the Aria Suite’s inclusion in our ten most anticipated business class cabins of 2024.
According to Jonny Clark, founder of aviation design blog TheDesignAir, the new business class seat shown in Cathay Pacific’s video is a customized version of the Elements seat designed by Collins Aerospace.
“The curved seat shell and door mechanism, along with wooden veneer personal storage units, make for a truly unique and calming space, feeling a lot more organic and less mechanical than other deliveries of the same seat,” said Clark.
Photo: Courtesy of Cathay Pacific / YouTube
The editor of TheDesignAir also praised Cathay Pacific’s new cabin for its “mindful design that delivers contemporary details,” highlighting some of the suites’ useful features that he’d like to see replicated in other carriers’ cabins.
“The seat offers a wide range of smart stowage units designed to be as intuitive as possible, including high-speed charging ports and wireless charging stations,” he said. “Another nice element we’d love to see other airlines adopt is Cathay’s lavatory occupancy function on the IFE screen, making it easy to see if there is a wait to use the restrooms.”
Cathay Pacific’s new cabins will also feature a ‘gallery in the skies,’ with each 777 featuring a different piece of artwork from a selection of artists with a unique connection to Hong Kong. Each artwork will display a different perspective of nature to provide a calming energy within the cabin.
Photo: Courtesy of Cathay Pacific / YouTube
Meanwhile, the new Premium Economy seats will offer passengers’ elevated privacy’ with small dividers between the sliding headrests. They will also have a personal reading light, a 15.6-inch 4K monitor, and a ‘generous’ recline and legroom.
According to the video, the refreshed economy seats will also have Bluetooth and audio streaming capabilities.
While Cathay’s latest teaser video leaves plenty for travelers to be excited about, it also says the new cabins are ‘taking flight this year,’ which is vaguer than its last video and suggests that the initially promised launch date of Q2 2024 may be delayed slightly.
