Business class cabins on airlines around the world are evolving, becoming less of a seat in the sky and more of a design-centered small hotel room.
Cathay Pacific unveils its swanky new 'Aria Suite' business-class seat
16.10.2024 - 17:29 / thepointsguy.com
Cathay Pacific took the wraps off its newest business-class seat today, showing off its new "Aria Suite" at a preview event in a hangar at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG).
The airline first revealed plans for the new Aria Suite back in March 2024, though the carrier has been relatively quiet about it until now, only saying that the new suites would appear later this year aboard Cathay's Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Well, it looks like the first plane with the new suites aboard is just about ready to take flight later this week and TPG got a sneak peek at the airline's event.
Here's what we saw at the Cathay Pacific event and what you need to know about the airline's new business class.
Cathay Pacific has been flying a consistent version of its current business class (with some updates as newer aircraft like the Airbus A350 have gone into service) for over a decade now, so the introduction of the Aria Suite represents a big step into the future for the airline.
That said, they are more of a significant evolution than a complete departure for the airline. Like Cathay's current business class, Aria Suites are laid out in a reverse herringbone-style 1-2-1 configuration, so each seat has direct aisle access.
Those on the sides of the cabin are angled outward toward the window and are great for solo travelers, while those in the center section are angled toward one another, so they might be preferable for passengers traveling with a companion.
Each Aria Suite still has plenty of privacy, though, thanks to high seatback shells, adjustable dividers between the center seats and closing doors shielding them from the aisle. Doors are an increasingly popular feature of next-generation business-class seats, though this is the first time Cathay Pacific has offered them.
Unlike some other airlines like Virgin Atlantic and Starlux, which have turned some seats in the first rows of their latest business-class cabins into a superior, roomier product, Cathay Pacific's Aria Suites will be uniform throughout.
Aria Suites are decorated with a more neutral color palette of taupe, cream, sand and brown tones rather than the airline's signature green, creating a calming environment on board.
They also incorporate a variety of surface and stowage areas including a wide, woodgrain and marbleized armrest to one side of the seat with a top panel that slides open to reveal a shallow cubby, designed for storing valuables; and another convenient cubby (whose interior lining does provide a flash of that signature green) tucked into the seatback shell under a stylish seat-mounted reading light.
Among the technological advancements Aria Suites will offer are new 24-inch 4K high-definition entertainment screens, which are among the
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