Cathay Pacific Teases New Business Class Suite Which Will Rollout Next Year On Boeing 777 Fleet
Cathay Pacific is gearing up to launch a brand new Business Class suite on its flagship Boeing 777-300 aircraft, and on Monday, the Hong Kong-based airline released a teaser video with a first look of the seat, which the carrier has dubbed ‘Aria’.
The suite, which is named after the musical term for a self-contained piece for a solo voice, will make its real-life debut in the second quarter of 2024, but for the time being, at least Cathay Pacific hasn’t released any information on how long it might take to roll out the seat.
With around 44 Boeing 777s, the aircraft makes up the backbone of the Cathay Pacific fleet, giving passengers plenty of opportunity to experience the Aria suite once it is fully deployed, although that could be years away given supply chain constraints that continue to hamper the aviation industry.
The new suite was unveiled in a 40-second video posted to Cathay Pacific’s social media channels, but the airline didn’t release any further information to accompany the teaser video.
Thankfully, the video allows us to still determine some of the features of the new suite, including:
- As is now the norm, the seat will come with sliding privacy doors
- Wireless device charging will be built into the seat
- Backlit seat numbers and perhaps even a ‘do not disturb’ light
- Cleverly designed storage cubbies for personal items and electronics
- Multiple mood lighting options in and around the seat
The suite will be arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration with all direct aisle access.
Passengers should also expect modern conveniences like faster USB-C charging alongside standard USB-A, and Bluetooth headphone connectivity. The airline is yet to confirm the full list of features on its Aria suite.
It’s understood that the Aria suite was originally meant to debut on the new Boeing 777X of which Cathay Pacific has 21 on order. Unfortunately, the 777X or 777-9 as it is otherwise known, has suffered a year-long certification delay, and Cathay Pacific could well be bringing forward a retrofit programme of its existing fleet due to this delay.
With the actual rollout of the new seat not that long away, we should expect a lot more details about Aria in the coming months, along with answers to important questions like the rollout timeline across the Cathay Pacific 777 fleet and what the future holds for Business Class on the airline’s other aircraft models.
