Cathay Pacific reveals its new ‘Aria Suite’ business class and premium economy seats

Back in August, Cathay Pacific teased the new business class seat it was calling the ‘Aria Suite’. Details were few and far between, with the launch video only hinting at what was to come.

Impressively, and despite the intervening six months, the airline has managed to keep any further details regarding the new seat under wraps. There were no further leaks of what it would look like.

Cathay Pacific has now, finally, lifted the lid on what its new business class will look like. It also offered a brand new peek at premium economy, which is also getting a makeover.

But let’s start with a bit of history first ….

Cathay Pacific’s existing business class

One of the things that struck me on my trip to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific last year was that the on-board product lagged what was available on the ground.

Whilst Cathay’s lounges at Hong Kong International Airport are spectacular – my favourite is The Pier First Lounge – the business class seats themselves, whilst comfortable, are neither particularly modern or reflective of the airline’s more recent design language.

Cathay’s existing business class, which I reviewed here, was introduced in the early 2010s and is based on the Safran Cirrus seat. It became one of the most popular business class seats on the market.

Whilst Cathay did update it slightly for the A350, with upgraded in-flight entertainment screens and a few other modifications, it has largely remained unchanged and is now looking dated. It also doesn’t offer the same levels of privacy that more recent airline suites have introduced.

Based on the initial renders and video, the Aria Suite looks like it will fix all these issues.

The new Aria Suite

Cathay has now revealed more details of the seat, including as part of a 90-second sizzle reel that you can watch on Youtube here.

The video is a bit of a whistle-stop tour, so I’m going to break it down what we know so far with stills taken from the video. Whilst there are arguably no groundbreaking elements here, it adds up to a stylish and cutting-edge business class suite.

This is a reverse-herringbone layout in 1-2-1 configuration. That means window seats are angled towards the window whilst the middle pair are angled towards each other, with feet touching, similar to BA’s Club Suite.

First up: this is a doored suite. Like it or not, this has quickly become the industry standard and only a handful of airlines are choosing to install new business class seats in 2024 without them. It’s not clear how high these go, but the seat walls do appear to be higher along the aisle and around the back curve of the seat.

I’m a big fan of doors, especially in configurations such as this one where the seat itself is closer to the aisle. I find them particularly useful at night or when I’m trying to sleep, as they reduce disturbances and accidental knocks from the aisle.

Centre pairs have large, fully retractable privacy dividers. This opens up the space but you won’t be able to make a double bed or cuddle thanks to the large console table in the middle – which also acts as the foot coffin for the people behind you.

Each Aria Suite comes with personalised mood lighting as well as a table lamp which should provide a warmer glow than the overhead lighting at night.

An adjustable armrest flattens level with the seat in bed mode.

There are at least two storage units: the first is a shallow tray, which is revealed via a unique sliding tabletop. This is a very clever because it means you don’t need to remove any drinks or other items to access it, unlike on the pop-up trays with Club Suite.

The other storage unit comes in the form of a small storage cupboard. This features an olive-coloured interior as well as a personal pop-out mirror.

A bi-fold table slides out from the underneath the in-flight entertainment screen:

It also features a clever tablet stand, letting you slot in your iPad and watch content on your own devices.

The Aria Suite is equipped with the latest technology and features a very large 24″ screen. This is much larger than normal, with many business class seats ‘only’ offering monitors around the 18″ mark. There’s also a secondary, hand-held smartphone-style control device.

Of course, the big screen is also 4K capable. Whilst most if not all airlines do not offer 4K or even Full HD content, the extra pixels should help future-proof the seat and make text and other user interfaces razor sharp. Bluetooth pairing for personal headphones is also enabled.

There’s also wireless charging and what looks like USB-C, USB-A and universal mains charging ports accessible on the front of the console table.

It’s not just the seats that get a makeover, either. The video also teases stylish new bathrooms with what appears to be a travertine affect reminiscent of luxury hotels:

Who is behind the Aria Suite?

What remains a mystery is who the seat manufacturer is or which model it is evolved from. When the teaser was published last year, there was widespread speculation that it could be the JPA Design Airtek seat, a new design that it calls “aviation’s lightest seat”.

It uses a monocoque design, where “loads are supported by the skin and shell of the seat, negating the need for much of the internal support structure.” This reduces the weight of the seat and means it is cheaper to fly, with JPA Design estimating that it is 340kg lighter across the entire aircraft.

I spent a good hour or so comparing the Aria Suite with off-the-shelf seats from Safran, Adient, Collins and Stelia. My gut feeling is that this is a customised version of the Collins Elements seat. Aria seems to share elements (!) with other Collins Elements seats including those from Etihad and Starlux. In particular, the long thing armrest, emergency latch on the door and 24″ monitor all match.

With no official confirmation forthcoming, we will have to wait and see exactly what Aria is based on. For now, I’m intrigued as there are some lovely design elements here that appear custom, including the shallow tray storage mechanism.

There’s new Premium Economy and Economy, too

It’s not just business class that’s getting a makeover. New premium economy seats are also being installed, and it looks like Cathay Pacific will significantly increase the size of the cabin from 32 to 48 seats – an increase of 50%.

The new premium economy seats feature winged headrests with built in reading lights, which should be useful for sleeping.

The recline looks generous and comes with an extendable foot rest:

Seats come with the same hi-tech features as up front, including large (for premium economy) 15.6″ 4K screens and Bluetooth pairing, and there’s also a small remote control.

Economy seats are upholstered in an updated and more modern version of Cathay’s iconic green seating:

These also appear to come with decent recline. In addition to a tray table, they appear to feature an intriguing fold out storage compartment complete with cupholder:

Whilst Bluetooth pairing is likely enabled, screens are probably not 4K and there only appears to be a USB-A port.

When will Aria Suite be flying?

Whilst initially revealed as coming in Q2, the latest video only says that the new cabins will launch in 2024.

It is not clear if Cathay Pacific is just managing expectations here or if it is experiencing a delay. Seat supply is a major issue at present, with virtually every airline rollout delayed due to a shortage of availability.

The new cabins are being installed as part of a refurbishment of Cathay Pacific’s Boeing 777-300ER fleet. The airline currently has 39 of these in service with an average fleet age of around 11 years.

Cathay has kept quiet regarding which routes will see the newly refurbished aircraft first, but I imagine it will go on some of its most important routes. I would be shocked if London isn’t one of the first destinations to see the Aria Suite.

These days, it’s very hard to launch anything truly ground-breaking when it comes to business class seating. The industry has reached a level of maturity in both seat geometry and features that means there is little room to innovate.

Nevertheless, Cathay’s Aria Suite looks like it ticks all the boxes functionally, with in-seat storage, an adaptable tray table, personalised lighting and hi-tech features such as Bluetooth pairing, wireless charging and a large 24″ screen.

From a design perspective, it feels much closer to the luxury residential feel of its flagship lounges in Hong Kong and a far cry from the dated greige tones of its old business class. Overall, it is a warmer and more tactile business class seat, with more varied textures and finishes.

In the meantime, you can whet your appetite for Cathay Pacific by reading my reviews:

• Cathay Pacific business class review
• Cathay Pacific The Pier business class lounge review
• Cathay Pacific The Pier first class lounge review (one of the best airline lounges in the world)
• Cathay Pacific The Wing first class lounge review