Is Cathay Pacific’s New Aria Suite Worth the Wait?

Skift Take

The Aria Suite is arguably the year’s most anticipated new business class product. Those hoping for pushing-the-envelope innovation may be disappointed, but this solid product hits all the right notes.

Gordon Smith

“I’ve been pregnant for a very long time, but my baby is finally born,” said Vivian Lo, Cathay Pacific’s head of customer experience and design.

Lo was presenting the airline’s new business class cabin Wednesday evening in a glitzed-up hangar on the fringes of Hong Kong International Airport. The event sought to shake off the final specter of the pandemic, one that haunted the airline until relatively recently.

Executives claim that Cathay was hit harder than almost any other major airline during Covid-19 due to an extended period with strict quarantine rules. In the darkest hours, some industry watchers questioned Cathay’s ability to survive in its present form. 

The new ‘Aria Suite’ is helping the airline regain a sense of confidence missing for more than a decade.

Cathay’s Long-Haul Arrival

The Aria has been in development internally since 2018 and was first teased publicly in August 2023. There was plenty of excitement, but little detail on what it meant for passengers.

Aria-equipped 777s have a total of 361 seats, comprising 45 in business class, 48 in premium economy, and 268 in economy. In real terms, the business cabin retains much of its existing capacity, but that’s a big increase in premium economy seating.

As is customary for new-generation business class products, the Aria has a 1-2-1 configuration. This means all passengers have direct aisle access. Unlike some competitors, Cathay has retained its ‘reverse herringbone’ layout with seats angled to optimize space. 

Other fresh elements include a sliding privacy door, wireless charging, and Bluetooth pairing. Among the other highlights is a 24-inch monitor. Unlike its predecessor, this is in fixed position and boasts a 4K display which somehow manages to be enormous and understated at the same time. 

High Tech, Low Profile

The suite is packed with new-age tech, but much of it isn’t immediately obvious. For Lo, this is by design.

“We’ve done a lot of work to make advanced technology almost invisible because we know a lot of our customers look for travel as an escape. For example, we’re the first airline that has the ability for customers to customize all the settings with just one touch – the seat and the lighting all move together.” The vision, according to Lo is to create “a cocoon oasis of personal space.”

As for the name, Edward Bell, Cathay’s brand and marketing guru, explained the thinking: “You know that experience when you go to the theater and everything is around you – it’s a perfect performance. There’s a great word that describes this, and it’s Aria. We think in business class when everything comes together just right it makes it feel like it’s all a performance just for you,” said Bell.

Despite its (many) notable features, Aria isn’t a completely game-changing product. Cathay is playing it safe with refinements to a much-loved existing formula. Think of it as a fresh twist on a classic.

Just one aircraft currently has the new look, with one refit per month expected over the coming years. The Aria Suite has been more than six years in the making, but it will take almost half as long again before 30 of the airline’s Boeing 777s are equipped with the flagship offering.

Where is Cathay’s Aria Flying?

The first, and for now only, Aria-equipped jet enters passenger service on Friday between Hong Kong and Beijing. It’ll operate shuttles to and from the Chinese capital to boost crew familiarization and identify final snags. The plane is then expected to move onto regional duties before the first long-haul routes begin early next year.

Cathay plans to roster the flagship aircraft on European routes from January. Senior sources within the airline confirmed to Skift that London is due to be the first destination outside Asia to see the new-look jet. Heathrow currently sees five Cathay departures each day and is considered one of its most important long-haul routes. 

A Broader Overhaul

At Wednesday’s launch all eyes were on the Aria, making it easy to miss another major product update. It might lack a theatrical sub-brand, but the airline’s super-sized premium economy cabin has also undergone a big revamp. 

The ‘winged’ design offers a high degree of privacy, even in the relatively dense 2-4-2 seating configuration. Economy has been subtly “refreshed,” a reflection of the fact that the seat design is still relatively new. The overall result is an overhaul that Cathay can confidently describe as top-to-tail.

Last week Boeing announced it is further delaying the launch of its new 777X aircraft. Cathay is a big customer with 21 of the widebody planes on order. Its introduction was originally due to dovetail neatly with the revamped 777-300ERs. That timeline now looks increasingly ambitious and could cause logistical headaches for Cathay in the medium term. It’s a reminder that even the most hyper-efficient airlines can – and do – fall foul of external challenges.

Friday’s entry to service is the end of the chapter, but not the story. As Cathay CCO, Lavinia Lau acknowledges: “The Aria Suite is just the beginning.”

Over the next seven years, the company says it will invest more than HK$100 billion (US$12.9 billion) as part of major modernization efforts. Leveraging a new third runway at its Hong Kong hub, the investment will cover planes, cabin interiors, digital programs, and sustainability initiatives. As Lau puts it: “The aspiration is to become the world’s best premium airline.”

With an all-new first class cabin in the pipeline for the 777Xs, new lounges at key hubs including New York JFK, and deep pockets to pay for it all, Cathay is well placed to realize Lau’s aspiration. External headwinds remain a concern, but for now at least, Aria has greatly improved the mood music.