Business Class suites around the world have been levelling up in recent years, but Cathay Pacific has just pulled back the curtain on their latest cabin upgrades and, suffice to say, it’s a winner.
While some US airlines have been ruffling feathers by beginning to remove their business class cabins — sometimes as a response to mounting ‘recline rage’ — Cathay Pacific has, like many long-distance carriers with long-term vision, been investing heavily in upgrading their business class offer as first-class becomes something of a loss-making relic.
This week, it finally gave enthusiasts a peek behind the curtain of its brand-new business class which could be, we reckon, the world’s best at this point in time. The Aria Suite, installed on Cathay’s Boeing 777-300ERs, claims to keep passenger comfort and privacy at front of mind. The new cabins are set to take flight later this year.
Rediscover our Boeing 777-300ER fleet, designed with you in mind.
— Cathay Pacific (@cathaypacific) March 11, 2024
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. pic.twitter.com/xjTDdlfD9A
The Aria Suite, the centrepiece of Cathay’s new business class, claims to offer the ultimate in comfort, privacy, and practicality. Passengers can relax in large lie-flat beds, customise their lighting in a lovely touch of experience personalisation, and enjoy a swathe of intuitive features including smart stowage, high-speed charging ports, and even cutting-edge wireless charging stations.
Further flight personalisation can all be managed from 4K widescreen TVs, allowing flyers to adjust their seat position, check lavatory occupancy, and sync up their inflight entertainment with their travel companion, which makes for a very sweet little extra that honeymooners will love.
What will really hype up die-hard business class fans, however, is the addition of a privacy door to the seat’s wrap-around design, with the sliding partition between seats providing a private hideaway at 30,000 feet that many have long felt business seats are lacking, considering their ever-increasing pricepoint.
“Each material has been hand-selected to create a sense of calm, and every feature has been thoughtfully designed for intuitive use. We’ve given meticulous attention to every detail, no matter how small – and you’ll feel the difference throughout your journey.”
Cathay Pacific
Our friends over at Executive Traveller highlight two aspects of the Aria seats that demonstrate Cathay’s commitment “to further differentiating its business class from the competition”. First is the sliding privacy door which, David Flynn wryly and rightly points out, are “now mandatory” across the sector. Specifically, however, he points to the extended ‘wings’ on the seat which grant an unparalleled level of privacy even when the sliding door is open.
Second is the incredibly high-spec and (quietly) luxurious feel of the design, guided by London’s JPA Design, featuring gentle curves and woodgrain (or, at least, woodgrain-like) surfaces. Developed using JPA’s AirTek platform — known for its robust yet lightweight design — the patented unibody, composite, monocoque structure supports loads “by the skin and shell of the seat, reducing the need for internal support structures”.
This design not only reduces aircraft weight (and therefore ever-increasing fuel costs) but also increases living space and provides additional personal storage, including space for a full-size cabin bag “inside” of the seat.
We think it’s fair to say that with the Aria Suite, Cathay Pacific is setting a new standard in business-class travel, offering an all-round unparalleled experience. However, competitors like United and Singapore have similarly brilliant business products that we could see closing the gap in due course… watch this space.