On Board Cathay Pacific’s New Aria Suite from HKG to LHR

DALLAS — Good evening from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). I am returning home after a long experience with Cathay Pacific (CX). Flight CX255 to London Heathrow Airport (LHR) is served by CX’s latest cabin, which includes the brand-new Aria Suite in business class.

The new cabin has been flying regularly to LHR and Sydney International Airport (SYD) and other medium-haul destinations in Asia. On this journey, I would try the Aria Suite for the first time as a guest of Cathay Pacific.

The cabin features 46 business-class seats divided into two main cabins.

The Aria Suite

Presented in October 2024, CX’s refreshed cabin product incorporates clever design choices with the latest tech. Rolled out on the Boeing 777-300ER, the new suite includes a 24” 4K in-flight entertainment screen, wireless charging, optimized storage, and sliding doors.

The design is based on a classic reverse herringbone layout, with all front-facing seats, and brings many innovations over the product it replaces. The new cabin has since received positive feedback across the industry, introducing new features which we will cover in detail in this trip report.

Together with the Aria Suite, the airline also launched a refreshed version of its Premium Economy and Economy class products. The former features a refreshed colour scheme, large 15.6” 4K in-flight entertainment screens, and improved amenities over the traditional economy class product.

Airport Experience

I arrived at the airport by bus. Upon reaching Hong Kong Airport’s T1, I immediately noticed the golden hour departures from runway 07R and enjoyed some plane spotting from outside the terminal with fellow aviation enthusiasts.

I then checked in; CX operates its check-in lines, and the business class experience only took a few minutes. At check-in, I was handed my boarding pass and the written lounge invitation. Similarly, security took just a few moments, after which I found myself at the entrance of The Wing, First, one of the two first-class lounges in Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific operates five lounges in its hub. Business class passengers can access The Pier, The Wing, and The Deck. These three lounges are far apart, making it convenient for passengers to minimize the lounge-gate distance. I covered my transit experience in more depth in a different article.

Welcome Aboard

Our flight, CX255, boarded from gate 7, on the right side of the terminal, and close to the Bridge lounge. Despite the late-night rush hour, the gate area offers enough seating space for passengers. Different boarding lines are found as expected, with passengers with special needs boarding before anyone else.

I boarded from door 1L. Once on board, I was warmly greeted by the cabin manager and proceeded to my seat, 22A, a window suite at the end of the second business class cabin. My first impression of the cabin was more than positive; the new color scheme and lines return a cosy feeling, which is fully embodied by the seat.

Cathay Pacific also redesigned the galley area, which now includes a different and unique art piece on each aircraft, providing a rather unusual and warm welcome to its guests.

At my seat, I found the green Bamford amenity kit, a pillow, the bedding kit, a pair of slippers, the dining, drinks, and breakfast menus, and the in-flight magazine. Headphones and a bottle of water were inside the upper store compartment, which houses the audio output and a mirror embedded in its door.

The amenity kit is nicely sized and packed with goodies, and I particularly appreciate the different colors it comes in and its reusability as a beauty case.

After a welcome drink, we taxied to the runway for our northbound takeoff, during which we could appreciate the view from two cameras, equipped at the front of the aircraft, another addition in the cabin retrofitting process.

In-depth Seat Tour

The star of this trip report is the seat itself, so let’s jump to it immediately. Before dinner, I explored the seat more deeply, going through every little detail and duly taking notes. While I particularly liked the A350-1000 product, the Aria Suite is above CX’s previous cabin iteration. 

First things first: the design. The warm and cozy color palette contrasts with the light console top, the seat’s headrest, and the IFE area. The shapes and lines are consistent with each other and well integrated into the many functionalities introduced here.

A larger console now provides more storage space, with the upper side covered in marble-like materials and the lower housing a hidden storage compartment. The Aria Suite introduced arguably the highest number of dedicated lights in an aircraft cabin. Each light can be controlled through the main IFE screen or a separate panel under the large console.

The main light element, above the console, houses most of the individual lights, which serve different purposes such as illuminating a hotspot on the table, on the seat, and more. One more light is found in the storage cabinet and is automatically operated. Two more lights are found in the footrest and behind the seat.

Together with the light controls, the lower panel’s interface houses seat controls and displays the remaining flight time in a tastefully designed interface.

The generously sized tray table is stored underneath the IFE screen. A smaller portion folds towards the passenger, with its junctions hidden and integrating well into the cabin’s design.

One important addition is the privacy door. This is automatically locked for taxiing, take-off, and landing to ensure safety. Once cruising, the lock is released, and the door can be closed, granting excellent privacy from anyone walking in the corridor.

On the other hand, the suite’s privacy is already excellent thanks to the large walls, the fact that all seats are facing away from the aisle, and the semi-staggered configuration.

Three lavatories are available in business class, two at the front and one between the cabins. The front ones are positioned between the galley and the cockpit entrance and are standard-sized, while the rear one provides enough space to comfortably change and has a changing table for infants.

Once locked, the lavatories provide an input to the in-flight entertainment, which flags them as in use. The lavatories have also been restyled and feature full doors rather than bi-folds. Bamford amenities are available in the lavatories.

Last but not least, the Aria suite is equipped with two USB-C chargers, one USB-A charger, and a universal power outlet, positioned conveniently outside the storage cabinet. Similarly to most next-generation seats, wireless charging is also enabled on the side table, and it works brilliantly with my phone.

Dinner Service

Supper started around one hour after takeoff. On this flight, dishes are offered in collaboration with several restaurants. The beverage menu is quite impressive, too, with a great selection of signature drinks, cocktails, and more. CX has also included a special wine list, featuring wines from lesser-known producers.

I decided to go with Duddell's and chose the braised beef from their signature menu. The meat was sweet and tender, served with rice and broth to enhance its flavor, a selection of breads, and wine pairings.

As I was pretty tired, I opted to skip the cheese and dessert courses to get some sleep. I reclined my seat and made the bed. The large bedding kit includes a mattress and a lovely, thick blanket. The bed’s area is further enhanced by the right armrests, which can be reclined at the same height as the mattress to increase the sleeping space on the right side.

On the left, more space is added by the storage cabinet and the ottoman at the end. Combined with the seat’s large width, the bedding experience allowed me some much-needed rest, sleeping almost nine hours without interruptions.

In-Flight-Entertainment

After experiencing the in-flight entertainment on the Airbus A350-1000 for several hours, I was left with the impression that the only missing detail was a search function.

Together with more globally famous additions such as the toilet occupancy indicator, the new IFE system incorporates the much-needed search functionality, which is extremely useful for navigating the endless movie and TV series offerings.

The 4K screen is in a league of its own. The panel is bright, responsive, and spectacularly defined. This can be controlled by another touchscreen remote stored on the outer wall of the cabinet. This remote can also be used to visualize the in-flight map, as a joypad for playing games, or as a generic IFE remote controller.

Compared to the A350-1000 experience, the IFE also includes a thoughtfully designed interface to control the seat position, with a series of presets or via individual control, and adjust the many cabin lights. The animation and graphics are intuitive and provide a responsive adjustment experience.

Wi-Fi

WiFi was made available shortly after take-off, and was enabled almost until touchdown in LHR. The service is complimentary for business class passengers and allowed me to reach speeds of up to 30 mb/s while never disconnecting.

Breakfast

Around 2:30 hours before landing, breakfast service started. Instead of opting for any of the actual breakfast choices, I treated myself to the last shrimp noodles, which came with a selection of pastries, fruit, and drinks.

I had my final espresso of this journey as we descended into London Heathrow, approaching the Channel before flying north of London in a glorious morning light.

Conclusion

We touched down on runway 09L, carrying out a parallel approach with other wide-bodies in the early morning rush hour. Taxing took only a few minutes, after which we parked at LHR’s T3, home to some airlines in the oneworld Alliance.

All in all, only a few airlines have successfully developed their own seat designs, and those are arguably regarded as the best hard products.

The Aria Suite is a sleek, future-proofed experience in the skies and ranks amongst the best seats in the world. The seat itself fully embodies the “quiet luxury” concept that Cathay Pacific aimed to achieve, with new clever touches and improved comfort and details over the product it replaces.

The improvement is aesthetic and functional: almost all the “criticalities” found in the previous product are solved in the new Aria suite. The digital, on-ground, and on-board service and experience are up to par with the elevated hard product.

The Aria suite is available on flights CX255 and CX250, both night flights. After landing, our aircraft would be parked for around twelve hours, awaiting its departure from LHR at 6:20 pm local time.

Stay connected at every stop along your journey! Get any Saily mobile data plan at 5% off with the code AIRWAYSMAG5 + up to 5GB free!