Cathay Pacific’s all-new Aria Suites business class will begin flying between Sydney and Hong Kong this month, as the upgraded Boeing 777s continue to spread their wings.
And while Cathay’s familiar international business class has always been a solid offering, the Aria Suites dial it up with sliding privacy doors, a massive 24” widescreen TV with Bluetooth audio streaming, and an elegant design framed by premium materials and thoughtful LED suite lighting.
An update to Cathay’s schedule shows the Aria Suites 777 darting between Hong Kong and Sydney five days a week (for now) – on the following flights beginning Monday March 17:
- CX101, Hong Kong to Sydney (11.55pm – 12pm), except Tuesday and Thursday
- CX100, Sydney to Hong Kong (3.15pm – 9.30pm), except Wednesday and Friday
As of Monday March 30, the Aria Suites 777 changes to the following flights:
- CX161, Hong Kong to Sydney (9.20pm – 9.35am), except Thursday and Sunday
- CX162, Sydney to Hong Kong (11.05am – 5.30pm), except Friday and Monday
Behind the 45 private business class suites are 48 also-new premium economy recliners and two dedicated premium economy washrooms, one on each side of the cabin.
With the Aria Suites 777 already flying daily to London Heathrow, “our intention is to spread the love,” Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau told Executive Traveller this week.
The 9-hour route between Sydney and Hong Kong will provide passengers with ample time to put Aria Suites to the real-world test, especially on the overnight legs of CX101 and CX161.
And if you like Cathay’s current business class, you’ll almost certainly love the new Aria Suite. Here are our top take-aways.
A unique suite
The Aria Suite is built on the same foundations of Collins Aerospace’ Elevate and Elements products – seen in the latest business class of British Airways, Etihad Airways, Starlux and Malaysia Airlines, along others.
But Cathay Pacific and London’s JPA Design have transformed this platform into a truly bespoke business class that’s not quite like anything else.
In many ways the Aria Suite is a highly evolved version of Cathay’s current and still-great Boeing 777, A330 and A350 business class (similar to how carmakers have reimagined classics like the Mini, VW Beetle and Fiat 500).
For example, Cathay retained the popular layout which has passengers angled away from the aisle, along with a convenient bench-top and a cabinet with a handy mirror inside the door.
But the shell surrounding the seat – as well as the sliding door – is gently, elegantly curved, which adds a pleasing organic feel compared to the straight lines and sharp angles of some other suites.
Everything about the Aria Suite is subtle: no bling, no shouty design which draws attention.
In some cases it’s almost too subtle – there’s no visual cue for the wireless charging spot, nor for that portion of the bench which slides to reveal a concealed nook for your valuables.
The in-suite LED lighting is similarly soft and thoughtfully located (there’s even illumination for the footwell), with as little or as much dimming as you wish – including what Lo describes as “halo lighting” running along the inner shell behind the seat.
Cathay describes the Aria Suite’s aesthetic of “quiet luxury” which is reflected in the neutral yet warm colour scheme and quality materials.
The seats swap Cathay’s signature green for a soft wheat, although still shot through with a little sage, which compliments the much darker olive of the leather headrests.
The split-level laminate benchtops tastefully mimic woodgrain and marble, with other surfaces in cream.
The interior of the suite is lined with rich soft ‘ultrasuede’, while the exterior shell – clad in what Cathay terms marble – picks up the overhead cabin lighting.
Privacy, even with the door closed
Cathay’s angled business class layout has always offered a degree of privacy from crew and fellow passengers, but the Aria Suite goes all-in.
Each seat is framed by 1.25m high wrap-around wall, so even with the very on-trend sliding door open this is very much your own space.
There’s a slight but deliberate gap between the lightweight door panel and the housing of the seat in front, so the two don’t bump up hard against each other – juist don’t expect the reassuringly solid thunk of the Qsuite.
As with most business class suites, the doors are less about delivering ultimate privacy and more about creating a cosy little nest above the clouds.
Cosy comfort above the clouds
The seat itself is 50cm wide and feels softer than its predecessors – no doubt the woven wool covering plays a part in this – with extra room when the infinitely-adjustable armrest is pushed all the way down.
There’s no squeeze at the shoulders, unless you’ve been seriously hitting the gym, so you can sink right into this seat, give it a good recline and relax.
When the seat is fully reclined into flatbed mode there’s a total of 195cm from the top of the headrest to the footwell.
That said, the end of the ‘bed’ and the footwell itself is more cramped than Cathay’s current business class, which could be especially an issue for those with plus-sized plods.
Space and storage
The Aria Suite’s design and the seating angle deliver a real sense of personal space, more so that seats which face straight ahead.
And while the split-level benchtop is an obvious place to park your laptop or tablet, magazines or work documents, Marie Kondo would approve of how the suite’s clever nooks discourage clutter.
That includes a side-cabinet where you’ll find the headphones (easily relocated if you’re in BYO mode) and a water bottle holder; a hidden recess for your phone, passport, watch or glasses; and a wide, deep pocket for your shoes, amenity kit, tech bag or small clutch.
However, the storage compartment isn’t large enough to take even a 13″ laptop, which you’d think would be the minimum standard in business class
The big picture
You can’t fully appreciate the Aria Suite’s 24” widescreen TV until you’re sitting facing it.
It’s not just the sheer size – which is about as large as you’d want, given the viewing distance, and for some passengers it’ll be just too big – but also the sharp detail of the 4K display.
Whereas Cathay’s previous business class had the screen mounted on a swing-out arm, Aria’s monitor is fixed into the seating module to face the passenger so that movies and TV shows can be enjoyed on a ‘gate-to-gate’ basis.
The inflight system is evolved from Cathay’s current A350 user interface, with added features and refinement.
While noise-cancelling headphones are supplied, audio streaming pairs to your own favourite Bluetooth headphones or earbuds.
And there’s a hidden bonus: during the 777 refit, Cathay is upgrading each plane’s forward and downward video cameras to HD spec for a super-detailed view – as illustrated in the photo below, snapped during the media launch at the 777’s hanger.
Where’s the loo?
No more half-standing up in your seat to try and find where the toilets are, let alone to see if one is vacant.
Aria’s informative IFE screen shows the location of your seat and the toilets and which loos are available.
So not only does the 777 have new washrooms – the business class ones are especially spacious, with soft lighting rather than harsh glare – but a sensor relays their status (vacant or occupied) back to the inflight system.
This brilliant innovation isn’t restricted to business class: it’s also available on the seat-back screens in the premium and economy cabins.
Smart seat presets
Beyond individual control for the seat and in-suite lighting, Cathay has identified five activities or ‘modes’: watching video, working, relaxing, dining and sleeping.
Each has a unique combination of the optimum seat position and lighting which come into play with one tap on the touchscreen.
“There are all sorts of airline advancements in terms of the seats or suites, everyone has a door and big TV, but it’s the execution that makes the difference,” says Vivian Lo, the driving force behind Cathay’s growing family of suites and seats, as well as inflight dining and lounges.
“With one touch, I can choose Movie (mode)… in two seconds the seat, the lighting is optimised to be the best experience,” Lo tells Executive Traveller.
If you’d like to fine-tune any of those presets, that can be saved for the remainder of your flight.
Now, if only Cathay could match your seat to your frequent flyer number and then let those customisations be saved for your next Aria Suites journey…
Fly solo or be sociable
The Aria Suite fixes one shortcoming of Cathay’s current business class: it adds a divider between the paired middle seats.
Leave it in place if you’re flying solo, or slide it open if you’re travelling with your partner or a friend.
The angle of the seats means you still need to lean forward a little to chat and exchange meaningful glances.
Small touches
Finally, there are so many little things that make the journey better.
A touch-sensitive panel built into the side of the bench, above a second armrest, puts seat and lighting controls at your fingertips – and it’s surrounded by an extruded frame to help you avoid accidentally tapping a button with your hand or wrist.
The deep tray table that slides out from beneath the 24” monitor can be left in any position, rather than just one or two fixed presets, with a channel into which you can park your phone or laptop.
Cathay is steadily revamping its Boeing 777s to Aria Suite spec, with each jet going under the knife for one month before emerging from the maintenance hangar, so more destinations – including across Asia-Pacific, North America and Europe – are set for an Aria upgrade this year.
Source: https://www.executivetraveller.com/news/cathay-new-777-aria-suites-business-class-sydney
