Flying High: Cathay Pacific Business Class

There’s a reason that you’ll likely elicit “ooh and ahs” if you tell someone that you’re flying on a long-haul flight aboard Cathay Pacific — especially if you’re flying business class. With a well-deserved reputation for impeccable service and attention to detail, the airline’s business class offering promises a prized premium travel experience. Discover just what makes Cathay Pacific’s business class service such a coveted choice among travelers.

First Impressions

From the very moment you arrive at your gate for your flight, you can tell Cathay Pacific prioritizes customer experience. The airline’s thoughtful approach is evident even before boarding. The carrier organizes passengers into separate lines based on their boarding groups, ensuring a smooth and orderly process. Each line is clearly marked and (unlike most airlines) thoroughly spaced apart, preventing confusion and avoiding the chaotic, mob-like scenes often experienced with other airlines. This organized system reflects Cathay Pacific’s commitment to providing a seamless and stress-free experience from the very beginning.

As you step into the business class cabin on the Airbus A350-1000, there’s a welcoming atmosphere. (Keep in mind that business class specifics will differ somewhat depending on the aircraft you’re on). The business cabin’s sleek design, featuring a soothing color palette and subdued lighting, is designed to put you at ease. Soon after settling into your seat, travelers are greeted by friendly and attentive cabin crew, who offer a choice of welcome beverages, including champagne, and provide a refreshing hot towel service. This warm welcome sets the tone for the level of service you can look forward to on the rest of the flight.

Seating

The seating in Cathay Pacific’s business class is a highlight, both for its comfort and their storage features. They are configured in a 1-2-1 seating arrangement. The spacious reverse herringbone seats emphasize both comfort and privacy. However, unless you’re traveling with someone, try to get a window seat, as the two seats in the middle surprisingly lack a divider or partition. If you want some separation from your neighbor your only choice is to leave open the door of the small storage cabinet that houses your water, amenities and headphones. That being said, the seat is far back enough that you still have privacy from your neighbor when not leaning forward.

Every business class seat converts into a fully flat bed, ensuring ample legroom for a restful sleep. The seats feature an impressively large footwell and are equipped with multiple storage compartments a large side console table, and advanced seat controls. The seat controls are intuitive, so you can easily adjust your seating position and lighting.

The seats also feature a retractable armrest that can be lowered for additional space when sleeping. The large, adjustable tray table is perfect for both dining and working, and the personal reading light is a thoughtful touch for those who wish to read without disturbing their neighbors. The USB and plug power outlets are set inside the storage compartment, which can be a bit inconvenient especially as when you plug your phone into the USB outlet the headphones make an annoying static buzzing sound, making it impossible to charge your phone and use the headphones at the same time.

It’s worth noting that Cathay Pacific recently revealed a new ‘Aria Suite’ for its Boeing 777-300ER business cabin that is being progressively introduced. The Aria suites will include personal 24-inch 4K widescreen TVs with Bluetooth connectivity, a curated selection of artwork and high-speed charging ports and wireless charging stations. They will also include partitions between seats.

Food and Drink

It’s not often you hear an airline praised for its palate-pleasing concoctions but Cathay Pacific is especially famous for its bespoke inflight dining. Passengers can enjoy a variety of dishes, that offer a mix of Hong Kong favorites, as well as other Asian and international dishes. The airline has also partnered with Hong Kong’s Michelin-starred restaurant Louise and Michelin-starred restaurant Duddell’s (talk about an elevated meal service!) to present several reimagined French classic dishes.

No matter your food preferences, meals are designed to wow your tastebuds even at 35,000 feet and include dishes like braised Iberico pork belly with bacon jam, braised beef with port wine, and prawns with chili garlic lobster sauce, as well as exquisite desserts like vanilla panna cotta with green apple compote and Persian orange polenta cake. The airline also provides lighter options for those not wanting a full meal, as well as plant forward dishes.

The beverage list is equally as impressive. Cathay Pacific offers an award-winning wine selection meticulously curated to complement its onboard menus. The ever-expanding array of wines is expertly paired to match the diverse inflight cuisines and is sourced from top wine regions around the globe, including France, Italy, Austria, South Africa, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand.

Cathay Pacific has also introduced Chinese wines to its inflight wine selection, showcasing top-tier offerings from renowned Chinese vineyards to complement its diverse onboard menus. It’s quite a unique experience to be able to explore a new and blossoming wine region aboard a plane! Other highlights include freshly brewed coffee (including cappuccino and café latte), non-alcoholic cocktails, the airline’s very own handcrafted pale ale, Betsy, and a refreshing signature drink.

Amenities

The amenities provided in Cathay Pacific’s business class include high-quality noise-canceling headphones, a generous entertainment screen, and a well-stocked amenity kit featuring skincare products by UK luxury brand Bamford. The kit includes essentials such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask, earplugs, and skincare products, all presented in a stylish pouch. The lovely bag comes in four different colors. The inflight entertainment system offers a strong selection of international, multi-language movies, TV shows and games, ensuring there is something for everyone. A surprisingly engaging way to whittle away a few hours is to watch the fascinating live feed from the plane’s tail or underbelly camera. The view is riveting, especially during takeoff and landing.

Wi-Fi is available at a reasonable price, ensuring passengers can stay connected throughout their flight. Additionally, the plush bedding, including a soft mattress pad, duvet, and pillow, ensures a comfortable sleep. When you’re not sleeping, head up to the galley to enjoy delectable snacks like ice cream, caramel popcorn and “anytime” meals like a burger or Chinese roast duck and noodles.

Service

Service on Cathay Pacific’s business class is generally commendable, with attentive and friendly staff. The cabin crew is always more than happy to prepare you a drink or a snack when requested. However, aside from when your order is first taken for a pre-dinner drink and your meals, service is best described as passive, meaning outside of set meals and beverage service, you’ll generally have to request anything additional. You won’t really get frequent passthroughs in the cabin with offers of snacks or beverages. Though, when requested, staff respond in an incredibly friendly and welcoming manner. This more reactive approach to service can be particularly appealing for those who appreciate a minimum amount of disruption in the cabin, especially during sleep time.

Lounge

The Wing First Class Lounge at Hong Kong International Airport is a luxurious sanctuary for Cathay Pacific’s premium passengers. This expansive lounge has exactly what any harried passenger needs to escape the exhausting, nerve-wracking experience of a typical airport.

One of its standout features is the stylish Cabanas, which offer private spaces equipped with large baths (yes, soaker tubs in the airport!), rain showers, day beds, and ample working areas. These Cabanas, along with serviced shower suites stocked with luxury Bamford amenities, ensure passengers can relax or catch up on work in complete privacy and comfort.

In addition to its private relaxation areas, The Wing boasts a range of dining options to cater to different tastes. The lounge includes a full-service restaurant, Haven, with an à la carte menu, a champagne bar, a bar, freshly cooked snacks (including a delicious warm Cuban sandwich) private workstations and plush, comfortable seating. It’s the kind of lounge that succeeds in that most miraculous of accomplishments: making you look forward to a long layover.

Overall, Cathay Pacific’s business class offers a superior travel experience with its comfortable seating, excellent dining, and top-notch amenities, not to mention the indulgent lounges. It certainly deserves its reputation as one of the world’s best business class offerings.