Cathay Pacific finished retrofitting their B777-300ER fleet with an updated business class cabin on August 29, 2012. I had flown an award with them just weeks before the retrofit, so now almost two years later, I had not yet experienced the “new” business…which I guess isn’t so new anymore. However, it’s still one of the best business class products out there and the service on board is phenomenal too. This is part two of a thirteen part trip report from my third and most recent trip back to Thailand.
- British Airways Terraces Lounge JFK
- Cathay Pacific Business Class JFK – Hong Kong (HKG) B777-300ER
- The Bridge, Cathay Pacific’s Newest Lounge at Hong Kong (HKG)
- Cathay Pacific Business Class HKG – BKK (Bangkok) A340
- W Bangkok
- JW Marriott Bangkok
- Sand Sea Resort – Railay Beach
- JW Marriott Phuket
- Thai Royal Orchid Lounge Bangkok (BKK) Concourse E
- Thai Royal Silk Lounge Bangkok (BKK) Concourse E
- Asiana Airlines Business Class BKK-ICN (Seoul) A330-300
- Asiana Lounge Business Class ICN (Seoul)
- Asiana Airlines Smartium Business Class ICN-JFK B777-300
Regionally Related:
- Le Méridien Bangkok
- W Retreat Koh Samui, Thailand
- Singapore Airlines SQ 21 – Newark (EWR) to Singapore (SIN) – All Business Class on the Longest Flight in the World!
- The St. Regis Singapore
- Le Méridien Angkor
Boarding – Terminal 7 JFK
The business cabin – paintings by Hong Kong artist Maria Lobo
Many frequent fliers and passengers used to complain about Cathay’s previous business class cabin, referred to officially as Olympus but affectionally 😉 as “the coffin”. They didn’t like the narrow / claustrophobic feeling of the older seat (I never minded it and liked the privacy when traveling alone..though at 5′ 11″ it wasn’t uncomfortable for me). Many also complained that they didn’t like the cabin set up, facing out towards their neighbors or the fact that they were turned away from the windows when seated on the sides….
The new seats in a 1-2-1 configuration are wider and face towards the windows on the sides and in towards the center when seated in the middle.
Here’s a quick chart comparing the details:
From Cathay’s website:
More Flexibility – The Business Class seat features up to 11 inches of travel. Move the seat back for privacy or forward to converse with your traveling companion. A precision toggle allows you to adjust the seat position to fit your mood and posture.
Longer Bed – The new, fully flat bed is just over 82 inches long. A bed extension increases its width by 6.5 inches to provide additional hip support, while the side storage compartment offers extra knee space for sleeping on your side. For sleeping, you may choose to leave your armrest up for more privacy, or down for more space.
Lots of Storage (Vanity Mirror, Gadget Storage, Privacy Divider) – Increased personal storage space. The side cabinet houses not only your headset and a vanity mirror, but has room for small items such as glasses and gadgets – and the cabinet door doubles as a privacy divider.
A 15.4 inch touch-screen personal TV with StudioCX and a library of 100 on-demand movies, and 500 TV shows. A noise-canceling headset is also provided (think Delta’s not AA’s Bose set). For takeoff you can choose the outside camera or the moving map.
The entertainment control panel also includes connections for your own devices and the ability to stream audio and video content to your personal TV display. There is also a USB port for charging.
Amenity Kits by Jurlique
The menu included brunch followed by dinner with on-demand snack ordering in between.
Brunch – Smoothie, cereal, yogurt, and stir-fried egg noodles with beef.
Snacks were placed in the galley but the hot snacks could be ordered directly from a flight attendant…and by the way there was one walking up and down the aisle at all times.
I get hungry mid-flight to Asia and so you’ll see many of the available snacks below – roasted duck in noodle soup, chimichanga with guacamole and sour cream, and Haagen Dazs (foreign airlines seem to love this snack in First and Business).
Dinner time…smoked duck breast to start with stir-fried scallops with garlic sauce, egg fried rice, and a hazelnut praline passion fruit dessert. Great service with the ability to pick each dish from the cart that was brought to your seat. The scallops were awesome by the way.
The fully flat bed – full size pillows and a very comfy duvet. You are only given one pillow but a flight attendant proactively asked me if I wanted another…Wow!
Bathroom:
The “new” seat and cabin are great – I loved the ample storage space right at my seat – enough room for my sneakers, iPhone, MacBook Air, amenity kit, and Nook. The bed itself was extremely comfortable and the food was excellent. Though it wasn’t Cathay First, the attentiveness was just as good. Someone was constantly in the aisle to see if anyone wanted snacks or drinks. The 15.4 inch TV had excellent clarity and a huge movie library (with tons of new releases). As always, Cathay business (and first) are a fantastic use of miles with generally excellent availability.
Related – Cathay Pacific First Class Trip Report – My Favorite FC Trip Ever???
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23 comments
I think you have the old and new reversed in your chart
@Shane – Thanks, fixed!
Hi Adam,
Nice review! We’ll be on this flight in August.
In your chart where you compared the details of the new busn class with the old, is it possible you mixed up the two? Otherwise, it sounds like the dimensions of the older seats are better.
@Craig – yep they were mixed up! I must have changed them as your comment came in. Have a great flight and enjoy the seat and service!
I think the chart comparing the new business class to the previous business class is backwards…no?
Sorry apparently previous comments weren’t displaying before i submitted mine.
CX Reverse Herringbone or JAL Sky Suite? Which one takes the cake for you?
@Airjus – Definitely the JAL Sky Suite – by far my favorite business class product!
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