Cathay Pacific brings new Aria Suites Business Class to Singapore

In October 2024, Cathay Pacific launched the Aria Suite, its highly-anticipated new Business Class seat, along with a redesigned Premium Economy seat. These upgrades will be progressively installed on the airline’s fleet of 30 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, with the entire retrofit expected to be completed by 2027. 

The Aria Suite is a replacement for the Cirrus Business Class seat, first introduced in 2010 and given a minor refresh in 2016 for the launch of the Airbus A350. While the Cirrus seat isn’t terrible by any means, it’s starting to show its age, especially as more airlines transition to enclosed suites in Business Class.

The first retrofitted B777-300ER debuted on the Hong Kong to Beijing route, and long-haul service to London began at the end of January 2025.

With three such aircraft now in the fleet (B-KPO, B-KPF, B-KQH), Cathay Pacific finally has enough airframes to send one to Singapore, and for the month of February, we can experience the new cabin products on flights to Hong Kong!

Cathay Pacific brings Aria Suites to Singapore 

Cathay Pacific has started flying a retrofitted Boeing B777-300ER aircraft on the Singapore to Hong Kong route, operating as CX734/739.

This is scheduled for flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays till the end of February 2025. Retrofitted B777-300ERs can be identified by the “77J” moniker, an internal designation Cathay uses to denote aircraft with the Aria Suites.

From 1 March 2025, CX734/739 reverts to a regular Boeing 777-300ER daily, though there’s always the possibility the deployment gets extended!

The easiest way to know if you’re on an aircraft with Aria Suites, apart from looking at Cathay’s designation, is to count the number of Business Class seats. If you count 45 seats, you definitely have the Aria Suite.

How much do award redemptions cost?

Here’s an idea of how much it costs to redeem Business, Premium Economy and Economy Class awards between Singapore and Hong Kong.

✈️ One-way Award Costs
FFP	J	PY	Y
	50,000	32,500	25,000
	22,500	20,000	17,500
	28,000	20,000	10,000
	32,500	23,400	14,300
	22,000	16,500	11,000
J= Business, PY= Premium Economy, Y= Economy

The cheapest Business Class awards are available through Qatar Privilege Club, at 22,000 Avios each way. Even better, Cathay Pacific redemptions via Qatar Privilege Club don’t have fuel surcharges included (though they’re minimal on this route anyway at ~S$30 each way). 

However, you’ll find better award space through Cathay’s own Asia Miles programme, which costs 28,000 miles each way.

If you’re looking to try Premium Economy, Qatar Privilege Club again offers the best value at 16,500 Avios each way. However, Qatar’s website does not allow you to redeem Premium Economy awards, so you’ll have to fill out a partner award request form and wait for a reply. There’s no guarantee those seats won’t vanish in the interim!

To avoid the hassle, it might be worth paying an additional 3,500 miles to book through Asia Miles at 20,000 miles each way. 

I was able to find a decent number of Business and Premium Economy Class seats on the 734/739 pairing throughout February, and have booked a trip for later in the month to review these products. Stay tuned!

What can you expect on Cathay’s retrofitted B777-300ERs?

Cathay Pacific has a total of 361 seats on its refitted B777-300ER aircraft, divided into three cabins.

The seat map for the 77J can be found below. 

Business Class

Business Class is obviously the headline-grabber here, with 45 Aria Suites in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration. This offers all passengers direct aisle access, regardless of where they’re seated.

The seats are based on the Collins Aerospace Elements platform, which can also be found on Starlux’s A350s and Etihad’s B787-9s. Cathay has added its own customisations, of course, using a neutral colour palette of cream and taupe rather than their signature green. 

Each seat has a privacy door, which together with the high seatback shells and adjustable dividers between centre seats, should offer a good amount of isolation.

Seats can be converted into full flat beds, with the armrest also lowering to bed-level to provide additional width. Passengers on long-haul flights will receive premium bedding and Bamford amenity kits. 

The seat has several “activity modes”, with passengers able to choose from pre-set movie, work, relax, dine and sleep modes. This will adjust the seat position and lighting to best suit the activity. 

Seat storage is provided through a cubby built into the seatback shell, which pops open to reveal an integrated vanity mirror. A panel in the armrest slides back to uncover a shallow crevice, good for storing loose items.

Wireless charging is available for mobile devices, as are universal power plugs, USB-A and USB-C ports. Cathay Pacific made Wi-Fi free for all Business Class passengers in September 2024.

Each seat has a 24-inch 4K inflight entertainment screen, 50% larger than the 16-inch displays previously used. This is, quite simply, massive. For comparison, the Qatar Airways Qsuite is “only” 21.5-inches wide, and Singapore Airlines uses an 18-inch screen on its long-haul Business Class. The monitors are fixed in place, unlike the swiveling versions found on other Cathay aircraft, which means you can watch them gate-to-gate without the need for stowing. 

Guests can connect their own Bluetooth headsets to the inflight entertainment system, with Cathay teasing the ability to sync up entertainment with a travel companion, allowing a couple to share a movie together. 

If you prefer to watch your own entertainment instead, the tray table comes with a tablet stand.

The upgrades aren’t limited to just the seats; Cathay has also installed new lavatories with wood panelling and its signature Bamford amenities.

Premium Economy Class

Cathay Pacific has installed an all-new Premium Economy Class cabin on its retrofitted B777-300ERs, increasing the capacity from 32 to 48 passengers. 

The redesigned seats have large privacy wings around the headrest, with a built-in adjustable reading light.

Seat recline looks very generous, though initial reports suggest it can be a problem if the passenger in front decides to make full use of it.

Premium Economy passengers enjoy 15.6-inch 4K inflight entertainment screens, another big upgrade from the previous 10.6-inch models.

The soft product has also been enhanced, with the addition of prosecco and meals created by restaurant partners Pirata and Veda.

Economy Class

Cathay Pacific has not installed new seats in Economy Class, but has added new upholstery during the retrofit.

Expect a 3-4-3 configuration (for comparison, Singapore Airlines has 3-3-3 in Economy on the B777-300ER) with 11.6-inch personal inflight displays, 31-inch seat pitch and 6-inch seat recline.

Each seat has its own universal power socket and USB-A ports. 

Conclusion

Cathay Pacific has brought its Aria Suites to Singapore for February 2025, together with its new Premium Economy Class seat. This will operate the CX734/739 service on every day except Tuesday and Thursday, and Business Class awards start from 22,000 miles. 

Granted, a 4-hour flight to Hong Kong might not be the best way to experience this seat, but if you just want to geek out, or if you’re hoping to do a review of Cathay’s latest and greatest (like me!), then I’d start snapping up those awards. 

Are you planning to try the Aria Suites?