The best (and worst) Cathay Pacific business class seats

Having been a regular visitor to Hong Kong since the late 1990s, with the majority of those flights on Cathay Pacific, I’ve been exposed to pretty much every seat from tip to tail across the CX fleet – especially business class, which has steadily evolved from old-school recliners to spacious lie-flat beds.

And while the all-new Cathay Aria Suite business class is waiting in the wings, Cathay’s current flagship business class – launched in 2010 and given a ‘version 2.0’ finesse in 2016 – still stands up surprisingly well.

Cathay Pacific's next-gen Aria Suites business class.

In fact, Cathay enjoys an exceptionally high degree of what the boffins call ‘product consistency’ across most long-range international flights.

That’s to the benefit of travellers, because there’s no rolling the dice on what type of seat you’ll get – it’s all a 1-2-1 layout with direct aisle access, a fully-flat bed, and a decent degree of personal space and privacy.

That said, with four possible business class seats depending on where you’re flying, here’s how I rate them.

Cathay Pacific's long-range international business class is still a crowd-pleaser.

1. Cathay Pacific A350 business class

At first glance, Cathay’s Airbus A350 business class looks strikingly similar to its 2010-era processor of the A330 and Boeing 777.

Cathay Pacific A350 business class.

That’s with good reason: it’s effectively the same seat, but with the benefit of a smart, carefully-considered makeover – even if many of the improvements won’t be apparent until you step back into the original seat.

Cathay Pacific A350 business class.

Those include a storage compartment just beneath the console shelf, which when closed provides extra knee room as you stretch out on the 1.90m bed.

Cathay Pacific A350 business class.

A fold-up panel adds to bed width on the aisle side, while the arm rest lowers for even more space.

Cathay Pacific A350 business class.

You can stash your shoes under the end of the seat before extending the bed (the shape cupboard of the previous business class was a good idea, but had room only for small shoe sizes).

Other creature comforts: the storage cupboard has a handy netted pouch inside the door of a cupboard which also contains AC and USB-A power outlets, along with a headphone jack for the generously-sized 18.5-inch HD entertainment screen.

Cathay Pacific A350 business class.

Of course, there’s there room for improvement.

Perhaps the most notable is the lack of a divider screen for the paired centre seats, which is yet another reason I always opt for a window seat on Cathay business class flights.

Cathay Pacific A350 business class.

This is being addressed on the new Aria Suites business class, which will also sport mod cons such as USB-C and wireless charging, Bluetooth audio streaming to your own headphones and of course sliding doors for privacy.

But for now, and when you add the benefits of the aircraft itself – the A350’s modern design, quiet interior and jetlag-minimising features such as lower cabin altitude and higher humidity levels – then on any route, this is always the Cathay plane I’ll go for.

2. Cathay Pacific A330, 777 business class

This is a case when ‘second best’ is still pretty good, although be prepared for these older seats to show some signs of wear and tear.

Cathay Pacific's A330 and 777 business class.

The seats themselves have the same ‘bones’ and general lines as Cathay’s A350 business class, they just lack some finesses.

Cathay Pacific's A330 and 777 business class.

There’s a bit less usable space around the seat, and less width when it’s folded down to become a bed.

Cathay Pacific's A330 and 777 business class.

The AC outlet just under the seat controller added to clutter in the old days when some larger laptops were saddled with large brick-like power transformers, but this has become far less an issue as the world moved to slim notebooks with compact adaptors.

Cathay Pacific's A330 and 777 business class.

And none of this is a cardinal sin. If your biggest gripe is that you’re in Cathay’s older business class seat, then your life can’t be that bad to begin with…

3. Cathay Pacific A321neo regional business class

Step onto a Cathay Pacific flight darting between Hong Kong and most of Asia – including mainland China – and you could find yourself on an Airbus A321neo, the most recent addition to Cathay’s fleet.

Cathay Pacific's A321neo business class.

The A321neo is intended for relatively short regional flights around Asia, trips of at most six hours at most, and so it’s equipped with a ‘regional business class seat' to match.

Cathay Pacific's A321neo business class.

This is a recliner rather than a lie-flat bed, although each of the 21”-wide seats reclines into its own fixed shell rather than encroaching on the space of the passenger behind.

With the seat in taxi, take-off and landing mode, there’s ample space for a relaxed stretch – although Cathay’s A321neo business class is one instance where the first row of the cabin, which is up against the bulkhead wall, offers a bit less legroom than the rows behind it.

Legroom in row 10 (left) and 11 & 12 (right) in Cathay Pacific's A321neo business class.

This pinch becomes especially and uncomfortably noticeable once you recline the seat and raise the legrest: here’s how that looked in row 10 during one of my flights.

Row 10 of Cathay Pacific's A321neo business class proves a tight fit when reclining, compared to the two rows behind.

This is why I always choose a seat in row 11 or 12, especially on an early-morning or late-night leg where a catch-up kip will be paramount.

Each business class passenger gets a 15.6" video screen running in 4K resolution – the same as many big screen TVs at home – with a selection of native 4K content loaded onto the inflight entertainment system.

Cathay Pacific's A321neo business class.

And while Cathay provides noise-cancelling headphones, you can have the audio streamed over Bluetooth to your own wireless headphones through a simple pairing process.

High-powered USB-A and USB-C ports beneath the video screen and a universal AC socket at the front of the seat providing a trio of inflight charging options.

4. Cathay Pacific A320, A330, 777 regional business class

This is the previous generation of the newer A321neo regional business class, and it appears on both the older single-aisle A320-series jets and selected Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 twin-aisles.

Some of these A330s will be upgraded to a new lie-flat regional business class from 2026, but for now, here’s what you can expect.

Cathay Pacific's most common regional business class.

This precursor to the A321neo regional business class follows the same principle of recliners rather than lie-flat beds, while the layout also eschews direct aisle access.

Cathay Pacific's most common regional business class.

I actually find these very comfortable for daytime and evening flights around Asia, and they’re well suited whether you want to relax or knock over some work.

Cathay Pacific's most common regional business class.

There are AC and USB-A power outlets, although the tech isn’t quite up to 2024 spec, with a smaller and less vibrant video screen sans Bluetooth audio streaming as you’d find on the Cathay Pacific A321neo.

Also read: Your complete Oneworld lounge guide for Hong Kong