How to get a free upgrade to Cathay’s ‘regional first class’

Cathay Pacific is adding a bit of ‘surprise and delight’ to regional flights with the return of lie-flat first class seats.

The good news is that they don’t cost a cent more than the business class recliners on the same planes – savvy flyers, including Cathay Diamond members, can choose these primo pews during the regular advance seat selection process.

(That option may also become available to lesser mortals when online check-in opens 24-48 hours before the flight.)

However, while this first class flatbed is superior in every way to Cathay’s familiar regional business class, the meals and service are exactly the same as enjoyed by. every other business class passenger.

Cathay Pacific's A330 regional business class.

The reason for this arrangement is that as Cathay Pacific continues to rebuild itself after the pandemic years, the airline is bringing back to the skies four Airbus A330s once flown by its former regional arm Cathay Dragon.

Many Executive Traveller readers will have flown on Cathay Dragon – which until 2016 was known as Dragonair – from Hong Kong to mainland China and the Asian region.

The Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon tails used to commonplace at Hong Kong airport.

Cathay Dragon was shut down and folded into Cathay Pacific in late 2020 – in much the same way as Singapore Airlines did with SilkAir – and across the years that followed, Cathay took over Cathay Dragon’s regional routes as well as its red-tailed jets.

Four of those jets are Airbus A330s which Cathay Dragon fitted out with both first class and business class, to serve its most premium routes.

The Cathay Dragon / Dragonair first class seat was identical to Cathay Pacific’s own international business class from 2010, and still flown today on most Boeing 777s, except for minor details of trim and finish.

Look familiar? Cathay Dragon's A330 first class was identical to Cathay Pacific's A330 business class.

These regional first class seats raised the bar from business class in every way: from privacy, personal space and the size of the video screen, to becoming a fully lie-flat bed.

Behind them are ranked rows of Cathay’s standard regional business class, arranged in a 2-2-2 layout, which is familiar to many travellers making short hops around Asia.

Cathay Pacific's regional twin-aisle business class recliners.

These four ex-Cathay Dragon A330s were among the hundreds of jets parked at Alice Springs to wait out the global pandemic, where the dry desert air and cool nights made for near-perfect storage conditions.

Earlier this year, a Cathay Pacific spokesperson confirmed to Executive Traveller that “four A330-300 aircraft which were previously parked at Alice Springs during the pandemic will progressively re-enter service from the second quarter of 2025. These aircraft will be deployed on regional routes.”

The first of those four jets is now darting between Hong Kong and Taiwan – specifically Taipei and Kaohsiung – with seats redressed in updated fabrics with a softer wheatgrass colour scheme, in line with Cathay’s newer business class branding.

And if you’re booked in business class on one of these ex-Cathay Dragon A330s, you might be able to swap from a business class recliner to a ‘first class’ seat.

Fancy an upgrade from Cathay's regional business class recliner to a first class flatbed?

Cathay Pacific has confirmed those former first class flatbed seats will be sold as business class – at the exact same price as the recliners – and “customers may select their seats based on the fare type and their Cathay membership tier prior to departure.”

That “Cathay membership tier” would typically be the top Diamond level, although it’s not known if the same seat selection perk would be extended to Oneworld Emeralds (such as Qantas Platinum and Platinum One frequent flyers).

Here’s what to look for: while all Cathay Dragon A330s number their business class cabin from row 10, those jets with first class added eight flatbed seats at rows 1 and 2.

So if the seat map of your upcoming regional Cathay Pacific A330 flight shows rows 1 and 2, click on any of those seats for a markedly better ride.

Also on the A330 front, Cathay Pacific has now chosen a new lie-flat regional business class seat which will launch in 2026 and replace those recliners.

Cathay is also scoping out the business class options for its forthcoming Airbus A330neo fleet, with 30 jets due for the Hong Kong hangars between 2028 and 2031.

Also read: The big changes coming to Cathay’s Hong Kong lounges