10 things you’ll love about Cathay’s Aria Suites business class

Cathay’s next-generation Aria Suites business class takes wing this week, on the first of 30 Boeing 777 jets to be given a tip-to-tail makeover.

Six years in the making – with a pandemic pause right in the middle – the Aria Suites will extend across all Cathay 777s by 2027.

Each jet will go under the knife for one month before emerging from the maintenance hangar with 45 of the private business class suites, followed by 48 also-new premium economy recliners and 268 standard economy seats.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

For the first few months Cathay is expected to fly the upgraded 777s on short hops to Beijing and Shanghai, before taking on a premium long-range route to Europe (tipped to be London) in January 2025.

As more of the refurb’d birds are rolled out from 2025 they’ll appear on other popular routes like Australia, New Zealand, North America and Dubai.

“When we launch a destination, we would like to launch daily,” says Vivian Lo, the driving force behind Cathay’s growing family of suites and seats, as well as inflight dining and lounges.

“For a long-haul destination you need three aircraft, so next year there will be a ramp-up plan as we get more aircraft.”

Executive Traveller toured the first ‘rebooted and suited’ 777 ahead of its inaugural flight.

And if you like Cathay’s current business class, you’ll almost certainly love the new Aria Suite. Here are our ten top take-aways.

1. A unique suite

The Aria Suite is built on the same foundations of Collins Aerospace’ Elevate and Elements products – seen in the latest business class of British Airways, Etihad Airways, Starlux and Malaysia Airlines, along others.

But Cathay Pacific and London’s JPA Design have transformed this platform into a truly bespoke business class that’s not quite like anything else.

In many ways the Aria Suite is a highly evolved version of Cathay’s current and still-great Boeing 777, A330 and A350 business class (similar to how carmakers have reimagined classics like the Mini, VW Beetle and Fiat 500).

Cathay Pacific's current 'classic' business class.

For example, Cathay retained the popular layout which has passengers angled away from the aisle, along with a convenient bench-top and a cabinet with a handy mirror inside the door.

Cathay Pacific's current 'classic' business class.

But the shell surrounding the seat – as well as the sliding door – is gently, elegantly curved, which adds a pleasing organic feel compared to the straight lines and sharp angles of some other suites.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

Everything about the Aria Suite is subtle: no bling, no shouty design which draws attention.

In some cases it’s almost too subtle – there’s no visual cue for the wireless charging spot, nor that portion of the bench which slides to reveal a concealed nook for your valuables.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

The in-suite LED lighting is similarly soft and thoughtfully located (there’s even illumination for the footwell), with as little or as much dimming as you wish – including what Lo describes as “halo lighting” running along the inner shell behind the seat.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

Cathay describes the Aria Suite’s aesthetic of “quiet luxury” which is reflected in the neutral yet warm colour scheme and quality materials.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

The seats swap Cathay’s signature green for a soft wheat, although still shot through with a little sage, which compliments the much darker olive of the leather headrests.

The split-level laminate benchtops tastefully mimic woodgrain and marble, with other surfaces in cream. 

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

The interior of the suite is lined with rich soft ‘ultrasuede’, while the exterior shell – clad in what Cathay terms marble – picks up the overhead cabin lighting.

2. Privacy

Cathay’s angled business class layout has always offered a degree of privacy from crew and fellow passengers, but the Aria Suite goes all-in.

Each seat is framed by 1.25m high wrap-around wall, so even with the very on-trend sliding door open this is very much your own space.

There’s a slight but deliberate gap between the lightweight door panel and the housing of the seat in front, so the two don’t sit hard and rattle against each other – just don’t expect the reassuringly solid thunk of the Qsuite door.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

As with most business class suites, the doors are less about delivering ultimate privacy and more about creating a cosy little nest above the clouds. 

3. Comfort 

The seat itself is 50cm wide (the same as Cathay’s current A350 business class) and feels softer than its predecessors – no doubt the woven wool covering plays a part in this – with extra room when the infinitely-adjustable armrest is pushed all the way down.

There’s no squeeze at the shoulders, unless you’ve been seriously hitting the gym, so you can sink right into this seat, give it a good recline and relax. 

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

When the seat is fully reclined into flatbed mode there’s a total of 195cm from the top of the headrest to the footwell.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

That said, my first impression is that the end of the ‘bed’ and the footwell itself is more cramped and a tighter fit than Cathay’s current business class, which will especially be an issue for those with plus-sized plods.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

4. Space and storage 

The Aria Suite’s design and the seating angle deliver a real sense of personal space, more so that seats which face straight ahead.

And while the split-level benchtop is an obvious place to park your laptop or tablet, magazines or work documents, Marie Kondo would approve of how the suite’s clever nooks discourage clutter.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

That includes a side-cabinet where you’ll find the headphones (easily relocated if you’re in BYO mode) and a water bottle holder; a hidden recess for your phone, passport, watch or glasses; and a wide, deep pocket for your shoes, amenity kit, tech bag or small clutch.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

5. The big picture

You can’t fully appreciate the Aria Suite’s 24” widescreen TV until you’re sitting facing it.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

It’s not just the sheer size – which is about as large as you’d want, given the viewing distance – but also the sharp detail of the 4K display.

Whereas Cathay’s previous business class had the screen mounted on a swing-out arm, Aria’s monitor is fixed into the seating module to face the passenger so that movies and TV shows can be enjoyed on a ‘gate-to-gate’ basis.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

The inflight system is evolved from Cathay’s current A350 user interface, with added features and refinement.

While noise-cancelling headphones are supplied, audio streaming pairs to your own favourite Bluetooth headphones or earbuds.

And there’s a hidden bonus: during the 777 refit, Cathay is upgrading each plane’s forward and downward video cameras to HD spec for a super-detailed view – as illustrated in the photo below, snapped during the media launch at the 777’s hanger.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

6. Where’s the loo?

No more half-standing up in your seat to try and find where the toilets are, let alone to see if one is vacant.

Aria’s informative IFE screen shows the location of your seat and the toilets and which loos are available.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

So not only does the 777 have new washrooms – the business class ones are especially spacious, with soft lighting rather than harsh glare – but a sensor relays their status (vacant or occupied) back to the inflight system.

This brilliant innovation isn’t restricted to business class: it’s also available on the seat-back screens in the premium and economy cabins.

7. Smart seat presets

Beyond individual control for the seat and in-suite lighting, Cathay has identified five activities or ‘modes’: watching video, working, relaxing, dining and sleeping.

Each has a unique combination of the optimum seat position and lighting which come into play with one tap on the touchscreen.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

“There are all sorts of airline advancements in terms of the seats or suites, everyone has a door and big TV, but it’s the execution that makes the difference,” Lo tells Executive Traveller.

“With one touch, I can choose Movie (mode)… in two seconds the seat, the lighting is optimised to be the best experience.”

If you’d like to fine-tune any of those presets, that can be saved for the remainder of your flight.

Now, if only Cathay could match your seat to your frequent flyer number and then let those customisations be saved for your next Aria Suites journey…

8. Be solo or sociable

The Aria Suite fixes one shortcoming of Cathay’s current business class: it adds a divider between the paired middle seats.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

Leave it in place if you’re flying solo, or slide it open if you’re travelling with your partner or a friend.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

The angle of the seats means you still need to lean forward a little to chat and exchange meaningful glances.

9. A classier cabin

Pulling back to the overall Aria Suites cabin, dark wooden-like slats help create an elevated experience, while the new L-shaped kitchen galley at the front doors is less obvious – it’s not as if you are walking through somebody’s kitchen to get to the living room.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

Each of the Aria Suites 777s will also have an individual piece of art mounted at the rear of the cabin, from a curated collection featuring work by 15 artists with a deep connection with Hong Kong.

10. Small touches

Finally, there are so many little things that make the journey better.

Cathay Pacific's new Aria Suites 777 business class.

A touch-sensitive panel built into the side of the bench, above a second armrest, puts seat and lighting controls at your fingertips – and it’s surrounded by an extruded frame to help you avoid accidentally tapping a button with your hand or wrist.

The deep tray table that slides out from beneath the 24” monitor can be left in any position, rather than just one or two fixed presets, with a channel into which you can park your phone or laptop. 

David Flynn travelled to Hong Kong as guest of Cathay Pacific.