New Cathay Pacific “Halo Suites” First Class For Boeing 777-9s

Cathay Pacific recently unveiled its new Aria Suites business class, which is progressively being introduced on the carrier’s Boeing 777-300ER fleet. While we know Cathay Pacific is introducing a new first class product, it’ll take some time before we see that in service.

In light of everything going on — the introduction of Cathay Pacific’s new business class, the delays to the Boeing 777X, etc. — I wanted to cover the latest when it comes to Cathay Pacific’s new first class.

New Cathay Pacific first class coming to 777-9 in 2026+

We’ve known for years that Cathay Pacific plans to introduce new first and business class products on its Boeing 777-9s. The airline has 21 of these aircraft on order, and they’re expected to become the carrier’s flagship aircraft. Initially the aircraft was supposed to enter service as of 2020, though due to delays stemming from a variety of reasons, the plane is now slated to be delivered in 2026 at the earliest.

Many airlines were planning on introducing new “flagship” products on their 777-9s, though the six year delay has obviously not been ideal for that, and has caused many airlines to fall behind with their premium products. I would imagine that Cathay Pacific was planning on debuting its new business class on 777-9s, but now decided to install it on 777-300ERS.

While Cathay Pacific has moved forward with introducing its new business class, the airline only plans to introduce a new first class as of 2026, on Boeing 777-9s. Understandably, one major concern here is when 777-9s will actually enter service for Cathay Pacific.

At this point, the aircraft will enter commercial service in 2026 at the absolute earliest, and Cathay Pacific isn’t even the launch customer. So it could very well be late 2026 or even 2027 before we see the first Cathay Pacific 777-9.

Cathay Pacific’s new first class will be called “Halo Suites”

In 2023, Cathay Pacific applied for a trademark for “The Aria Suites,” which is the carrier’s new business class. The airline also applied for a trademark for “The Halo Suites,” and this is specifically intended to cover “luxury and first class air transportation services.”

For what it’s worth, the two patents were filed just a few weeks apart. While we can’t say anything with certainty, I’d be willing to bet just about anything that this will in fact be the name of Cathay Pacific’s new first class product.

Cathay Pacific’s possible new first class product

We know that Cathay Pacific has been working on developing its new first class product for many years (it was supposed to be ready in 2020, based on the initial Boeing 777-9 delivery timeline). We also know that Cathay Pacific is planning something truly spectacular. However, there hasn’t been any official indication as to what we can expect.

Back in 2019, Cathay Pacific applied for a patent for a new first class product, and… wow! Let me emphasize that I can’t guarantee this will be Cathay Pacific’s new first class, though I think it’s very possible. I’d highly recommend reading the whole application, as it actually contains a couple of different concepts.

Below is the diagram that’s displayed, and if I’m understanding this correctly, the plan is that figures five through eight reflect what Cathay Pacific is hoping to offer.

A few things that stand out the most:

• Cathay Pacific is focused on having a single aisle in first class, noting that this would allow first class suites to be wider
• Cathay Pacific plans to have four first class seats on its Boeing 777-9s
• Cathay Pacific wants to create a double suite, whereby a pair of seats can be converted into a shared space
• Cathay Pacific even proposes having a ladder leading to a bunk bed, so that a module could be used for a family to travel together in a first class suite; this would just be an additional sleeping space, and not part of the standard offering for passenger
• As you can see in figure eight, the intent is that a double suite could feature a private bathroom on the right side of the aircraft, simply by moving partitions around

This appears to be based on Paperclip Design’s Peacock Suites concept. The below pictures should give you a sense of just how spectacular this product might be (though I’d expect Cathay Pacific to have a customized version of this, so don’t expect it to be exactly like this).

This product looks absolutely wild, and I’m in disbelief that we could see anything like this introduced. It almost looks more like The Etihad Residence than a standard first class product. Heck, it almost looks more like what you’d expect on a private jet.

Skift has an interesting story about Cathay Pacific’s new first class, noting how Cathay Pacific Chairman Patrick Healy has called the new product “mindblowing,” and “a really, really special product and very impressive.” He went on to state the following:

“If you aspire to be one of the best – or ultimately, hopefully, – the best premium airline in the world, then having a world-leading first class is part of that. I think it’s difficult to claim that you’re really up there without an outstanding first class product.”

Obviously this probably wouldn’t be great for Cathay Pacific first class award availability, not that this is great in the first place. This would likely blow away the best first class products in the world, like Emirates’ 777 first class and Japan Airlines’ A350 first class.

Cathay Pacific’s fleet transition will be complicated

Due to ongoing delivery delays with the Boeing 777-9, the carrier’s plan to transition its fleet is proving to be anything but straightforward.

Cathay Pacific is currently retrofitting its 777-300ER fleet with the new Aria Suites business class. While three-cabin aircraft are being reconfigured first (with business class, premium economy, and economy), eventually four-class aircraft (with first class) will be reconfigured as well.

Cathay Pacific plans to remove first class from its 777-300ERs when the airline introduces the new business class. However, the airline acknowledges that it may have to hold off on reconfiguring some jets, so that it can maintain even a small fleet with first class seats, for the markets where it’s really needed.

So it’s absolutely certain that at some point, Cathay Pacific will temporarily have an even smaller first class footprint than it currently has. However, I feel like it also can’t be ruled out that the airline may eventually have no first class at all for some time, depending on how things play out with the 777-9.

Cathay Pacific currently has around 20 Boeing 777s with first class, and that’s similar to the number of Boeing 777-9s on order. Cathay Pacific’s first class is an excellent, spacious product. While this isn’t the world’s most private first class, it is one of my favorites. On top of that, the soft product is very good.

Bottom line

Cathay Pacific plans to introduce a new first class product, though only on the 777-9, and not on the 777-300ER. You can expect this product to be introduced as of 2026 at the earliest, assuming the Boeing 777X actually gets certified.

Based on some filings, it would appear that Cathay Pacific will name its new first class “The Halo Suites,” and some diagrams suggest that this will be an unbelievably good product. Cathay Pacific’s Chairman makes similar claims. I can’t wait to learn more, though we’ll have to be patient, as the airline doesn’t plan to reveal more details until at least 2025.

What do you make of what we know about Cathay Pacific’s new first class?