Cathay Pacific has been operating the A350 since June 2016. They already have 11 A350-900 aircraft in their fleet, with another 11 on order. On top of that, they have 26 A350-1000 aircraft on order. This will quickly join the 777-300ER as the backbone of their longhaul fleet.
From a passenger comfort standpoint, the A350 is probably my favorite plane after the A380. It’s incredibly quiet, typically has a tail camera, and the cabin is wider than on the 787.
As it stands, Cathay Pacific’s announced longhaul A350 destinations include Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch, Dusseldorf, London Gatwick, Manchester, Melbourne, Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv, and Vancouver.
The A350 service between Hong Kong and Vancouver launches as of March 26, 2017, and will operate 3x weekly. That’s the first Cathay Pacific A350 service to North America.
Cathay Pacific has now announced their first A350 destination to the U.S. Cathay Pacific will launch 3x weekly A350 flights between Hong Kong and San Francisco as of October 31, 2017. The A350 flight will operate with the following schedule:
CX892 Hong Kong to San Francisco departing 6:45PM arriving 2:45PM [Tue, Thu, Sat]
CX893 San Francisco to Hong Kong departing 12:55AM arriving 8:05AM (+1 day) [Wed, Fri, Sun]
This additional frequency complements Cathay Pacific’s existing two daily Boeing 777-300ER flights between San Francisco and Hong Kong, for a total of 17x weekly flights between the cities.
Cathay Pacific’s A350s are in a three class configuration, with 38 business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 214 economy seats. The business class product is just a slight update of their “standard” reverse herringbone business class product, so it’s very good.
Perhaps most exciting is that the A350 is the first plane in Cathay Pacific’s fleet to feature Wi-Fi. You can purchase a Wi-Fi pass that lasts the entire flight with no data caps for a reasonable cost. Personally that’s a reason I’d choose this flight over other Cathay Pacific flights, though I realize I value Wi-Fi more than most.
In terms of snagging an award seat on this flight in business class, your best bet is to:
- Book through American AAdvantage for 70,000 miles one-way
- Book through Alaska Mileage Plan for 50,000 miles one-way, and you can even do a stopover in Hong Kong enroute to another destination in Asia (keep in mind Alaska is selling miles at a discount right now)
Bottom line
While I’d choose Cathay Pacific first class over business class, this would definitely be my first choice for Cathay Pacific business class to Asia. Not only do you have a brand new, quiet plane, with an updated seat, but there’s even Wi-Fi on it. The A350 is an awesome plane, so if you haven’t had the chance to fly it yet, this is a great opportunity to do so.
Does anyone plan on taking Cathay Pacific’s new A350 flight between San Francisco and Hong Kong?
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