While details remain limited as of now, Cathay Pacific has reiterated plans to introduce a new flat bed business class product on its regional wide body aircraft…
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Cathay Pacific overhauling regional business class in 2026
Cathay Pacific has just announced a variety of new initiatives, including one that regional passengers on the airline will no doubt appreciate (this complements Cathay Pacific introducing a new long haul business class in late 2024, and a new first class in 2025).
Starting in 2026, the oneworld airline intends to introduce a new regional product on its Airbus A330 fleet. For the first time ever, Cathay Pacific will be introducing purpose-built flat beds for business class on these flights.
For context, currently Cathay Pacific’s regional business class consists of recliner seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. These seats don’t recline very much and have a hard shell design, and personally I don’t find them to be terribly comfortable for relaxing or sleeping.
It’s worth emphasizing that Cathay Pacific also largely flies long haul aircraft on regional routes, so it’s very common to get flat beds on these routes. That’s because the carrier’s long haul Airbus A330s, Airbus A350s, and Boeing 777s, often operate shorter flights between longer sectors.
So you may very well find yourself on an A330 with flat beds, but the distinction is that those aren’t intended to be regional aircraft.
Cathay Pacific currently has a fleet of 39 Airbus A330s, split between the regional and long haul aircraft. What has long been remarkable about this fleet is just how many variants Cathay Pacific has, as the fleet has five different layouts:
- One regional configuration features 42 recliner business class seats and 265 economy seats
- One regional configuration features 24 recliner business class seats and 293 economy seats
- One long haul configuration features 39 flat bed business class seats and 223 economy seats
- One long haul configuration features 28 flat bed business class seats and 265 economy seats
- One long haul configuration features 38 flat bed business class seats, 28 premium economy seats, and 214 economy seats
I have to imagine that part of the goal with this retrofit might be to standardize the A330 fleet a bit, as having so many variants can’t be efficient. So I’m curious if we might also see some long haul A330s converted into regional ones, or what.
Also keep in mind that Cathay Pacific has just placed an order for 30 Airbus A330-900neos, to be delivered between 2028 and 2031.
These next generation aircraft will be used to replace some of the older existing A330-300s, so presumably older A330s won’t be getting new cabins. It remains to be seen if these A330-900neos get the same updated cabins as the refreshed A330-300s, or if they have yet another product.
What flat bed business class could Cathay Pacific introduce?
I’d argue that just about any new business class product on A330s that offers a flat bed would be a significant upgrade over what’s currently offered on these flights. However, I am curious about exactly which direction the airline takes.
I think the most efficient flat bed product that Cathay Pacific could introduce would be the Collins Aerospace Diamond seat, which is also in a 2-2-2 configuration. This is similar to what you’ll find on Gulf Air’s Airbus A321LRs, for example. This could be done with very similar pitch to Cathay Pacific’s current regional business class, and would offer a lot more comfort.
However, arguably regional business class within Asia is more competitive than ever before, and nowadays many airlines offer flat bed products with direct aisle access as the standard product in the region. For example, Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 787-10s are intended exclusively as regional aircraft, and the airline has the Stelia Aerospace Symphony seat.
Similarly, Starlux Airlines’ Airbus A330-900neos are also intended as regional aircraft, and the airline has the Safran Skylounge Core seat.
Personally I think it’s likely that Cathay Pacific will try to introduce something competitive with what other airlines are using in the region, even if the product has a materially larger footprint than the current one.
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific plans to introduce a new regional business class product, which will debut on Airbus A330s in 2026. So far the airline has only revealed that these planes will feature flat beds, so it’s anyone’s guess what seat the airline ends up introducing.
I have to imagine that this will represent a significant upgrade, given the competition in the region. Furthermore, I suspect that this product may also be introduced on the newly ordered A330-900neos.
What are you expecting from Cathay Pacific’s new regional business class on A330s?
What the frequent fliers desire ion aircraft hard product when we fly business class whether it is short or long haul:
1) direct aisle access
2) flat beds
3) privacy
ANA needs these seats on their 787-8s. Jakarta to Tokyo, 7 hours, in a crappy recliner. Never understood the love for NH.
LOL it's funny how folks are chiming in that these planes run 4-6 hour flights, which are basically transcon U.S. durations.
Yet, AA/UA/DL run 20 degree recline barcaloungers, but these current CX seats aren't good enough?
I'd kill for these outgoing seats on US domestic aircraft!
It's about the competitive environment.
In certain markets in the US the domestic carriers offer a flat bed product because that is what the competition is offering. As you say, in most markets the competition is offering a recliner so why would you stick a flat bed product on it?
Same in europe. Nearly every airlines 'business class' is a row of three economy seats with the middle seat blocked out. So you would be...
It's about the competitive environment.
In certain markets in the US the domestic carriers offer a flat bed product because that is what the competition is offering. As you say, in most markets the competition is offering a recliner so why would you stick a flat bed product on it?
Same in europe. Nearly every airlines 'business class' is a row of three economy seats with the middle seat blocked out. So you would be mad to fit your aircraft with actual business class seats when you can just as easily compete with a crap economy seat-becomes business seat product.
And then we have Asia/Cathay. Cathay is competing against other carriers that offer flat beds on the same routes Cathay is offering recliners. So it has a choice - up its game or lower its prices against competitors.
Hope they get a flatbed soon, i fly from Shanghai and chongqing which sometimes gets operation from a330
I wouldn’t mind the 2-2-2 seats that LH has for infra-Asia flights. They are comfortable enough. The “normal” diamond seats like on Gulf Air are acceptable on a narrow body, but I’m not a fan of it. They’re tight and I feel that you can have a much better product on a wide body. The SQ seats shown above are great, I haven’t flown the Starlux product shown above, but they look fine too. I...
I wouldn’t mind the 2-2-2 seats that LH has for infra-Asia flights. They are comfortable enough. The “normal” diamond seats like on Gulf Air are acceptable on a narrow body, but I’m not a fan of it. They’re tight and I feel that you can have a much better product on a wide body. The SQ seats shown above are great, I haven’t flown the Starlux product shown above, but they look fine too. I hope CX doesn’t choose a reverse herringbone product, they feel too tight on the 330. Though to be fair, I’ve only flown the super diamond, not the cirrus seats on the 330
I really don’t see the point of a flat bed on a relatively short intra-Asian flight tbh
Well some of those intra-Asian flights are 4-6h red-eye legs, so there's most likely a market there for lie-flat beds
This. Hong Kong to Delhi is 6 hours, eastbound that's easily a red-eye.
Agree with @Ben Holz, and also early morning flights (7am). Also, the current A330 J seat is so bad, I would actively avoid CX. A more comfortable seat (fully flat or not) is long overdue.
Asia is big, Sapporo is 5 hour away.
KUL & CGK have had the 1-2-1 configuration for a hot minute now. Maybe they could just order more Aria Suites and get a bulk discount. The 1-2-1 on their A330s are the same on their 777-300ERs, so why not have the same configuration again?
I think before you get your hopes up again like with emiertas let's wait for more details about the actual product.
It'll be interesting to see how they configure both the ceo and neo. I can expect a tip to tail 4K experience akin to the A321neos as it will be new (sub)type. I just don't see a door as a necessary expense as it'll be for intra-Asia routes (as indicated in the PR)