I flew Cathay Pacific’s Aria Suite Business Class

Cathay upped the ante on its premium cabins when it launched its all-new Aria Suite Business Class on daily flights from Heathrow to Hong Kong at the end of 2024. This was part of a seven-year, almost £10bn mega plan by Cathay Pacific to invest heavily in its fleet, cabins and lounges.

This summer I travelled from Hong Kong to London in the Aria Suite on the return leg of a mega three-week trip from London to Perth via Hong Kong, and back from Sydney via Hong Kong to London. During the various parts of the trip, I also encountered their premium economy cabin (refreshed along with Economy at the same time Aria was launched), and I also experienced their older, non-door business class layout on the Hong Kong to Perth leg. Cathay doesn’t have uniform fleet suites, and its Aria rollout is still limited to selected retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER planes, but since the launch at the end of 2024, Aria has been added to the Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles routes, and it’s scheduled to join the Perth route in October this year.

Cathay Pacific celebrated three score years in 2026, so this was a chance to see how the Aria Suites were faring. The 45 enclosed suites are split between two cabins in a one-two-one forward-facing design. The first thing I noticed was the sheer privacy of the space. The top Asian airlines are moving towards wraparound privacy in their upper class cabins, creating a little ecosystem to thrive in, and Cathay is no exception. With all the ‘suites’ in this cabin having access to the aisle, you’re fully sealed off, and not much aware of the people around you. This offers a cocoon-like privacy for the anti-socially inclined. You’re in your own world, oblivious of the space outside your own sliding doors, even other family members. Bliss!

A close second was the incredible functionality. A chunky 24-inch 4K screen (accompanied by noise-cancelling Bose headphones, or you can Bluetooth your own), loaded with high-res outdoor cameras for plane geeks to observe proceedings, also offers an impressive, global selection of films, series and documentaries. Also, all the information you need for a smooth flight is on your screen. It even tells which loos are occupied (God forbid you might have to wait outside a cubicle and encounter another human). You can tailor-make your own “Do Not Disturb”, citing which meals you want and don’t want, and when you want to be woken up (before the first meal? After the second? Just tap on it). My favourite part of the screen was the four settings one can choose to control your environment – from “Movie” (“a cinema-like experience”) to “Work”, “Relax” or “Sleep”. Each has its own lighting settings and chair positions. The seat settings can also be adjusted whilst lying down, with the more standard seat-adjustment button. There’s also wireless charging, so you can just toss your phone onto it, and no cable faffing.