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Cathay Pacific has launched its refreshed 777-300ERs into Australia on Sydney–Hong Kong services.
The retrofitted planes, featuring the airline’s new “Aria Suite” business class product, have been introduced on five selected flights per week to Australia as their second destination outside of Hong Kong, following their debut on Hong Kong–London in January.
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The overhauled 777s include 45 flat-bed business-class Aria Suites in a 1-2-1 configuration, as well as 48 premium economy and 268 economy seats for a total of 361, with all three classes having been updated and a new in-flight entertainment system installed.
The planes will be deployed on regular CX162 services starting in April.
“We are proud to bring our highly anticipated, premium and customer-centric Aria Suite, brand-new Premium Economy and refreshed Economy cabins to our customers travelling to and from Australia, reinforcing our commitment to providing an unparalleled level of comfort and convenience,” Frosti Lau, regional general manager of Cathay Pacific, said.
“With Sydney being the chosen destination for the second long-haul route to fly the Aria Suite ‒ following the London-Hong Kong launch in January ‒ it demonstrates the importance of the Australian market to Cathay Pacific.
“We are thrilled to see our newest cabin products on our Sydney-Hong Kong route so soon after we celebrated the direct serviceʼs 50th anniversary in late 2024.”
Cathay last year ramped up its Brisbane and Perth flights to full pre-pandemic capacity, as well as restarting seasonal Cairns services.
Starting 28 October, the airline increased Perth–Hong Kong services from six to 11 per week and Brisbane–Hong Kong services from six to 10 per week, with Sydney and Melbourne retaining their four and three flights per day respectively.
“This is testament to our team who have been continuing to provide world-class service as we rebuild our flights and network. These new flights will give our Australian customers more choice when travelling to Hong Kong and beyond,” Lau said at the time.
The Cathay Group, which includes low-cost subsidiary HK Express, has aimed to return to 100 per cent of global pre-pandemic capacity across its passenger network in the first quarter of 2025 and said it had reached 80 per cent as of the second quarter of last year.
