In 2024, Cathay Pacific announced plans to introduce a new regional business class product. The carrier’s current regional business class seat isn’t terribly competitive, but we’ve known that the airline wants to introduce flat beds. There’s now an exciting update, as the new seat has been unveiled (thanks to Mike O. for flagging this).
Cathay Pacific’s new Aria Studio regional business class
Cathay Pacific intends to introduce a new regional business class product, which will be branded as the Aria Studio (as a reminder, Cathay Pacific’s new long haul business class is known as the Aria Suite, so that’s spiffy branding).
The airline hasn’t yet put out an announcement about the product, but it was revealed by the carrier’s CEO at an event for Cathay Pacific’s top tier frequent flyers, and you can find a picture here. It would appear that this is based on JPA Design’s Airtek seating platform, so seats will be in a 1-2-1, reverse herringbone configuration.
Cathay Pacific is expected to be the launch customer for this product, and it seems one of the main selling points of the new Airtek seat is how lightweight it is, with JPA Design insisting that comfort isn’t sacrificed in order to offer this.
The Aria Studio product is expected to be retrofitted on existing A330-300s as of later in 2026, and will also be installed on newly delivered A330-900neos, which are due as of 2028. Unfortunately it doesn’t sound like there are plans to offer these seats on A321neos.
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 is 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.
This is a fantastic development for Cathay Pacific!
Cathay Pacific is a world class airline, one of the world’s best airline brands, as far as I’m concerned. The carrier has gorgeous lounges, and an impressive new long haul business class product.
When you look at the competitive landscape, there’s no denying that the carrier’s regional business class product has become a bit uncompetitive. Sure, most people probably don’t “need” a flat bed on a relatively short flight within Asia, though it is increasingly becoming the norm.
Just looking at the competitive landscape, Singapore Airlines and Starlux Airlines have flat beds on all of their aircraft, and China Airlines, EVA Air, and Korean Air, are increasingly even taking delivery of narrow body planes with flat beds.
I’ve gotta say, Cathay Pacific’s new regional business class product exceeds my expectations. I sort of expected for the airline to go with something like the Collins Aerospace Diamond seat, which is very space efficient, and barely takes up more space than Cathay Pacific’s current regional business class.
So to see the airline instead go for a reverse herringbone regional business class product is awesome, and a nice investment in the passenger experience.
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific is introducing a new regional business class product, which will be known as the Aria Studio. This will be installed on regional A330s, including existing A330-300s, plus upcoming A330-900neos. The airline will be the launch customer for the new Airtek platform, which is a reverse herringbone product in a 1-2-1 configuration.
This is a very nice improvement to Cathay Pacific’s passenger experience, and I look forward to learning more!
What do you make of Cathay Pacific’s new regional business class?
