Whereas particulars stay restricted as of now, Cathay Pacific has revealed plans to introduce a brand new flat mattress enterprise class product on its regional plane…
Cathay Pacific overhauling regional enterprise class in 2026
Throughout its 2023 annual outcomes presentation, Cathay Pacific made an announcement that regional passengers on the airline will little question respect. Beginning in 2026, the oneworld airline intends to introduce a brand new regional product on its Airbus A330 fleet. For the primary time ever, Cathay Pacific shall be introducing purpose-built flat beds for enterprise class on these flights.
For context, at the moment Cathay Pacific’s regional enterprise class consists of recliner seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. These seats don’t recline very a lot and have a tough shell design, and personally I don’t discover them to be terribly snug for stress-free or sleeping.
It’s value emphasizing that Cathay Pacific additionally largely flies lengthy haul plane on regional routes, so it’s quite common to get flat beds on these routes. That’s as a result of the service’s lengthy haul Airbus A330s, Airbus A350s, and Boeing 777s, typically function shorter flights between longer sectors.
So chances are you’ll very properly end up on an A330 with flat beds, however the distinction is that these aren’t meant to be regional plane.
Cathay Pacific at the moment has a fleet of 42 Airbus A330s, cut up between the regional and lengthy haul plane. What has lengthy been outstanding about this fleet is simply what number of variants Cathay Pacific has, because the fleet has 5 completely different layouts:
- One regional configuration options 42 recliner enterprise class seats and 265 financial system seats
- One regional configuration options 24 recliner enterprise class seats and 293 financial system seats
- One lengthy haul configuration options 39 flat mattress enterprise class seats and 223 financial system seats
- One lengthy haul configuration options 28 flat mattress enterprise class seats and 265 financial system seats
- One lengthy haul configuration options 38 flat mattress enterprise class seats, 28 premium financial system seats, and 214 financial system seats
I’ve to think about that a part of the aim with this retrofit is likely to be to standardize the A330 fleet a bit, as having so many variants can’t be environment friendly. So I’m curious if we’d additionally see some lengthy haul A330s transformed into regional ones, or what.
What flat mattress enterprise class might Cathay Pacific introduce?
I’d argue that virtually any new enterprise class product on A330s that gives a flat mattress could be a major improve over what’s at the moment provided on these flights. Nonetheless, I’m interested in precisely which course the airline takes.
I feel probably the most environment friendly flat mattress product that Cathay Pacific might introduce could be the Collins Aerospace Diamond seat, which can be in a 2-2-2 configuration. That is much like what you’ll discover on Gulf Air’s Airbus A321LRs, for instance.
Nonetheless, arguably regional enterprise class inside Asia is extra aggressive than ever earlier than, and these days many airways supply flat mattress merchandise with direct aisle entry as the usual product within the area. For instance, Singapore Airways’ Boeing 787-10s are meant solely as regional plane, and that’s the Stelia Aerospace Symphony seat.
Equally, Starlux Airways’ Airbus A330-900neos are additionally meant as regional plane, and that’s the Safran Skylounge Core seat.
Personally I feel it’s seemingly that Cathay Pacific will attempt to introduce one thing aggressive with what different airways are utilizing within the area, even when the product has a materially bigger footprint than the present one.
Backside line
Cathay Pacific plans to introduce a brand new regional enterprise class product, which is able to debut on Airbus A330s in 2026. To this point the airline has solely revealed that these planes will characteristic flat beds, so it’s anybody’s guess what seat the airline finally ends up introducing. I’ve to think about that this can signify a major improve, given the competitors within the area.
What are you anticipating from Cathay Pacific’s new regional enterprise class on A330s?
