Cathay Pacific Plans A330 Flat Bed Regional Business Class

While details remain limited as of now, Cathay Pacific has revealed plans to introduce a new flat bed business class product on its regional aircraft…

Cathay Pacific overhauling regional business class in 2026

During its 2023 annual results presentation, Cathay Pacific made an announcement that regional passengers on the airline will no doubt appreciate. 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 42 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.

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.

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 that’s the Stelia Aerospace Symphony seat.

Similarly, Starlux Airlines’ Airbus A330-900neos are also intended as regional aircraft, and that’s 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.

What are you expecting from Cathay Pacific’s new regional business class on A330s?