At the end of September, I finally got the chance to take the business class in the Cathay Pacific A350 planes for my trip from Hong Kong to Seoul. I have previously sat in the Premium Economy seats on the Cathay A350 plane, which I also reviewed. Now, I can pen my thoughts on the Business Class seats.
Cathay Pacific has slightly changed their seats on the new A350 planes. The seats are still reverse herringbone seats in a 1-2-1 arrangement, with a total of 38 seats spread out in a larger cabin of 30 seats and 8 more in a smaller cabin. The seats are 20 inches wide and 45 inches in pitch. They can be reclined into a fully flat bed measuring 75 inches.
For this flight, I sat in seat 21K, which is the last row of the smaller cabin. The smaller cabin feels more private than, the larger cabin. The updated Business Class seat looks almost identical to the older models, with the biggest difference being an updated space around the leg space area. Instead of having just a small ottoman pedestal at the end, the new seats now come with a wraparound along the plane fuselage. There is also a storage compartment here, which is a great addition. The best part of this new wraparound is that it all joins up to form a wider space for the fully flatbed as well.
Other than the updated leg space area, the rest of the seat is the tried and tested familiar Cathay Business Class seats – small wooden panel table on the side, with a mini storage area to store the noise-canceling headphones. They did upgrade the TV as well – it is now an 18.5 inch HD TV, up from the 15.4 inches previously. Like before, the TV can be swiveled outwards.
The other major change to the new seat that I later noticed was that the USB ports, the power socket, and the headphone jack are now inside the mini storage area as opposed to being on the adjacent panel outside. Now, on this outside panel, all that remains are the reading light, the buttons control the seat, as well as the remote control for the inflight entertainment system. I do like this design better as it feels more sleek and minimalist.
Shortly after boarding, the plane took off. I checked my phone to see that the Wifi is working – a relatively new feature on some Cathay planes. Dinner was served shortly after, featuring 3 main choices – a Chinese prawn dish with rice, a Korean Bimibap, and a western option of roasted chicken breast. As I had already eaten a bit of food in the lounge, I opted for the chicken breast.
After the meal, there is always room for dessert. I had a plate of fresh fruits and cheekily asked for 2 ice cream servings – which I was granted! So, I happily ate the Haagen Dazs cookie and cream ice cream, and the mango and raspberry sorbet.
I spent the rest of the flight watching some movies on the TV. I also did take pictures of the bathroom – something I normally do not do. The bathroom features Jurlique products, similar to other Cathay planes and lounges.
As the short flight lasted only 3 hours 35 minutes, I did not attempt to recline the seat into a fully flat bed to sleep. The plane landed at Incheon airport around 10:55 pm.
Overall, I enjoyed the updated Cathay Pacific A350 Business Class. You can read all my Cathay Pacific Business Class flight reviews and my First Class reviews. I look forward to these seats again as Cathay Pacific continues to update their fleet with more A350s.
It is worth reading my 10 tips to find cheap long-haul Business Class flights for a way to save money on your next First, Business and even Premium Economy flight booking.
This review was written by Luxury Travel Diary contributor Lenard Lim.
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