The Best Seats in Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy

Given that I spend quite a bit of time travelling in Cathay Pacific’s Premium Economy cabin, I thought I’d do a follow-up to my post about everything you needed to know about Cathay’s Premium Economy product – and take a look at the best and worst seats aboard Cathay’s 777-300ER aircraft.

A Bit of Background…

Cathay Pacific flies it’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to many of its long haul destinations. You’ll find yourself travelling aboard a 777-300ER if you’re travelling between Hong Kong and

• The United States
• Milan, London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Manchester, Zurich, Madrid, Amsterdam, and Paris (on CX261 only)
• Sydney (on CX101, CX139), Auckland (on CX197 only)
• Johannesburg

Cathay’s 777-300ER aircraft also fly to many short-haul destinations – although it’s very difficult to list out the destinations that they fly to as Cathay’s rostering is very confusing and unpredictable.

Double Trouble…

Cathay Pacific has two configurations of their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. A couple of years back, as they introduced their new Economy and Premium Economy cabins, management made the decision to remove First Class on select aircraft in order to meet customer demand. The version fitted with First Class is labelled as the 77H, while the version without First Class is labelled as the 77G.

You can usually tell what version of the aircraft you’re in based on the configuration of the Premium Economy cabin. On the 77G, the Premium Economy cabin is in front of the 3rd exit door and does not contain a lavatory. On the 77H, the Premium Economy cabin is located behind the 3rd exit door and contains a lavatory.

The Best Seats on the 77H (With First Class)

Cathay Pacific’s 77G Premium Economy Cabin on Seatguru

Seats to Pick

• 31A, C
  • These two seats are exit row seats – and therefore offer a seemingly infinite amount of leg space, making it super spacious for long-haul flights. Best of all -Cathay Pacific doesn’t charge a premium to select these seats, so you’ll be enjoying more room at no added cost. However, it’s worth noting that with these seats, you’ll have to share a literature pocket and you won’t be able to store things on the floor during taxi, takeoff and landing.
• 30 D, E
  • These seats are bulkhead seats, which means a lot more personal space and legroom. However, I wouldn’t recommend seats 30F, G because of their close proximity to the bathroom – which is a constant source of light which could have the potential of making your flight a very unpleasant one. It’s worth noting that crew often use the space in front of these seats to move between the aisles, which could be disruptive.
• 32 H, K
  • While these bulkhead seats have less legroom that other seats, the seats still have a more space than the average Premium Economy seat. The one drawback of this seat is that it’s where the bassinets are situated so you may be re-seated in order to accommodate a baby.
• Row 34
  • While these seats are at the back of the cabin – thus meaning that you’ll have the last pick for meal choices. However, as there are no more seats behind this row, you can recline your seat for the entire flight without bothering another passenger.

Seats to Avoid

• Any non-bulkhead middle seat
  • I think this is pretty self-explanatory…
• 31 G
  • This seat is not a bulkhead seat and is right next to the lavatory, which may result in a very disruptive flight

The Best Seats on the 77G (Without First Class)

Seats to Pick 

• Row 30
  • These seats are all bulkhead seats, which mean that they have much more legroom and personal space than the average seat in the cabin. However, it’s worth noting that seats 30 AC and HK are baby bassinet seats – which means that your flight may be accompanied by a symphony of babies crying (this is relevant if Alvin is on your flight…I mean…)
•  Row 33
  • There’s no one behind you, which means you can recline as much as you want for the whole flight.

Seats to Avoid

• Any middle seats
  • Who wants to be sandwiched between two people?

Yeah. That’s about it.

Bottom Line

While you’re certainly better off with taking Cathay’s Premium Economy than slumming it in regular Economy, your experience will also largely depend on where you’re seated in the cabin. Picking the right seat for you will certainly make 12 hours in a metal tube much more enjoyable.