After flying from London to Hong Kong in Cathay Pacific’s A350 economy class, I flew down to Sydney in Cathay Pacific’s new 777 economy class. We could’ve flown an earlier flight down to Sydney, though I decided to brute force a longer layover in Hong Kong. Why? Mainly, my family had newly adopted some kittens, so J and I went landside and introduced ourselves to them.
The secondary motive was so that I could review Cathay Pacific’s “new” 777 economy class. In September I flew Cathay Pacific’s flagship 777 Aria Suite, as well as their new premium economy class. These planes featured a refreshed economy class product as well, so when I saw that one of the flights to Sydney was operated by these planes, I grasped the opportunity to check it out.
Having a 10-abreast configuration in economy on the 777 isn’t fun, so I was ready to be disappointed and have an uncomfortable flight. However, I felt that the seats were much better designed than on the A350, and also enjoyed some of the tech elements. I’ll share my impressions in this post, and will write a full review after I wrap up my trip.
Cathay Pacific’s 777 Economy Class: Sleek and Well-Designed
Cathay Pacific’s 777s feature 268 economy class seats in a 3-4-3 configuration. As with most 777s, these seats are an unglamorous 17 inches wide. The seats themselves aren’t even particularly custom-designed – the seat “bones” are the same as the airline’s older 777s (including on their regional fleet), and they’re actually a modified version of the Recaro CL3710 seat, which you’ll find on British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, etc..
Firstly, the A350 seats are 18 inches wide, whereas the 777 seats are 17 inches wide. I knew this coming in, so I noticed the slightly narrower seat width when I looked out for it. However, the difference wasn’t nearly as stark as I was expecting, and there’s a negligible difference between this and what you’ll experience on a 787 in economy, for example. (If you’ve been on a 777 with a 9-abreast economy configuration before, though, you will notice the difference.) While J and I had an empty aisle seat, she sat in the middle seat for the entirety of the flight, so I think I had as much space as I would if the flight was full (and I had the window with her next to me on both legs, so I think I am comparing apples to apples here).
While the seats themselves aren’t different from on their older 777 jets, can I comment on how much fresher these seats look? The non-refreshed 777 seats look old and grey, whereas these seats feel a lot more sleek and youthful. It’s striking how much a quick reupholstery can do (in either direction – on the other hand, there are the drab “refreshed” regional business class cabins).
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class
While the seats may look nicer, I was more impressed with how thoughtful the seat design was.
Let’s start with the comparable – the seats feature a good amount of recline. I thought that it was ever so slightly better than what I’d experienced on the A350, though the difference wasn’t hugely noticeable. These planes don’t feature the winged headrests that you’ll get on the A350, though.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Recline
In addition to recline, I thought that the back support and padding at the seat were excellent (the same was true of the A350, despite its other design flaws).
In addition, the storage compartment on the 777 was just so much better designed than the one on the A350. While it’s still an “either-or” arrangement in that you can either use it as a tablet holder/cupholder or a storage compartment (in other words, your items in the storage compartment will likely fall out if you’re using the tablet/cupholder feature at the same time), I found this compartment to be a lot more practical, and enjoyed the ability to store my AirPods/passport/glasses there when I was getting some sleep.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Storage
While I think that the CL3710 seats generally come with this pouch, I was really appreciative that there was a separate storage pocket for my phone – another storage area absent on the A350. I’m not the tidiest person ever, so I love having designated areas to store my bits and bobs whenever I’m on a flight, which becomes apparent with the lack of space in economy.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Phone Pouch
Additionally, the new inflight entertainment system on these 777s are featured no matter which cabin you’re in, so I enjoyed some of the tech features such as the lavatory availability indicator, a “watch together” feature for movies and TV shows, as well as bluetooth audio connectivity. While many of the A350s were refreshed with the newest IFE interface, bluetooth audio isn’t featured on those planes (though the “Watch Together” feature is). I also found the touchscreen responsiveness to be marginally better here.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Lavatory Availability Screen
There are two things that I’ll comment about the seat, both related to tech. Firstly, the 110V universal power ports in Cathay Pacific’s 777 are shared, whereas on the A350 each seat gets their own power port. The shared arrangement is closer to industry standard, though obviously I prefer the A350 arrangement.
Secondly, given how much better the overall seat tech is on the 777s, I was disappointed to see that they didn’t update the USB port to a USB-C one.
Cathay Pacific’s ex-Hong Kong Catering: Excellent, Even In Economy
While I was pleasantly surprised by the food on my London to Hong Kong flight, I find Cathay Pacific’s catering ex-Hong Kong to be noticeably superior to catering that they have from outstations. This was the case here, and I found the food on this flight to be delicious.
The airline partners with Yat Tung Heen for their dishes in economy and premium economy. This is a controversial partnership and not everyone enjoys their dishes, though in this case I found the stir-fried chicken with Lao Gan Ma chilli crisp to be excellent.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Meal
Even the vegetarian dish on offer, cauliflower with cheddar and white cream sauce, was quite nice and flavourful. In addition, I’m always appreciative of the airline’s flavourful side salads – no flavourless, unseasoned leafy salads here.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Meal
While my Western breakfast was middling at best, the menu offered a dim sum breakfast as an option. Additionally, both J and I enjoyed a cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea – not the most packed with flavour, though still a nice option to have.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Breakfast
Cathay Pacific doesn’t provide mid-flight snacks in economy on flights to Australia (though they do to New Zealand), though on longer flights obviously I enjoy the cup noodles. When leaving Hong Kong you get egg tarts in economy as well – here’s a picture on a previous flight from Hong Kong to London (this was pictured in a business class seat, though the same presentation is offered in economy, minus the wine glass on the side).
Cathay Pacific egg tarts, available in economy on >10 hour flights
Service on this flight was also excellent and efficient, with meal trays being cleared within max. 20-25 minutes of being served. I noticed the menu didn’t feature mid-flight snacks and asked a flight attendant which flights they were served on, and after answering the question, the crew said “we can find some biscuits or other snacks for you if you’re hungry!” (I wasn’t hungry so declined, though really appreciated the offer, and took a bottle of water.) I will say that the flight was much emptier than the previous leg, though, so that would’ve contributed to more relaxed and attentive service from the crew.
Conclusion: Cathay Pacific’s 777 Economy Class
Cathay Pacific’s refreshed 777 economy class isn’t the widest, though it’s comfortable and well-designed. Coming in I imagined I’d prefer the A350 seat, though surprisingly I preferred the seat on this flight, and would choose it if all else were equal (which it sometimes is, especially on the flight departures half an hour apart on the night flights from Hong Kong to London!). In addition, I enjoyed the soft product on this flight, and preferred it to the outstation (and fuller) flight from London to Hong Kong.
I’ve not tried Cathay Pacific’s A350-1000 economy product firsthand before, though imagine it’d also be pretty good, given that the A350-1000 seat is more similar to this seat (but is wider, given the 9-abreast A350 configuration).
Have you flown Cathay Pacific’s 777 economy class before? Do you prefer it to what’s on the A350?
