| THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT While Cathay Pacific mainly advertises a refreshed entertainment system on these 777s in economy (which is indeed excellent), I was pleasantly surprised by the seat comfort and storage. The only thing missing was a USB-C port, and I wish the airline offered on-demand snacks in economy on these 9-hour routes to Australia | 4.5 |
When Cathay Pacific introduced their new 777s with Aria Suite, they also introduced a new premium economy cabin, as well as a refreshed economy class cabin. I’ve had the chance to fly the Aria Suite, as well as the airline’s new premium economy cabin. When the opportunity arose to fly Cathay Pacific’s economy class, I knew I had to try out the refreshed economy cabin as well.
What does “refreshed” mean? Well, the seat itself is very similar to what you’ll get on Cathay Pacific’s older 777s (you’ll get the same seat in economy whether you’re flying longhaul, or on the regional configuration). The airline did a reupholstery, made minor changes to the seat, and also upgraded the tech available at the seat. I figured I’d check this product out, given that I’d already had the chance to fly the airline’s A350 from London to Hong Kong.
I was surprised to find out that I actually liked the seat design, and preferred it to the A350 I’d flown over from London. Now, Cathay Pacific’s 777s are outfitted in a 3-4-3 configuration, which I’m not a fan of. However, compared to the A350 the reduction in seat width isn’t actually so noticeable, and due to the better seat design and tech, I might even marginally prefer this configuration.
How To Know If Your Flight Features Cathay Pacific’s 777 Economy Class
Cathay Pacific’s new 777 economy class flies on the following routes (as of April 2026):
- between Hong Kong and London – CX255/CX250
- between Hong Kong and Melbourne – CX163/CX178
- between Hong Kong and Sydney – CX181/CX100
- between Hong Kong and Vancouver – CX888/CX865
- between Hong Kong and Beijing – CX334/CX335
- between Hong Kong and Frankfurt – CX289/CX288
- between Hong Kong and San Francisco – CX872/CX873
- between Hong Kong and Milan – CX233/CX234
- between Hong Kong and Los Angeles – CX885/CX884 (starts May 1)
- between Hong Kong and Tokyo Haneda – CX548/CX549
- between Hong Kong and Sapporo Chitose – CX580/CX581
Very occasionally, you’ll see these planes deployed on routes to Mumbai/Delhi, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, etc.. Unlike business and premium economy, there isn’t a brand new economy seat onboard these planes – they simply feature upgraded tech, new upholstery, and a couple of refreshed seat features.
Booking Cathay Pacific’s 777 Economy Class
I booked a one-way economy class ticket from London to Sydney, which cost 38,000 Asia Miles and HK$3,512 (£330) in taxes and surcharges. The itinerary was as follows:
01/03/26 Cathay Pacific 256 London (LHR) – Hong Kong (HKG) dep. 20:15 arr. 16:55+1 (Economy Class)
02/03/26 Cathay Pacific 101 Hong Kong (HKG) – Sydney (SYD) dep. 23:55 arr. 12:00+1 (Economy Class)
Given that a one-way from London to Hong Kong costs 27,000 miles in economy, I thought that paying an “extra” 11,000 miles to Sydney was not bad at all. The high taxes and fees were a combination of an accumulation of carrier surcharges across the two segments, as well as the UK APD, which is smaller but still significant for longhaul economy routes. I mainly chose a route that would allow me to sample both the airline’s A350 economy and their new 777 economy, and the longer layover in Hong Kong also allowed us to maximise time with my family.
For the record, J’s cash ticket was arguably even better value, at £870 roundtrip (I’m generally willing to pay a little more one-way to sample new cabin products, and in this case the outbound would’ve contributed to a majority of this cash fare anyway, due to the UK APD).
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Ground Experience and Boarding
After J and I went to my family’s for dinner, we headed back to the airport at around 10:15 PM, ahead of our 11:55 PM departure time. Immigration and security were a breeze, and we quickly found ourselves airside, waiting for our 11:15 PM boarding time by gate 31.
Funnily enough, I’ve now reviewed all three cabins onboard Cathay Pacific’s newest 777, and they were coincidentally all operated by the same airframe, B-KQH. This 12-year-old 777 was one of the first planes to get the retrofitted cabins, and is probably now the single aircraft I’ve spent the most time on – my Aria Suite flight from London to Hong Kong was 12 hours long, my premium economy flight back was 14.5 hours long, and here I was about to embark on a comparatively short 9-hour flight down to Sydney.
Cathay Pacific 777 at Hong Kong Airport
This was my first time boarding a Cathay Pacific flight with the new boarding system at Hong Kong Airport, which was arranged into groups. In this case, priority boarding groups were boarded on the left, whereas non-status economy class passengers were boarded on the right. Groups 4-5 were first called up to board, followed by groups 6-7.
Since J and I had selected the last row for this flight, we were assigned boarding group 4, since Cathay Pacific boards their aircraft back-to-front in economy class. I was quite pleased about this, because it meant we were one of the first economy class passengers to get on the plane.
Boarding began at around 11:20 PM, five minutes behind schedule. Business class and premium economy passengers were first boarded, and soon we were invited to board the aircraft.
Cathay Pacific boarding groups at Hong Kong Airport
Fun fact – following the summer season schedule adjustments this year, Cathay Pacific has retired their flagship Sydney flight number, CX101, for the first time since 1974. This is because the airline moved their late-night departure to Sydney forward to 12:45 AM, so also changed the flight number to CX181 in order to avoid confusion. Airline scheduling is sure fascinating, and I love learning more about it.
This was my second time flying this route on Cathay Pacific – I also flew CX101 last time, when it was operated by an older 777. However, that was eight years ago, so I was excited to be heading to Sydney again!
Cathay Pacific Flight CX101
Monday, March 2, 2026
Origin: Hong Kong (HKG) Gate: 31 Dep: 23:55 (00:00+1)
Destination: Sydney (SYD) T: 1 Gate: 36 Arr: 12:00+1 (11:55+1)
Duration: 9 hr 5 min (8 hr 55 min)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER Reg: B-KQH
Seat: 71A (Economy Class)
J and I boarded through the second set of doors, and were welcomed in by a friendly crew member.
Walking Past Cathay Pacific’s 777 Premium Economy
After walking past the rear cabin of Cathay Pacific’s Aria Suite, I walked past the 48-seat premium economy cabin, which was newly debuted on the airline’s new 777s. The load on this flight was quite light, so presumably most of these seats went out to Sydney empty – most of the cabin was still empty when we boarded the aircraft.
I’ve reviewed Cathay Pacific’s new 777 premium economy here, so feel free to check out that review as well.
Cathay Pacific 777 Premium Economy Class
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Cabin and Seat
After we walked through the premium economy cabin, we were greeted by the economy class cabin.
A cabin “refresh” can go both ways. For example, Cathay Pacific refreshed their regional business class cabin, and it looks as drab and boring as ever. Thankfully I didn’t find this to be the case with the airline’s new 777 economy class cabin, as I found it to be quite bright and youthful. I like the green and grey contrast, and the pops of teal are nice as well.
I took a few photos of the cabin when I had priority boarding a few months ago, and I’ve shared the photos below.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Cabin
On this evening flight, we first passed through the larger forward cabin, which featured 142 seats.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Cabin
We then walked into the smaller rear cabin, which featured 126 seats. The seats are laid out in a 3-4-3 configuration, so the seat width is approximately 17.3″. That’s not a lot of seat width, and it felt ever so slightly narrower than on the A350, which features 18″ seat width – on a longhaul flight, every inch matters!
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Cabin
J and I had selected seats in the last row, in row 71. We intentionally chose the left side because the seats in the last row weren’t right in front of a lavatory, and this was a good choice – I certainly enjoyed being able to recline freely without worrying about the person behind me. While I don’t usually find this to be a big deal, the window alignment at these seats was great as well.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Row 71
Padding was good, and the seat was supportive. Furthermore, each seat featured a good amount of recline. The seat pan also adjusts forward, maximising the recline angle and minimising how much space you take from the person behind you. This was helpful for me, as the person in front kept his seat reclined for a majority of the flight (which wasn’t a problem for me).
The seat also features an adjustable headrest, though in this case it isn’t adjustable in the same way it is on Cathay Pacific’s A350. However, I still found it to be very supportive.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Recline
In front of me was a tablet holder, which folded out to reveal a storage compartment. While it’s still an “either-or” situation (i.e. you can’t use the tablet holder and store something in the compartment at the same time), I far preferred this arrangement to that of the A350, since I could safely store a phone, AirPods, or glasses in the compartment with the compartment door closed.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Storage and Tablet Holder
I also appreciated that there was a little pocket for a phone or small item by the seat pocket, which showed good attention to detail. Note that this seat pocket is only on these newest 777s – you won’t find them on their older 777 fleet (though you will find the storage compartment pictured above).
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Seat and Phone Pocket
The other noticeable improvement was that the tray table was much more adjustable, and slid much further back. This meant that even when I was using the tablet holder, I could still place a laptop on the tray table. This was also helpful for meals, as I could pull the meal tray closer to me if I wanted to.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Tray Table
In terms of other features, there’s a dual-pin headphone jack. I would’ve preferred a single pin, though this was a moot point for me, since I have AirPods that connect to the IFE’s Bluetooth audio system.
In terms of in-seat power, there’s a USB-A port. I would’ve wished that a USB-C port was added in during the refresh, though this hadn’t happened. There’s also a universal power port between seats.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Headphone Jack and USB Port
While the seat is a tiny bit tighter, I far preferred the design to what I’d just experienced on the A350. There was much more storage available at the seat, and I found it to be equally comfortable. I also thought that ergonomically the seat made a lot more sense – for example, I liked that it was possible to pull the tray table a lot closer to you, which wasn’t possible on the A350.
I guess if I were to be nitpicky, I wish the seat would’ve had USB-C charging. I’d also have made the storage compartment a bit deeper, so I could’ve used the tablet holder and the storage compartment at the same time. Lastly, I would’ve wished that there was a power port at every seat, instead of two between three seats. However, overall I was very happy with this economy class seat, and found it to be well-designed.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Amenities
At my seat I found similar amenities to what I’d experienced on our ultra-longhaul flight from London to Hong Kong. There was a pillow and soft blanket. The Cathay Pacific signature pillow featured a rough side and a smooth side (for people who preferred different pillow textures), and the blanket was more substantial than I’ve experienced on many other carriers.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Pillow and Blanket
There was also a pair of over-ear headphones. Economy headphones are never great, though in this case I had AirPods featuring Bluetooth audio, so this was a moot point.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Headphones
While there were no menus at our seat to start with, we were handed some menus at the end of the boarding process.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Menu
There’s no amenity kit or anything in Cathay Pacific’s economy class, though I found it easy to get cosy with the amenities provided.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Entertainment System
One of the perks of flying Cathay Pacific’s new 777s is that the at-seat tech is upgraded. The UI is very similar to what you’ll find on the newer A350s – the home screen features a timeline where you can see when meals are served, etc..
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Entertainment System and Timeline
There’s also an entertainment selection, featuring a good number of movies and entire series of TV shows. I didn’t count, though apparently there are over 3,000 selections, featuring over 4,500 hours of watch content.
J was pleased with the movie selection onboard, and was kept entertained with some movies, whereas I mainly tried to get some sleep. (The below pictures are from the preceding A350 flight, which had an identical entertainment selection, though an ever so slightly different UI.)
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Entertainment System
However, there are a couple of tech upgrades. The main tech upgrade is the ability to use Bluetooth audio, which is a huge upgrade especially in economy, since the provided headphones aren’t great. The only other aircraft featuring these are the A321neos (which don’t fly longhaul), so if you’re a movie watcher you might want to seek out one of these newer 777s on a longhaul flight, all else being equal.
As you can see below, there’s also a Watch Together feature, much like on the airline’s other newer aircraft – this lets you sync up your movie with someone you’re travelling with. In addition, there’s a WiFi availability indicator as well, which is also featured on the A350s – this was usually a minute or so behind when detecting whether WiFi was available or not, though was generally useful.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Settings and Bluetooth Audio
The other cool tech feature is a lavatory availability screen, which shows you which lavatories are occupied and which are free. I think the greyed out ones may have had broken sensors (green means available, and red means occupied). While I remember finding this to be a gimmick in business class and even premium economy, in economy it can actually be quite useful, so you minimise the time you disturb your neighbour for if you’re not in an aisle seat.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Lavatory Availability Feature
The 777s also feature external cameras. There isn’t a tail camera (which is my preferred view), though the front camera is high-definition.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Front Camera
The most notable tech upgrade here is Bluetooth audio, though the other features are quite nifty as well, and I appreciate them.
Taking off from Hong Kong Airport
This flight had a much lighter load than my preceding flight from London, and actually most of the seats were empty. J and I had a set of three seats to ourselves (though she still stayed in the middle seat for the entire flight, so I did have a fair comparison of seat width for those wondering), and some took the liberty to sprawl out in the empty rows of four near the back of the cabin.
The captain came onto the PA at 11:45 PM, 10 minutes before our scheduled departure time. He mentioned our flying time of 8h 40m, though warned that weather in Sydney wasn’t great, as well as saying that we’d experience turbulence when flying over storms over Darwin.
At least that’s what I think he said. I noted that the captain’s PA was especially weak (in terms of volume), so I really struggled to hear him – this is a little surprising for a newly refurbished aircraft, and presumably not the most safe either.
The inflight service manager also came on to give an announcement, and I was fascinated to hear that this flight was codeshared with MIAT Mongolian Airlines (as well as British Airways and Finnair).
We pushed back a couple of minutes after our scheduled departure time, and I waved goodbye to the other Cathay Pacific aircraft that we taxied past.
Taxiing at Hong Kong Airport
At around this point the safety video was screened.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Safety Video
We had a short taxi to runway 25L, and at this point the cabin lights were dimmed, as we prepared to take off.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Cabin during Takeoff
While on a clear day we would’ve seen good views of Hong Kong, on this overcast evening there wasn’t much in the way of views during takeoff, sadly. We were wheels-up just after 12:10 AM, and reached cruising altitude around 20 minutes later, when the cabin lights were turned back on for the meal service.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Cabin After Takeoff
The cabin crew came around to pass out water after takeoff.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Lavatory
At this point I used the lavatory. Cathay Pacific’s 777s have six lavatories in economy class, and unlike on their other aircraft, they’re not shared with premium economy (which features two dedicated lavatories for 48 seats – possibly one of the best ratios in the industry). Since there were 268 economy seats, this made for a 45:1 passenger to lavatory ratio in economy, which is also not bad.
The lavatories themselves have a nifty feature – the flush sensor is touchless, so you can just wave your hand over it to flush. This doesn’t always work super well, however, and I resorted to just using the button usually. The bathrooms were otherwise kept clean, and featured Nobility amenities.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Lavatory
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class WiFi
Cathay Pacific features WiFi onboard their longhaul fleet, and this A350 was no exception. WiFi is chargeable in economy class, as follows on this shorter flight to Sydney:
- A one-hour pass cost US$9.95 (£7.34/HK$78)
- A full-flight pass cost US$19.95 (£14.75/HK$156)
I purchased a full-flight pass. WiFi speeds were very good on this evening flight, and a speed test actually measured 36.79 Mbps down and 3.33 Mbps up. My one complaint was that the portal itself took quite long to load, particularly if I tried to log in – this is something I’ve experienced on Cathay Pacific flights in the past, and I imagine I’d be especially annoyed if I had to log in in order to access complimentary WiFi (such as if I was a Silver member, or flying premium economy).
Cathay Pacific has no plans to introduce Starlink WiFi onboard their planes.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Meal Service
After we took off, the cabin crew sprang into action to provide a meal service, just so we could all have some rest. Do note that this flight was probably 50-60% full at best, so of course the timings would’ve been faster than if the flight was full.
On this late-night flight, the crew sprang straight into action with the main meal, and there was no preceding drinks service (which is sensible). The menu read as follows:
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Menu
Meanwhile, the drinks menu read as follows:
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Drinks Menu
Once again, I was impressed to see three different options available in economy for the first meal service. In this case, even though we were the absolute last people to be served, all three meal choices were still available (once again probably due to the light load).
J and I decided to sample a couple of different meal options. She went for the stir-fried chicken with lao gan ma chilli crisp, which was flavourful and tasty, though packed a punch.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Meal – Stir-fried Chicken with Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chilli Crisp
Meanwhile, I decided to try out the vegetarian option – cauliflower with cheddar and white cream sauce. It was less “cauliflower cheese” and more “vegetables swimming in cheese sauce”, though I liked the flavour and the vegetables were cooked well.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Meal – Cauliflower with Cheddar and White Cream Sauce
The appetiser to the top left was spicy marinated cucumber with dried beancurd. I really like Cathay Pacific’s side salads, and find them to be creative and punchy, unlike the boring leafy green salads and one-dimensional vinaigrette you get on some other airlines. The meal was also presented with some fruit and ice cream.
For my drink, I saw a Gweilo craft beer (Hong Kong craft brewery) on the menu so wanted to try it, though was handed a Betsy beer instead without explanation. Betsy is Cathay Pacific’s own brand, named after their first aircraft. I’ve tried this beer before and enjoy it, though would’ve wanted to try something different in this case.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Meal Service Drink – Betsy Beer
We were the last people to be served, which was done at 1:20 AM, 70 minutes after we took off. Much like on the previous flight, I was happy to see that our meal trays were cleared quite quickly.
At this point the mood lighting was turned on briefly, before the lights were turned off, so we could get some rest.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Mood Lighting after Meal Service
Overall, I enjoyed the meal quality onboard Cathay Pacific. The meals aren’t particularly complex, which I enjoy – they’re easy to execute and reheat onboard a plane, and are also flavourful.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Service Between Meals (or lack thereof)
I noticed that there weren’t any cup noodles or egg tarts on the menu onboard this flight, which are catered on some longhaul flights out of Hong Kong. I asked a crew member about this, and they mentioned that Cathay Pacific doesn’t provide any form of on-demand catering between meals on flights to Australia. Sydney and Melbourne just miss the cutoff, though she detailed that egg tarts and cup noodles are catered on flights to New Zealand, due to the significantly longer flight time.
So expect mid-flight snacks on any flight to Europe, the U.S., New Zealand, or South Africa, though not on flights to Australia (or any regional flight).
The crew were really nice, and the crewmember I was speaking to even asked whether I was hungry, so she could source some biscuits or other snacks for me. In reality I was just curious (since I was writing this review), so I thanked her for her kindness, though declined.
Instead I just tried to get some sleep, occasionally making brief peeks out of the window to see the sunrise as we headed south towards Australia.
Sunrise while cruising to Australia
While the captain had warned of some chop over northern Australia, this ended up being quite short-lived, and the remainder of the flight was quite smooth.
I ended up writing some reviews for a short while and getting some other bits and bobs done on the inflight WiFi, before getting some rest. I was able to get comfortable, though sleep was a bit harder to come by, as it was still afternoon in the UK.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Pre-Landing Meal Service
The cabin lights were turned on around 2h before landing, and around 1h 45m before landing breakfast was served. I was fascinated to see that breakfast was served starting from the back this time, presumably by design – so that those who missed their preferred meal choice during the first meal service could be first to choose during the second meal service.
There were two options for breakfast, and J and I decided to sample both options. I went for the scrambled eggs, which once again were okay – decently executed, though the eggs weren’t so fluffy, and the potatoes were soggy.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Meal Service – Scrambled Eggs
J went for the dim sum, which was actually super flavourful (though not far from what you’d get from a frozen supermarket aisle in Hong Kong – that’s still a compliment, since it was still tasty!).
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Meal Service – Dim Sum Selection
Both meals were served with a warm bread roll, fruit, and yoghurt.
I was excited by the fact that Cathay Pacific serves Hong Kong-style milk tea in economy. Admittedly it’s made out of a powder, and it wasn’t even very concentrated. However, it’s still nice to see that sense of place being integrated into Cathay Pacific’s drinks menu, even in economy.
Overall, I was quite pleased with the catering on my Cathay Pacific flights. I enjoyed the various options, and they were all simple, well-executed dishes.
Landing into Sydney Airport
Once again our meal trays didn’t take very long to clear, and I tried to get a little more sleep before our descent into Sydney. The cabin was finally prepared for landing around 20 minutes before we landed.
Cathay Pacific 777 Economy Class Cabin during Landing
I had my eyes glued to the window – it was my first time in Australia in eight years, and I was excited to be back!
Landing into Sydney Airport
We touched down onto runway 34L at 11:50 AM, and had a super-speedy 5-minute taxi to our gate. I enjoyed seeing all of the widebody aircraft that fly into Sydney Airport, including United, British Airways, Etihad, Emirates, China Southern, and Vietjet widebody aircraft.
Taxiing at Sydney Airport
I also saw a Thai Airways A350 and Air New Zealand 777, as well as a parked Singapore Airlines A380 and United 777.
Taxiing at Sydney Airport
We parked at gate 36 at 11:55 AM, next to a Cebu Pacific A330neo.
Cebu Pacific A330neo at Sydney Airport
I had the external camera on during this time, and had a very cool angle of what was happening below, as well as a peek of a Vietnam Airlines A350!
Reaching gate at Sydney Airport
Soon it was time to disembark, and I had a view of the 777 that I’d now flown in all three cabins, spanning a total of 16,570 miles.
Cathay Pacific 777 at Sydney Airport
Australia uses eGates for all nationalities now, and we were waved through customs – so it didn’t take very long for us to be landside, and I was ready for a great week in Australia!
Conclusion: Cathay Pacific’s New 777 Economy Class
While a 10-abreast configuration in economy isn’t fun, I’m a fan of the seat design onboard this Cathay Pacific 777. The seat is comfortable with good recline, and I particularly like the storage options here, including under the TV screen and by the seat pocket. I also didn’t find the narrower seat width to be particularly noticeable compared to the A350, even though it’s obviously a downgrade compared to 777s with 9-abreast economy seating.
Being able to use your own headphones does make a difference on ultra-longhaul 777s (as well as the generally more responsive entertainment screen), though I otherwise wouldn’t go out of my way to fly one of the airlines’ newer 777s. However, I think this seat is significantly better than the A350-900 economy seat, and probably would go out of my way to fly this instead if both were available on the same route with a comparable schedule – I’ve not tried the A350-1000 seat personally, though it seems much closer to this seat in design than the A350-900. This is particularly relevant on routes between Hong Kong and destinations such as London and Sydney, where frequencies operated by different aircraft can depart a mere hour apart from one another.
While I wish that we got the “full” soft product on this 9-hour flight (and probably would’ve been particularly peckish on a daytime flight, which Cathay Pacific also operates to Australia), I found the catering to be tasty, and the service friendly. Ultimately in economy I’m looking for a sufficiently comfortable experience with good entertainment and WiFi, and this flight delivered that.
What’s your favourite Cathay Pacific economy class seat?
