Cathay Pacific’s 777-300ER implementation of the Cirrus seat (originally produced by Sicma, then Zodiac, now Safran) is the reference business class product of the early 2010s, popular to the extent that partner American Airlines adopted it lock stock and barrel for its own 777-300ERs.

By and large, it has stood the test of time well, and even a decade and a half later remains one of your author’s very favourite business class seats, especially on this long overnight day flight from Hong Kong to London — now a fourteen and a half hour haul over the central Asian steppes, the Caucasus and the Black Sea.

Settling into the seat — full disclosure, as a guest of the airline — I noted that it remains in very good physical condition, with its attractive teal seat covers, greige thermoplastics above the table height and blue palette below the table. In bed more, it remains one of the more spacious and well designed seats out there, with the cutouts to enable even taller passengers to roll over happily, a real plus.

To the side of the seat, I was particularly struck by how practical the control panel remains: installing the power socket here was a stroke of foresight in the late 2000s, a time when nobody was as tethered to their smartphone as they are in the 2020s. The iPod connector eXport, however, remains a lesson in why to plan for consumer technology obsolescence.

The physical seat adjustment control panel above the armrest area remains one of the best of its type, far more elegant than the elbow-sensitive touch panels on many modern seats, and clear both for blind and visually impaired travellers as well as far-sighted passengers who simply don’t have their glasses on.

I also found myself referring back to the small LED display on the remote with time-to-destination often — it was good not to have to bring the moving map up for this information.

Soft product includes a soft pillow and duvet with pleasantly premium covers, while a small Bamford amenity kit in a cheery orange was also on offer. Nothing here to write home about, and I’m not sure that having the same amenity brands in business and first class is very smart for first class, but it all did the job.

The service onboard was elegant and efficient despite the large business class cabin, and I was particularly impressed by the design of the food offering, where Cathay cross-caters items from the lunch menu onto its all-day dining options.

Following a moreish amuse-gueule that I paired with a Cathay Delight mocktail, lunch included three starter and five main courses — truly impressive — as well as a cheese course and five options from the dessert trolley. I selected all three dishes in partnership with Michelin starred Hong Kong restaurant Duddell’s, but would have been delighted with any of the mains on offer.

The chicken and jellyfish salad was refreshing and delicious: crispy, tart and sweet, very much the perfect appetiser on an aircraft. 

The red braised pork belly with radish, though, was absolutely superlative. Hong shao rou is one of my favourite dishes, and I couldn’t have asked for a more mouthwatering example. Top marks.

Utterly charming was the cheese and dessert trolley service, where the crew were keen to encourage passengers to choose multiple options, which felt generous and was a lovely way to while away the time. I went for the cheese, which was excellent, as well as the perfectly textured chrysanthemum and longan jelly, with a choice of in-season tropical fruit as well.

The wine list was equally excellent, with Ayala Champagne, a Chablis, the Framingham Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, the Michel Lunch Médoc, a South Australain Shiraz and Graham’s 2017 LBV port. 

I also particularly enjoyed the selection of Jing teas, which were an excellent way to stay hydrated on the long flight — I’ve really started to notice the dehydration on older pre-composite aircraft with higher cabin altitudes and lower humidity levels like the 777-300ER.

The all-day menu was a real hit too: three substantial options including the fabulously Hong Kong wok fried seafood in lobster broth, as well as a signature Hong Kong egg tart, but my favourite were the fresh berries in rose syrup, which were perfectly ripe and brilliantly complimented by the light rose element.

For the pre-arrival meal, I went for the pork burger, which was very tasty, but I’m not sure I needed a bread roll to go with it.

The one big downside to the experience was the inflight entertainment system. While Cathay’s onboard library is among the most extensive in the sky, the screen was very low resolution.

I did check surreptitiously that the low-res screen wasn’t just my seat having some issues, but all in the cabin seemed to be the same. 

I know Cathay upgraded its first class screens over the last several years, and perhaps the ongoing delays to the 777-9 mean that this screen feels longer in the tooth than it otherwise might. But understanding the reason doesn’t change the fact.

Overall though, this was a strong flight for Cathay and a competitive product on the market.

The food and beverage really stood out, meaning that Cathay is placed in a good position for the introduction of its new seat later this year.

Cathay Pacific provided flights to enable this review, as well as interviews in Hong Kong.

Related Articles:

• Cathay can draw inspiration for new first class from iconic product
• Singapore Airlines 787-10 proves perfect PaxEx fit for midrange ops
• JAL first class continues to shine despite delayed hard product
• Cathay’s Aria business seat tease spurs big interest
• Inside herringbones: a decade and a half of Cirrus
• Cathay first needs a soft product focus and soon a hard product upgrade

All images credited to the author, John Walton