Cathay Pacific to Launch Hong Kong to Tel Aviv Route With Its A350

Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific announced today that it will begin nonstop service between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv on March 26, 2017. The carrier expects the route to be popular with both business and leisure travelers, and it's decided to operate this flight with its new A350-900 aircraft.

Here's the schedule for the new route (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays):

• Summer:
• CX675 Hong Kong (HKG) 1:00am Departure ⇒ Tel Aviv (TLV) 7:40am Arrival
• CX674 Tel Aviv (TLV) 1:50pm Departure ⇒ Hong Kong (HKG) 5:10am (+1) Arrival
• Winter:
• CX675 Hong Kong (HKG) 1:00am Departure ⇒ Tel Aviv (TLV) 7:00am Arrival
• CX674 Tel Aviv (TLV) 12:45pm Departure ⇒ Hong Kong (HKG) 5:15am (+1) Arrival

Cathay took delivery of its first A350 earlier this year, and it looks like a great product — comparable to Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. The carrier's A350 offers three cabins, with 214 seats in coach (arranged in a 3-3-3 configuration), 28 seats in premium economy (2-4-2) and 38 seats in business class (1-2-1). The aircraft will also feature an enhanced in-flight entertainment system and Wi-Fi connectivity in all three classes.

As of this writing, the flight is bookable on Cathay's site, however, there is no award availability. A round-trip economy flight on the inaugural flight will run you around HKD 5,301 (~$683).

In premium economy on the same flights, it'll cost you HKD 12,461 (~$1,607), and in business class on the same dates, the flight will cost you about HKD 30,481 (~$3,930). Based on award charts, you could get some good value on this route when redemptions become available. For example, you could redeem 30,000 Alaska Mileage Plan miles or 40,000 AAdvantage miles for a one-way business-class ticket.

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The carrier currently has five A350s in service, and by the end of next year it will have taken delivery of 22. It currently serves the airline's Dusseldorf and London-Gatwick routes, and it will begin service to Auckland and Rome this month. In addition, it will begin A350 service to Paris and Vancouver in November and March next year, respectively. So if you've been eyeing an opportunity to fly on an A350 — and specifically a Cathay A350 — there are now more routes to take advantage of.