Cathay Pacific Reveals First US Route for Its A350

Last year, Cathay Pacific took delivery of its first A350-900. Since then, it's accepted 10 more frames and has 11 additional on order. In September, the Hong Kong-based carrier announced its first North America route serviced by the A350, which would connect Hong Kong (HKG) and Vancouver (YVR). But now, we know the first opportunity to fly the A350 on a route between Hong Kong and the US.

Beginning October 31, 2017, Cathay Pacific will launch thrice-weekly service between Hong Kong (HKG) and San Francisco (SFO). The new route will operate as follows:

• CX892 Hong Kong (HKG) 6:45pm Departure ⇒ San Francisco (SFO) 2:45pm Arrival — Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
• CX893 San Francisco (SFO) 12:55am Departure ⇒ Hong Kong (HKG) 8:05am (+1) Arrival — Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays

The new A350 service will add to the carrier's existing nonstop flights between the two cities, which are both operated by Cathay's 777-300ER aircraft. With the addition of this new A350 service, the airline will operate 17 weekly flights between HKG and SFO.

Cathay's A350 is comprised of three cabins: business, premium economy and economy. The business-class cabin offers 38 lie-flat suites that have 45 inches of pitch and are 20 inches wide arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. The premium economy cabin is comprised of 28 seats in a 2-4-2 configuration. Each seat has 40 inches of pitch and is 20 inches wide. The economy cabin, meanwhile, has 214 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. Each seat has 32 inches of pitch and is 18 inches wide.

The flight is available to book now, and one-way tickets on the inaugural from HKG to SFO cost ~$915 in economy, ~$1,580 in premium economy and ~$6,960 in business. If you're looking to use your points toward a redemption for one of these flights on the new A350, your best bet is by using American AAdvantage miles. And, there appears to be good availability on the new route, with at least two seats available in business on most days:

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If you book through American, you'll pay 70,000 miles one-way in business class at the saver level or 32,500 miles in economy at the saver level. Or, you could book through Alaska's Mileage Plan for 50,000 miles one-way in business class or 30,000 miles in economy.

This is great news for US travelers who have been wanting to test out Cathay's new A350 product. Previously, announcements involving the aircraft for new routes included only international markets — Vancouver (YVR), Tel Aviv (TLV), Dusseldorf (DUS), London (LGW), Manchester (MAN), Rome (FCO), Auckland (AKL), Melbourne (MEL) and other inta-Asia routes.

H/T: One Mile at a Time