Cathay Pacific orders more of Boeing's largest plane in bet on premium long-haul travel

Cathay Pacific is betting that demand for luxurious, long-haul travel will continue to grow with its first order for new Boeing planes in more than a decade.

The Hong Kong-based carrier on Wednesday ordered 14 more Boeing 777-9s for a total of 35 firm commitments for the plane. Cathay expects its first 777-9 in 2027 if certification of the new model that is already five years late does not face more delays.

When the 777-9 is delivered, Cathay has big plans for the large twin-aisle jet, part of Boeing's delayed Boeing 777X family. The airline aims to unveil its new long-haul first-class product on the aircraft, executives have said. It debuted a new business-class product, the Aria Suite, earlier this year.

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The Aria Suites feature a wraparound seat design with a lie-flat bed, a privacy door, a 24-inch personal touchscreen TV and other high-tech features.

Lavinia Lau, Cathay's chief customer and commercial officer, said Wednesday that the 777-9s will arrive in two layouts: one with four classes — first, business, premium economy and economy — and a higher-density configuration with three classes.

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The 777-9 stands to be among Cathay's largest planes. Boeing lists the aircraft as seating 426 passengers in a standard two-class layout. Cathay will likely put fewer seats on its 777-9s owing to a more premium-heavy configuration than Boeing's generic specifications.

Cathay's largest plane currently is the Boeing 777-300ER that has up to 438 seats in a high-density layout and as few as 294 seats in its most luxurious, four-class configuration. Cathay's next largest aircraft is the Airbus A350-1000 with seats for 334 passengers in three classes — business, premium economy and economy.

In addition to the new airplane order, Cathay has shifted into growth mode after a slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The carrier began flights to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), its sixth U.S. destination and the largest hub of partner American Airlines, in April. Additionally, it plans to move to the new Terminal 6 at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), where it will open a new, premium lounge sometime in 2026.

"Travel demand for Cathay Pacific remains robust and we will continue to add more flights and destinations for our customers, in addition to introducing more customer experience enhancements," Patrick Healy, chair of the Cathay Group, said in a statement.

As part of Cathay's latest Boeing order, the airline also has purchase rights for seven more planes that, if exercised, could boost its fleet of 777-9s to 42 aircraft.

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