Despite Financial Woes, Cathay Pacific Launching Three New Routes to Europe

Cathay Pacific may be facing financial problems, but it remains one of international standards for excellent seats and service onboard its flights. Now, the Hong Kong-based airline just announced three new European destinations: Brussels (BRU), Copenhagen (CPH) and Dublin (DUB).

Service between Hong Kong (HKG) and these three European capitals will be on Cathay Pacific's newest aircraft, the Airbus A350, starting on these dates:

• Brussels: March 25, 2018
• Copenhagen: May 2, 2018
• Dublin: June 2, 2018

The route to DUB is especially notable. As the Irish Times points out, this will be Dublin airport's first-ever direct flight to the Asia-Pacific region. (Not the first to Asia, though, because the ME3 carriers — Emirates, Etihad and Qatar — have been connecting Dublin to their Gulf home bases for years.)

Here are the flight schedules for Brussels:

• CX 339 — Hong Kong 12:35am Departure ⇒ Brussels 6:55am Arrival (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday)
• CX 338 — Brussels 1:10pm Departure ⇒ Hong Kong 6:55am+1 Arrival (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday)

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Copenhagen:

• CX 227 — Hong Kong 1:10am Departure ⇒ Copenhagen 6:30am Arrival (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
• CX 226 — Copenhagen 1:55pm Departure ⇒ Hong Kong (HKG) 6:35am+1 Arrival (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)

and Dublin:

• CX 307 — Hong Kong 12:50am Departure ⇒ Dublin 6:45am Arrival (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday)
• CX 306 — Dublin 11:00am Departure ⇒ Hong Kong 7:30am+1 Arrival (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday)

Of course, points and miles aficionados will want to know how much these flights will cost. Using Cathay Pacific's own Asia Miles program, each of these flights falls in the 5,001 to 7,500-mile distance band. If you're just flying the nonstop, the flights will cost:

But, that's just nonstop flights. You might be able to add on a few more connecting flights for the same price using Asia Miles' excellent program.

Alaska's Mileage Plan will provide some great redemption options on these routes, especially in premium cabins. Booking Cathay Pacific flights between Asia and Europe with Alaska miles costs 30,000 miles one-way in economy, 35,000 miles one-way in premium economy or just 42,500 miles one-way in business class. And remember that you can book a stopover even on a one-way Alaska award.

If you're looking to use American Airlines AAdvantage miles for these routes, one-way economy flights between Asia Region 2 and Europe costs 35,000 miles and business class costs 75,000 miles. The AAdvantage award chart provides no discount for round-trip flights and still doesn't include premium economy awards.

Using British Airways Avios, the CPH flight just slips into "Zone 6" pricing, while DUB and BRU flights fall in "Zone 7" pricing:

Not planning to fly between Europe and Asia? You can still experience Cathay Pacific's newest aircraft on flights between Hong Kong (HKG) and North America. The airline has already announced A350 flights to:

• Vancouver (YVR), which started in March
• Newark (EWR) beginning October 29
• San Francisco (SFO) beginning October 29

When do you plan to check out Cathay Pacific's A350?