Discover all Cathay Pacific First Class routes & Destinations

Cathay Pacific’s fleet consists of Airbus A321, Airbus A330, Airbus A350, and Boeing 777 aircraft. However, First Class is only available on select Boeing 777s. The airline’s Airbus aircraft exclusively feature Business Class.

Cathay Pacific’s First Class offers traditional seats rather than enclosed suites like those of Singapore Airlines. Despite this, the cabin provides exceptional privacy, with only six seats, far fewer than most airlines. The 1-1-1 configuration ensures an unparalleled amount of personal space, and the seats themselves are remarkably spacious.

Arrangement of the 6 seats in First Class in Cathay’s B777-300ER (Source: AeroLopa)

Cathay Pacific First Class Routes

Cathay Pacific is based in Hong Kong, with Hong Kong International Airport serving as its hub. While the airline offers flights to destinations across all continents except South America, First Class is only available on select routes to major cities in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Currently, the following routes feature Cathay Pacific First Class:

• Hong Kong – London (LHR)

• Hong Kong – Paris (CDG)

• Hong Kong – Los Angeles (LAX)

• Hong Kong – New York (JFK)

• Hong Kong – Beijing (PEK)

• Hong Kong – Tokyo (HND)

All First Class routes are operated once daily using a Boeing 777-300ER.

All Cathay Pacific First Class routes (Source: GCMap)

Booking Cathay Pacific First Class with Miles

As a member of the Oneworld alliance, Cathay Pacific award flights can theoretically be booked through any Oneworld frequent flyer program, including Cathay’s own Asia Miles program. However, at present, First Class availability is exclusively found through Asia Miles.

Finding Cathay Pacific First Class Availability

As with most airlines, Cathay Pacific’s best First Class availability is found through its own Asia Miles program. Oneworld partner programs typically have access to a limited number of First Class seats.

• Hong Kong – London (LHR) - 125,000 Asia Miles

• Hong Kong – Paris (CDG) - 125,000 Asia Miles

• Hong Kong – Los Angeles (LAX) - 125,000 Asia Miles

• Hong Kong – New York (JFK) - 160,000 Asia Miles

• Hong Kong – Beijing (PEK) - 43,000 Asia Miles

• Hong Kong – Tokyo (HND) - 50,000 Asia Miles

Asia Miles offers a useful reward flight calendar that displays availability over an entire month. By clicking on a date, users can view the best options for that period. However, even if a date shows no symbols, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s no availability, so it’s worth double-checking manually.

Cathay Pacific’s award availability calendar (Source: Cathay Pacific)

For Oneworld programs, American Airlines AAdvantage has traditionally been the most reliable for searching Cathay Pacific First Class availability. The calendar feature allows users to filter for “Nonstop only” and “First” to browse month-by-month availability. However, currently, AAdvantage does not appear to have access to Cathay Pacific First Class award flights.

Conclusion

Cathay Pacific First Class is regarded as one of the world’s finest premium products, highly sought after by frequent flyers and mileage enthusiasts. Unfortunately, it is now only available on a limited number of routes. Additionally, award availability is currently restricted to the Asia Miles program.

On the bright side, Asia Miles is a transfer partner of the American Express Membership Rewards program, making it relatively easy to convert points into Asia Miles.

For fans of Cathay Pacific’s First Class seat, it’s worth noting that Qatar Airways operates four Boeing 777 aircraft leased from Cathay Pacific and offers First Class tickets on select routes. More details on this can be found in the linked articles below.