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2 July 2026 |
As we celebrate 80 Years Together, 2026 has already been a very special year for Cathay. I’d love to share a few highlights and what’s coming next.
Highlights from the first half of 2026
With your continued support, we remain focused on our vision of becoming our members’ and customers’ most loved service brand. We are honoured to be recognised in Airline Ratings’ 2026 World’s Best Airlines awards, with Cathay Pacific named in the top two World’s Best Full‑Service Airlines, and winning World’s Best Business Class for our Aria Suite cabins and the World’s Best Airline‑Branded Lounges. These accolades reflect our people’s dedication and our members’ recognition.
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It’s especially meaningful to share these recognitions with you in our 80th anniversary year. From special aircraft liveries including our iconic “lettuce leaf sandwich” design, to vintage uniforms and a curated collection of anniversary merchandise inspired by different eras, these celebrations honour our heritage, with more to come throughout the year.
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An important part of our heritage lies with our thoughtfulness on the details that shape your journey. On the ground, we recently reopened our newly redesigned flagship lounge, The Wing, First, at Hong Kong International Airport. Reimagined with even greater comfort, privacy and offering a more seamless end-to-end experience and elevated service, it marks a new chapter for our signature lounge design. And in response to members’ feedback, we have reduced the number of seats in Economy onboard our new Airbus A321neo aircraft* for more space and comfort. Additionally, on the new aircraft, we’re advancing further the onboard entertainment experience by bringing you the world’s first 4K HDR10+ content** including larger 13.3-inch OLED screens in
Economy.
More to look forward to in the second half of 2026
Later this year, we’ll introduce the Aria Studio – our all-new regional Business class experience with a full lie-flat bed and direct aisle access on our Airbus A330-300 aircraft. We're also continuing to roll out our award-winning Aria Suite in Business class, new Premium Economy and refreshed Economy cabins on more of our 35 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. By the end of this year, two-thirds of the fleet will be retrofitted with these new cabins.
Furthermore, we’re looking forward to welcoming you to our first-ever dedicated signature Cathay Pacific lounge in New York, planned for John F. Kennedy International Airport’s new Terminal 6 opening as we make it our new home there.
As announced last year, we’re also bringing you a smoother, simpler and better membership experience in 2027, designed to enrich your journey with smoother status progression, as well as the introduction of Status Points rollover***, a new Diamond Exec status, Diamond membership reserve and more. As we’re now at the midpoint of the transition period, there’s still time to maximise the rest of this year to earn the status you desire for when our enhanced programme launches.
Continuing to invest in what matters most to you
Looking ahead, Cathay continues to elevate the customer experience and strengthen Hong Kong’s status as a world‑leading international aviation hub, connecting Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and the world. This is underpinned by an investment of well over HK$100 billion across our fleet, cabins, lounges and digital innovation.
We are bringing you more new fleet and cabin products in the coming years. We are introducing an all-new world-leading First class experience onboard our Boeing 777-9, which is expected to join our fleet towards the end of 2027 subject to the completion of its certification programme.
As part of this transition, we'll be retiring our current First class on our Boeing 777-300ER and will begin to gradually reduce the availability of First class on our flights as more of these aircraft are retrofitted. Once the new Boeing 777-9 aircraft enters service, we will steadily reintroduce First class availability on our flights. Learn more about the latest schedule here.
Thank you for being part of our journey and for your continued support as our members — we look forward to welcoming you on board and celebrating our 80th anniversary with you throughout the year. |
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Ronald Lam
Chief Executive Officer
Cathay Group |
*The new layout will be progressively introduced through our brand new A321neo aircraft and also refitted onto our existing fleet. Please note the cabin and aircraft assigned to scheduled flights may be subject to change without prior notice due to operational requirements, including deployment changes, weather, maintenance or other circumstances.
**To be progressively introduced to all our A321neo cabins, alongside the gradual introduction of brand new aircraft to our fleet.
***Gold members or above can rollover their excess Status Points to the following year, up to 50% of the required points of the highest achieved status earned within that year. | | | | | |
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