Grabbing a drink at the world’s highest bar in Hong Kong is about to get easier for those flying from San Francisco. Cathay Pacific will bring its retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER, featuring the carrier’s new Aria Suite Business Class, to the US market for the first time on its San Francisco–Hong Kong route beginning at the end of December. The upgraded aircraft will operate six times per week on flight CX872 from Hong Kong to San Francisco starting Jan. 1, 2026, and on CX873 from San Francisco to Hong Kong starting Dec. 31, 2025. San Francisco to Hong Kong becomes the sixth long-haul route to feature the Aria Suite, which the airline debuted in 2024.
Photo: Cathay Pacific
Aria Suite Business Class Lands in US on Cathay’s San Francisco Service
The refitted 777-300ER introduces a new Business class experience featuring a redesigned Premium Economy cabin, and refreshed Economy seats on selected services between the two cities. Cathay Pacific said the Aria Suite was developed with a “human-centric” approach, aiming to improve comfort, privacy, and functionality through a more spacious layout, intuitive seat controls, and upgraded finishes.
“We are proud to introduce our retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER featuring the award-winning Aria Suite, a redesigned Premium Economy cabin and refreshed Economy experience to customers in San Francisco,” said Cindy Lam, Cathay Pacific’s senior vice president for the Americas, in a press release. “The destination joined our network in 1986 as Cathay Pacific’s first U.S. city, and it has held a special place in our history ever since.”
The cabin investment is part of a wider program of more than HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) across the Cathay Group, covering new aircraft, onboard products, lounges, and digital enhancements. The group has more than 100 new narrowbody, regional widebody, long-haul widebody, and large freighter aircraft on order as it continues rebuilding and expanding its network.
Cathay pacific celebrates a big milestone with a big upgrade
Photo: Benson Truong /Shutterstock
“Next year, as we mark 40 years of flying from San Francisco and celebrate Cathay Pacific’s 80th anniversary, it’s only fitting that this city becomes the first U.S. destination to welcome our newest human-centric cabin experience,” Lam said. “This meaningful milestone represents our ongoing commitment to delivering elevated comfort, thoughtful design, and exceptional service to North American travelers.”
This winter, Cathay Pacific is operating 19 nonstop return flights per week between San Francisco and Hong Kong. Across North America, the airline is offering 110 return flights per week, providing same-day and next-day connections via Hong Kong to more than 100 destinations across Asia and beyond through Cathay Pacific and its low-cost subsidiary HK Express.
“2025 has been a landmark year for the Cathay Group with our combined passenger network across Cathay Pacific and our low-cost carrier HK Express now connecting customers to more than 100 destinations worldwide.”
She noted that the airline launched our first direct route between Dallas-Fort Worth and Hong Kong in April this year, which became a daily service in October following strong customer demand. With the San Francisco deployment, Cathay Pacific positions its latest long-haul cabin at a key West Coast gateway during a milestone year that marks both four decades of service from the Bay Area and the airline’s 80 anniversary. The airline plans to launch direct flights between Seattle and Hong Kong in 2026. 