allianceflyer9506

So you're saying that CX Safran Cirrus A350 beats TG OZ SQ Stellia Aerospace seats JL Safran Euphony A35K and JX Rockwell Collins Elements which is also the CX B77W Aria seat? Lastly CX major rival in the MNL-North America and HKG-MNL markets PR RP-C3501-3508 Thompson Vantage XL.

djsflynn

I reckon some of this may need to wait until the actual mock-up rigs are on display, as the video doesn't show all the seat's features... eg if you zoom in on the pic showing the large screen positioned above the footwell you can see indications of the stowage space in there (by dint of the latch circled in the pic below), it was just one element not explored in a video which was largely and understandably selling the new stuff.

VE105

Yes, this is another feature that I was so afraid they have removed when I first watched the video, and it makes no sense to me (why they would do so).
At second (close) glance though I saw another shoot that does show this storage space.

rhysflies

The biggest clues (to me at least) that this is based on Collins Elements are the long skinny arm rest, the door emergency latch system (compare it to Starlux Elements seat - it's virtually identical) and the screen size. In marketing material, JPA claimed the Airtek could take up to 20" screens. This is 24" - again, same as Starlux, so Collins can clearly accommodate that size.

There are some intriguing differences, for example the sliding tray storage unit, which I think is an excellent innovation but is not on the 'standard' Elements seats we have seen so far.

hkhighflyer

Purely for discussion purposes only - many people thought Aria is underwhelming and lacks innovation unlike when CX first rolled out the Cirrus seats. But I am just wondering what else could they have done to bring an innovative product that is not already in the market.

People like to compare to SQ or ANA (“the Room”) but personally I don’t like their seats as the footwell is quite narrow making it hard to flip and turn while in flat bed mode. Aria is not any different from Q Suite. Finnair J seats are terrible for long haul (all personal opinions only). Unless CX makes their J class like a F product (which will take up more space), it is pretty difficult to beat any of the other seats already available in the market.

I am just curious what would you have wanted in this new seat if you were to design a brand new J class seat.

For the time being, I am hoping that CX will bring better soft product when Aria officially launches.

jagmeets

Very fair point, hkhighflyer

I am not really a fan of the Q-Suite, or SQ’s seats either. Haven’t tried ANA’s Room.

Perhaps, I like Cirrus too much, and am certainly no designer- but building on that spacious design, with upgraded tech (Aria), and engg hacks for more storage etc, and I’d be a very happy camper. Door- I don’t really care, but it could probably be do-able, if that’s the trend to be followed.

I do hope that Aria is better on the ‘tight’ cubby aspect than it currently looks like, to me.

VE105

I think the negative sentiments mainly come from the fixed TV that leads to a more restricted (vertical) legroom, which was one factor that trumps CX's current business class product over many of its competitors, and people hate to see it gone.
Of course there are some other advancements, notably the huge TV screen and privacy door, but those features are quite standard in new generation business class so people may not get very excited about them, not to mention doors are not to all passengers' liking

djsflynn

During results presser I had the opportunity to ask Lavinia Lau (Chief Customer and Commercial Officer) about the 777 retrofit program: she confirmed this would be for 30 x 777-300ERs, and says they'll be doing one per month, which means assuming a mid-2024 start, then that's six done by end of 2024, 18 done by end of 2025, 24 by end of 2026, and entire fleet by mid-2027.

VE105

Thanks for the update. Would love to know if CX has plan to retrofit A350s as well after 77Ws are done.

NZflyer777

I wonder if the 777-9 will have a wider business seat.

oldchinahand

t is now confirmed that the ‘Area’ seat is based on a totally new seat design and is the launch of JPAs new concept seat that has been featured, engineered and refined for Cathay Pacific.

What it is not is an update of any existing seat platform.

“Project AIRTEK is a JPA Design collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering and SWS Aircraft Certification to create the future of lightweight and sustainable cabin structures.
The partnership, which is funded by the UK Governments’ Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), brings together world class experts in design, engineering, manufacturing, material sciences and aviation certification”.

Cathay has also developed a new first class seat named “Halo Suite”. Initially designed for the Boeing 777-9 however I feel that it is likely to also to be added to some of the airlines newer 4 class 777 300s.

djsflynn

this looks like an extract from a blog or other report - have you got a link to it? The claim sounds 100% incorrect to me, even though it says “confirmed” (by who, one wonders).

djsflynn

Question time super-limited so I had to make one good swing, but hoping for a broader update on all this soon – although I expect Aria will remain a 777-specific 'flagship' product, and to be honest there's nothing crucially wrong with the A350 business class, nothing that'll stop many passengers from booking CX over competitors.

oldchinahand

David - it is 90% a quote but it came from an involved source that i would be reluctant to post. The 'confirmed' is not my addition.
Is it correct ?- clearly I believe so due to the source. But 'fact' is of course another matter

pochi

To be fair, 350 has nothing wrong but aged worse. I took 4 different A350-900 in business this month. There are a lot to fix (seat movement with huge sound, broken USB port with no fix, both storage area lock broken, using power socket means you can’t use IFE to listen anything).