Has Anyone here done HKG-MNL on Aria Suites
 

Looking at CX250 HKG-LHR in some cases it's plane will do the CX903/902 to MNL T3 from HKG? My question is this has anyone here done the Aria suites on HKG-MNL 2hrs in both ways. For starters it beats PAL PR301/307/319/311 equipment on the same sectors. That route gets 2-2-2/2-3-2 Regionals 1-2-1 Safran Cirrus Seats and 2-2 A321neo seats on CX907/913 in business class. Specific widebody flights where Aria suites can rotate to MNL T3 are 901/930 919/918 903/902 and 939/912 widebodies.

I tried Aria recently. I must say I am quite disappointed.

For starters, the seats have many issues.
- My 3-point seatbelt was broken, perhaps an isolated issue.
- I was moved to an in-op seat where the tray table is already broken.
- The armrest is very hard to operate on both seats.
- When you use your own bluetooth headphones, there will be no audio for cabin announcements.
- The entrance is extremely narrow, its width is exactly the length of the J class menu.
- The touchscreen remote control is harder to operate than the old ones with a few buttons.
- Aria has a much narrower footrest. Its width is 14 inches compared to 25 inches for 11A on the 77As. As someone who isn't tall, the seat is barely long enough. I suppose most people above 170cm would find it quite congested.

In short, there's a lot to be improved.

Narrow entrance seems to be a common theme on these seats where they are trying to game the real estate. That was the first thing I noticed about the UA Polaris seat when I flew it. Couldn't even get my roll onboard through to put it on the seat and get something out.

Narrow footrest is the dumbest thing on this seat. They seem to be oblivious to the fact that legroom was the biggest selling point on their current seat.

You need to crab walk your way into the new seats. Similarly, it makes it harder to climb out when reclined.

Not realising the strength of the previous generation seat, and decided to prioritise a larger screen that people found it unnecessarily big is the biggest disappointment to team who made the call.

Thats odd - Based purely on the layout plan, the floor area has not been reduced (6 rows in D/G and 7 rows at K between first and second door).


And Bluetooth headphone not trasmitting cabin announcement is a pro to me - there are too many unnecessary announcement (e.g
duty free and fasten seat belt, which is already alerted by the alarm) and multilanguages versions

Recently tried Aria too and I greatly enjoyed the screen and didn’t find it unnecessarily big at all. Loved watching movies on it.

Your first two points sound like an isolated incident. Can confirm the armrest is too clever and difficult to operate – had to get a crew member who could barely operate it. Also agree that the touchscreen remote control is badly missing a “back” button.

As a short person, I luckily have no issues with the spacing of the seat.

I was really worried about Aria given that I’m 6’3 (192cm) and 13 US shoes size.

It’s not too bad in terms of seat length and footwell. I could easily stretch my feet without shoes. Got decent 6hrs of sleep from LHR which is pretty good for me. The most annoying thing was turning in bed mode from one side to another.

Still, would have preferred if Aria was just an evolution of the a350 seat with retractable screen.

Imagine having to move houses after living there for ten years? That's what Aria feels for me.

Whilst my memory is fresh, there are a few more points worth being aware of:

- The headrest is indeed unadjustable (A clear downgrade imo).
- The button to open the "jewellery compartment" requires a lot of force.
- I had no expectations for the wireless charging, not surprised that it barely worked.
- The 5 modes for light/recline don't sync as smoothly as you'd expect.
- A longer but narrower armrest.

I should mention some of the positive elements:
- The seat pocket is finally large enough to fit the Cathay magazine.
- I like the takeoff/half/full recline options. Shame the physical seat controls are gone.
- When seated, you can see no other passengers around you.

Flying CX178 late October, seat map shows Aria Suite from 3-4 weeks ago. Hope it’s not an website error and no last minute equipment swap!

After experiencing the new, Aria seats. I would rather book the old CX J seat on a A350. The Aria Suites feel very tight and 'hemmed-in' ...and there was something wrong with the extension of my tray-table, which needed help from one of the FAs.

Seems like the consensus is the Aria suite isnt that great with quite a few shortcomings.

Hope CX can come up with another business seat to replace the regional recliners and wont make similar mistakes with the Halo first seat

i think its only not good in this site. in other places i see a lot of postiive reviews- and they address the footwell issue too.

honestly, if it werent for the footwell, this product would easily stand out. now its more like "2020s new style business class with door and 4K screen" cliche

Flew Aria Suite for first time this week. The big positive of this seat is the privacy. A major improvement over the Cirrus seat in this regard.

My criticisms will echo the general consensus here. Yes the footwell is tight, but more than that, this seat is considerably shorter than the Cirrus configuration on the 350 and 77W. That exacerbates the tightness of the footwell, which would be less noticeable if the seat were longer. My seat also had an uneven surface when laid flat, with a very noticeable bump where the cushions intersect. I also found the fabric of the seat very scratchy and uncomfortable. The net effect of all this is that the seat is considerably less comfortable for sleeping, particularly compared to the 350, which IME is about as good for sleep as any J seat out there.

The video screen is also too close to your face. The size probably would be less of an issue if they hadn't compromised so much on seat length, which has led to the too-close-for-comfort screen placement.

Overall a mixed experience. Given the choice, I would probably take the 350 over Aria based on the better sleep experience.

The new seat looks better but functions worse - hence the mixed opinions
Personally I tend to give more weight to FT reviews than those on TikTok/Youtube as I find my expectations align better with posters here

I do not put a high value on doors but understand others do. If they had added a door to the A350 seat, that would have been a winner. That said I expect the new seat must be cheaper/lighter so that is likely the driving factor