Cathay Pacific’s new and improved Economy Class seats elicit a collective sigh of relief from regular passengers.
The Hong Kong-based airline, which serves 170 destinations in 42 countries, came under much criticism over the past few years for its old Economy Class seats, which did not recline. This controversial (and supposedly revolutionary) design was originally praised for not crowding the knees of the passenger behind, but soon resulted in passenger complaints of the unnatural angle they forced the body to recline into.
Cathay Pacific have listened to their customer feedback, and the new long-haul Economy Class seat returns to the standard recline mechanism, with added features to improve passenger comfort.
The new and improved Cathay Pacific Economy Class seat — Photo courtesy of Cathay Pacific
In addition to a comfort-enhancing cradle mechanism within the seat itself, which allows for 6 inches of recline, the new Economy Class seats also offer improved living space, more legroom and more personal storage space. The headrest with side wings adjusts four ways to maximize support for the head and neck.
Tech-geeks will also applaud the inclusion of 9-inch high-resolution touch-screen personal televisions, with USB and iPod/iPhone/iPad outlets to allow passengers to connect their own mobile devices to view content through the screen. Although, with 100 movies, 500 TV programs, 888 CDs and 22 radio channels on the Audio/Video on Demand system, this might not be necessary. The 110V AC power supply at each seat is another welcome addition.
The new seats will be progressively introduced on all Cathay Pacific long-haul Boeing 777-300ER and selected Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The first aircraft will enter service in March, initially flying to Sydney and Toronto. A total of 36 Boeing 777-300ERs and 26 Airbus 330-300s will be fitted with the seats by December 2013.
