Cathay Pacific’s all-new Premium Economy cabin has taken to the skies and while you might be lucky to experience the new product on select routes, the existing cabin has been standout for years across the fleet as James Wilkinson discovers.

From collaborations with Hong Kong dining institutions to fantastic inflight entertainment, spacious seats and legendary hospitality, Cathay Pacific’s Premium Economy cabin has been a standout product for over a decade.

While the focus now might be on what the carrier is doing with the cabin going forward thanks to even more spacious and advanced new seats, the offering as it stands is already one of the best in the market.

Cathay Pacific’s Premium Economy cabin can be found on the carrier’s widebody fleet, including the Airbus A330-300, A350-900, A350-1000 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft that operate on the airline’s key routes to Australia, Asia, Europe, the United States and beyond.

Leading the way in the cabin is the spacious and comfortable seats that offer a generous recline of nine inches, a seat pitch of 40 inches, a width of 20 inches (depending on the aircraft), a headrest, full-length calf rests and leather-padded footrests.

Ideally, the bulkhead rows in the cabin offers a much roomier experience, however with the spacious seat pitch, you’ll feel comfortable in any row on the various aircraft.

The large meal table offers ample room to work and dine, while extra storage spaces, in-seat power – alongside the reliable inflight WiFi on offer – means you can get plenty of work done on both short and long flights.

You’ll find an excellent range of entertainment available on the StudioCX system, from Asian cinema to Hollywood hits, TV box sets and music, plus live sport should you be flying on a Cathay A350 aircraft.

The carrier also added a range of Disney Plus original titles to the system and it accentuated what already was an impressive line-up of entertainment on offer.

While we’ve been a fan of Cathay’s inflight entertainment offering for years, where the airline stands-out is through the dining available in Premium economy, which is ahead of many other carriers’ Business Class cabins.

In January 2025, Cathay Pacific elevated the dining experience for Economy and Premium passengers thanks to a partnership with Eaton Hong Kong’s Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Yat Tung Heen that saw signature dishes take to the skies.

“Teaming up with Yat Tung Heen, a culinary powerhouse in its own right, allows us to transform our inflight dining experience into something even more memorable for our customers,” said Cathay General Manager Customer Experience and Design Vivian Lo.

“Our hope is to enrich every traveller’s journey by giving them a taste of our home city’s unique and iconic flavours, brought to life by the culinary craftsmanship of Cathay Pacific and Yat Tung Heen.”

While the meals on offer vary per flight, expect dishes like a Hong Kong beef curry with broccoli and steamed rice or roasted ling fillet with anchovy in black olive and tomato sauce.

In addition, vegetarian, vegan and plant-forward options are also available to help travellers prioritise their wellness during the flight.

On long-haul flights, expect Hong Kong egg tarts served warm mid-flight, alongside the carrier’s famed Betsy beer, their own Pale Ale brewed for 35,000 feet.

If you’re catching a long-haul flight, Cathay Pacific also offers an environmentally friendly amenity kit featuring socks, an eyeshade, earplugs, a toothbrush and toothpaste to help get you to your destination relaxed.

We can’t wait to see how Cathay Pacific has elevated the new Premium Economy cabin and for now, we’re fans of what’s on offer across the fleet on both short- and long-haul routes.