Some of the most aspirational business-class award redemptions are increasingly hard to find, even for the most experienced points and miles enthusiasts.
Cathay Pacific is a prime example. It’s harder and harder to find award availability in the Hong Kong-based airline’s premium cabins, especially with partners.
But one trick still works: Look for award availability when airlines launch new routes or bring back old ones.
I was able to fly from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) for just 75,000 Atmos Rewards points. That is a screaming deal. But there was only saver-level availability for a limited time when the schedule was first loaded.
It turned out to be a fantastic redemption, with excellent service, delicious food and a comfortable lie-flat seat for the long journey across the Pacific.
I’ll have more details later in this story on how to find some of these incredible deals in business class, but first, let’s talk a bit more about this flight.
Here’s what my experience was like aboard Cathay Pacific’s Airbus A350-900 and how you can use a similar strategy to find these elusive business-class awards.
Cathay Pacific’s resumed Seattle service to Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific relaunched its service to Hong Kong from Seattle in March 2026, after suspending the route during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The route originally launched in March 2019 and was canceled in November of the following year. The airline’s CEO told TPG that the carrier had always wanted to restore the route, which was Seattle’s first nonstop service to Hong Kong since the pandemic.
The plane was a nine-year-old A350-900 with the ship number B-LRL, with 38 business-class seats, 28 premium economy seats and 214 economy seats.
It was a very comfortable way to cross the Pacific and opens up fun new ways to get to Asia from the U.S. West Coast. It also adds another way to use points and miles to fly to Hong Kong, though as you’ll read below, it’s no easy task to find the lowest-level award availability.
The Club Lounge in Seattle
Business-class guests on Cathay Pacific are invited to use The Club at Seattle in the South Satellite area, which is connected to the main terminal by an underground train.
The Club SEA is an independent lounge that participates in Priority Pass. It offers a buffet of hot and cold food items and free drinks. It’s basic, and it doesn’t hold a candle to Cathay Pacific’s own lounges in places like San Francisco and Hong Kong (no noodle bar here). However, it will do the trick for a quick drink and bite.
It was crowded during my quick visit, and I didn’t spend much time at this lounge, since I’d had access to the beautiful Alaska Airlines lounge in the N Concourse. I grabbed a bite there before heading to the S Concourse, which is about to get a major, modern $2.5 billion renovation. It should be a much nicer place to hang out once the renovations are done.
Flying on Cathay Pacific’s A350-900 in business class
Cathay Pacific has 38 business-class seats, split between two cabins. I was in the forward cabin with 30 seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. There is a smaller cabin with just eight business-class seats behind a small galley/boarding area, which looked like a good option for a more intimate experience.
I chose seat 18K. These seats are 20.5 inches wide with plenty of pitch. There are no sliding doors, but there is a privacy wing at level with a passenger’s face.
The seats fold down to 75 inches in length to become fully flat beds, though the footwell is a bit narrow.
Cathay Pacific gave out British lifestyle brand Bamford amenity kits that had moisturizer, cooling body gel, pillow mist, an eye mask, earplugs, a toothbrush and toothpaste and mouthwash. There were also noise-canceling headphones and a bottle of water at the seat.
The seat had lots of little storage areas, along with slippers (but no pajamas, as Cathay only has pajamas on select planes with first class).
Bathrooms are plentiful, with two in the front of the main business-class cabin and one more behind. The coolest thing was that the two bathrooms in front have windows — something you don’t see that often on airplanes. Amenities were provided by Bamford and included a moisturizing spray and lotion.
The inflight entertainment was great, with an 18.5-inch HD touchscreen and plenty of movies and entertainment. I was able to choose from hundreds of movies and television shows (including a documentary on Cathay Pacific’s 80th anniversary). There was also a tail camera and a moving map. A handheld controller is available to navigate the screen.
Cathay Pacific provides free Wi-Fi for business-class passengers, and I found it worked well on my flight. It’s not as fast as Starlink, but it was still easy for me to get some work done.
I really like Cathay Pacific’s business-class seats on these planes, though I’m excited to try one of Cathay’s newer Aria Suite business-class products someday. Those suites are currently being installed on their Boeing 777-300ER fleet.
I’m especially hoping to see it on flights to and from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), which the airline has hinted could come as soon as next year. (The timing of that rollout remains to be confirmed.)
Soft product on Cathay Pacific’s A350-900
A friendly and attentive crew, delicious food and good bedding made for a great flight across the Pacific. I had especially good service with flight attendants Mei, Amanda and Elsa, all of whom were super friendly and chatty.
Service wasn’t as formal as some Asian airlines I’ve flown, and the crew was fun to be around.
A predeparture beverage of orange juice or water was served during boarding.
Not long after takeoff, flight attendants served drinks. I went with a nonalcoholic Cathay Delight, the airline’s signature nonalcoholic drink, made with kiwi, coconut and mint.
That was followed by a lovely amuse-bouche of a deviled egg. I could have happily eaten 20 of them.
The egg dish was served with a Betsy Free, Cathay Pacific’s nonalcoholic version of its signature Betsy beer, in a vintage-style Cathay Pacific beer can.
That was followed by an absolutely delicious lunch: a roast carrot soup with a selection of breads, a hearty buffalo mozzarella and rocket pesto salad with grilled radicchio and toasted hazelnuts, and a roasted chicken breast in a maple-chipotle barbecue sauce, served with corn on the cob, creamed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes.
The dessert cart was filled with things like cheese and fruit plates, a yogurt panna cotta, ice cream, or a raspberry tiramisu and, of course, port or wine.
The flight attendants saw me snapping a ton of pictures, so they ended up letting me sample a little bit of almost everything. What a feast!
As if that weren’t enough, flight attendants later brought around a chocolate sampler.
There were also snacks set out in the area between the two business-class cabins.
I was able to pre-select a second meal before the flight, and went with a classic beef burger.
There was a nice set of options available on the pre-order menu.
That meal was served after I’d gotten a few hours of shut-eye. Cathay Pacific is well-known for its burgers, and this one didn’t disappoint.
I’m not sure how they managed to make a burger served at 30,000 feet taste good, but they did.
The flight attendants helped make my bed with a Bamford-branded mattress pad, duvet and large pillow. I managed to get about five hours of sleep — not too bad.
Before landing, there was yet another meal.
Breakfast was a more traditional Chinese meal of congee with shrimp dumplings and siu mai. Honestly, at that point, I was so full that I didn’t eat much of it, but I did enjoy about four cappuccinos.
I’ll tell you one thing: Come hungry when flying international on Cathay Pacific.
How I booked business class for 75,000 points, and how you can, too
I was able to score that business-class seat on Cathay Pacific’s newly resumed flight to Hong Kong for just 75,000 Atmos Rewards points and $5.60 in federal security tax. You can also book Cathay flights with American Airlines AAdvantage miles.
Unfortunately, low-level award space has been increasingly hard to come by using partners lately. That’s why I always look when a new or newly resumed route goes on sale. I’ve often found low-level awards when the route first comes up for booking.
That also happened recently when American Airlines announced new service to Prague and newly resumed flights to Budapest,. The airline made business-class redemptions widely available for just 55,000 Alaska Atmos Rewards points.
So when a new route starts or resumes, check award availability as soon as the seats go on sale.
Related: 9 flight award booking hacks every traveler should know
Of course, you’ll likely find more availability using Cathay Pacific’s own program: Asia Miles. Cathay Pacific often releases more award availability to its own members. You can transfer miles 1:1 from multiple Cathay Pacific banking partners — including Bilt and Citi ThankYou Rewards, among others — directly to Asia Miles. American Express Membership Rewards also transfers to Asia Miles but at a reduced 5:4 ratio.
Award search tools are increasingly a big part of my deal hunt. Some of my favorites include Seats.aero, ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG parent company, Red Ventures) and Roame.travel. I also rely on the Points Path award tool, which runs in my browser, so I can see award availability when I search on Google Flights.
Flexibility is another key to finding award availability like this. You’ll often need to travel whenever a seat is available, not on a specific date. If you’re open to multiple destinations, you’ll also have better luck finding the cheapest awards, especially to destinations like Asia. Consider using wherever you find the best redemption as a jumping-off point to see other destinations in the region.
Bottom line
Business class on Cathay Pacific’s A350-900s may not have all the excitement of its newer Aria Suite, but it’s still a super-compelling product, as my recent flight from Seattle to Hong Kong showed. This trip proved once again why Cathay Pacific is one of my favorite airlines, and the newly resumed service from Seattle adds another option for American travelers.
Friendly service, a great seat, and incredible food and beverages made this trip one to remember. The best part was getting all that for just 75,000 Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards points.
Keep an eye out for newly launched (or relaunched) routes when you are looking for your next great redemption. You might get a happy surprise.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thepointsguy.com
