Review of Cathay Pacific Premium Economy: is the price worth it?

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy is worth the price if you struggle to sleep or sit still in Economy, because the extra legroom, the deeper recline, the calf and foot rests and the earlier boarding change how you arrive rather than just how you sit. Across four long-haul flights I never once got the “are we there yet” feeling, and I did not dread the flight home.

When my ex (then partner) and I decided to head to Australia for a month, we had the chance to work with Cathay Pacific to try out their Premium Economy class. It was a good opportunity, because Cathay Pacific has direct flights from Brussels to Hong Kong and, from there, to different cities in Australia.

That Brussels route paused for five years and came back in August 2025, flown with the A350-900, so the journey described below is bookable again from Belgium.

Now, while I love to travel, I don’t generally enjoy the “getting there” part. Having flown regular Economy long-distance before, I was curious to see if the upgrade would make the experience that much more enjoyable.

Spoiler alert: it did.

Below you can find my Cathay Pacific Premium Economy review based on four different flights, with the rules, prices and cabin details brought up to date where the airline has changed them since.

My Cathay Pacific Premium Economy review

My Cathay Pacific Premium Economy review covers four flights in two aircraft types, from check-in through the lounge, the seat, the food and the service. Cathay Pacific sells Premium Economy as a separate cabin with its own fare rather than as a paid upgrade to an Economy ticket, so everything below describes a cabin you book directly.

One thing to check before you book: Premium Economy is not fitted to every aircraft in the fleet. Look at the seat map for your specific flight number rather than assuming the cabin is there, because Cathay uses several configurations on the same route family and some of them carry only Business and Economy.

Premium Economy Baggage allowance

The Cathay Pacific Premium Economy baggage allowance gives you two checked bags plus a full-size cabin bag and a personal item. The exact checked figure depends on which of the two systems applies to your ticket, and both are listed below.

• Cabin baggage: 1 piece measuring 56 cm / 22″ (L) x 36 cm / 14″ (W) x 23 cm / 9″ (H) at 7 kg / 15 lbs.
• Personal item: 1 small piece measuring 40 cm x 30 cm x 15 cm (16″ x 12″ x 6″).
• Checked baggage under the weight system: 2 pieces at 35 kg in total.
• Checked baggage under the piece system: 2 pieces of up to 23 kg each.

Cathay applies the weight system on most of its network and the piece system on routes touching the Americas, with separate rules again on the Hong Kong to Auckland and Christchurch flights. The number that counts is the one printed on your e-ticket and shown in Manage Booking, so check there rather than working from a general table.

The Premium Economy allowance is more generous than the Economy one on the checked side, where you get 5 kg extra under the weight system. Carry-on rules are identical in Economy and Premium Economy. We didn’t need those extra checked kilos, though, as we only brought about 11 kg each in our checked bags when we left, and about 13 kg each when we came back. As carry-on luggage, we both had a laptop backpack and a small tote bag.

Status still adds allowance on top, but the program has been renamed. The Marco Polo Club no longer exists: Cathay merged it with Asia Miles in 2022 into a single program called Cathay, whose tiers are Green, Silver, Gold, Diamond and the invitation-only Diamond Plus. If you are reading an older review that mentions Marco Polo Silver or Gold, those are now Cathay Silver and Cathay Gold.

Check-in and bag drop

Cathay Pacific check-in opens 48 hours before departure and closes 90 minutes before it. They send you an email reminder when the online check-in option opens, and one passenger can check in everyone booked on the same reservation.

There’s no need to print your boarding pass. Cathay Pacific accepts electronic boarding passes, and if you want, they’ll print a paper copy for you at the airport when you drop off your luggage. If you haven’t selected your seats beforehand, you can do so during the online process.

Check in online anyway, even when you are not fussy about seats. It lets you confirm all your flight details, hold the seat you want, and it speeds up the baggage drop at the airport. When you’re flying Premium Economy, there’s a separate drop-off lane for you at the counters, which means you won’t have to queue with everyone flying regular Economy.

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong lounges

Cathay Pacific Hong Kong lounges are not included with a Premium Economy ticket, and there is no Premium Economy lounge. Lounge access at Hong Kong International Airport comes from your Cathay tier or your oneworld status, not from the cabin you booked.

There is one paid route in. Cathay Silver, Gold and Diamond members can buy a lounge pass for travel companions on the same booking, through Manage Booking, up to 90 days before departure. The pass costs a flat USD 75 (HKD 600) plus any applicable tax, it works only on Cathay-issued tickets on Cathay-operated flights, and it covers selected lounges rather than all of them. It is also forfeited with no refund if you change route or cancel.

Cathay has four lounges at Hong Kong International Airport: The Wing, The Pier, The Deck and The Bridge. Two of them, The Wing and The Pier, are split into a First section and a Business section. The largest is The Pier, Business, at roughly 3,300 m² (about 35,500 sq ft) with room for around 550 guests, which makes it the biggest lounge Cathay operates anywhere, though not the biggest in the world.

Two of those lounges have been in and out of refurbishment recently, so check which are open before you plan a long layover around one. The Wing, First reopened in April 2026 after close to a year closed, and The Wing, Business is scheduled for its own refit.

So we could show you what it’s like, Cathay granted us lounge access on our trip. With more than a 2-hour layover, a pass is worth buying if you can get one.

Review of the Hong Kong lounges

The Hong Kong lounge worth planning a layover around is The Pier, and it is massive. It has a deli-style food hall with a barista stand, a lounge bar, a noodle bar, and a teahouse. You can freshen up in the showers, get some rest in the relaxation room, or use the dedicated yoga and meditation space. Then there’s the large lounge area overlooking the tarmac.

We had a 3-hour layover on the way to Australia and a 4-hour layover on the way back, during which we used The Pier to get some food, sleep a bit, and get some work done.

We tried food from the food hall, noodles from the noodle bar and cakes from the teahouse. At the food hall, everything is laid out in buffet form but behind a window, so you need to ask for what you want. I would have preferred self-serve, because you sometimes had to wait and I felt as if the staff expected you to take a bit of everything instead of just one large piece of, for example, the lasagna.

I do have to say that you could go back as often as you wanted to and the food was good.

Drinks in the food hall are self-serve, except when you order coffee from the barista stand. There’s a large selection of soft drinks, beers, and even fresh juices. You can also get tea and coffee from a machine here.

Drinks are self-serve in the noodle hall too, where you can also help yourself to a selection of noodles and dumplings. Aside from that, it’s also possible to order some dishes freshly made from the bar. We tried the noodle soup, which we thought was good.

At the teahouse, you can choose from a selection of fine teas which are prepared freshly for you. There’s also a good choice of small cakes and cookies. Whatever your fancy, you won’t leave The Pier hungry.

When it comes to getting work done, there’s free WiFi throughout the lounge, and if you haven’t brought your own laptop, you can use one of the available Macs.

A long Hong Kong layover is also long enough to leave the airport, and the tours below are the ones running from the city right now.

Cathay Pacific boarding process

The Cathay Pacific boarding process puts Premium Economy in the third group, right after First and Business, which is most of what you are paying for at the gate. That leaves you ample time to get comfortable in your seat before takeoff.

Ah, the boarding process. People who line up as far as the next gate to get on the plane even though they have numbered seats, just to make sure their carry-on can go right above their heads. Or at least, that’s why I think they do it. None of that for you in Premium Economy.

The flight attendants help you settle in by offering you a drink (bubbles are an option) and a warm hand towel. No need to flip open your tray table, because there’s a separate drink holder built right into your seat. More on the Cathay Pacific Premium Economy seats below.

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy seats

The Cathay Pacific Premium Economy seats give you around 40 inches of pitch on the A350 with roughly 9 inches of recline, a full-length calf rest and a leather-padded footrest. Cathay Pacific fits Premium Economy in a 2-4-2 layout on the A350 and 2-3-2 on the A330, so there is a pair by the window on both.

Over the course of our four flights, we flew in two different aircraft types. They had the following seating arrangements in Premium Economy:

• from Brussels to Hong Kong: A350-900 with seat arrangement 2-4-2
• from Hong Kong to Brisbane: A350-900 with seat arrangement 2-4-2
• from Cairns to Hong Kong: A330-300 with seat arrangement 2-3-2
• from Hong Kong to Brussels: A350-900 with seat arrangement 2-4-2

On three of those flights, we had two seats next to each other on the right side of the plane. From Cairns to Hong Kong, we had two of the three middle seats. The seats-per-two are obviously good if you’re traveling as a couple, but having a middle seat (I did on that one flight) wasn’t bad either, because of the space you have.

Worth knowing if you are planning the same routing: Cathay’s Cairns service now runs seasonally rather than year-round, so the Australia leg may not be available in the month you want.

In terms of the cabin, the A350 felt a tad newer than the A330. The one big difference we noticed was that in the A350 Premium Economy, people sitting behind a division wall had their entertainment screens mounted on the wall, while in the A330 you had to pull the screen out of your chair, which meant you couldn’t use it during landing or takeoff.

Neither aircraft had a dedicated bathroom for Premium Economy, though there were toilets in the Economy cabins right behind us. Cathay has changed that on its newest cabin: the refitted Boeing 777-300ER carries Premium Economy lavatories on each side of the cabin, with touch-free fittings and an occupancy indicator you can read from the seat.

Here you can see the Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 Premium Economy seating plan:

And here’s the Cathay Pacific seating plan for the A330-300:

You can check out the Cathay Pacific seating chart well before your flight when you choose your seats.

Cathay Pacific seat selection

Cathay Pacific seat selection is free in Premium Economy and opens as soon as you’ve purchased your flights, inside Manage Booking. Cathay Pacific shows the seat you were assigned at the time of booking, the seats already taken, and the ones still available, each in a different color.

If window seats are your thing, you can pick them with ease. To change your seat, click the seat you want and save the change. If there are several people on your booking, you can choose and change their seats too, making sure you all sit together. Or not, depending on who you’re traveling with.

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy seats review: features and comfort

The Premium Economy seat is more spacious than the Economy seat in every measurement that matters: seat width, legroom, armrest width, screen size, recline depth and pillow size. That is the honest summary of the cabin, and it is what you notice within about ten minutes of sitting down.

When you get to your chair, a large pillow lies ready together with a blanket and an amenity kit. The amenity kits include socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste, an eye mask, and earplugs, which is useful on a night flight. If you don’t need it, you can stow it in the standard seat pocket in front of you or the extra fold-out pocket underneath the entertainment screen.

Your table folds out of your left armrest. It has a fold in the middle so you can open it fully or use half of it for more space.

Your right armrest has a small area where you can stow things such as your phone, paper tissues and a lip balm (only in the A350, not in the A330). It’s also where you plug in the large Cathay Pacific headphones that are provided, and where you find the remote for the entertainment screen, including the buttons to call the flight attendant and turn on the light.

This side of your chair also has seat control buttons, USB outlets and a pull-out drinks holder. The drinks holder is the only part of the chair I would have designed differently, because it is a tiny flat shelf and leaving a full glass on it felt risky. That is nitpicking, given the armrest has a shared drinks holder on top of it as well.

Each seat also has a personal reading light tucked into the headrest. I only discovered mine late into our last flight, so at least now you know it is there.

In terms of comfort, the seats on both aircraft were well padded. They recline significantly and have leg rests, and the A350 seats add an extendable foot rest. Both aircraft had enough overhead storage. I didn’t see anyone struggling to put their things away.

Cathay Pacific inflight entertainment

Cathay Pacific inflight entertainment in Premium Economy gives you a wider screen than Economy plus over-the-ear noise-canceling headphones. Cathay Pacific also lets you angle the screen, so the picture stays clear however far you or the passenger in front of you reclines.

The system offers magazines, television series, games, and a large choice of international films. It shows how far along you are on your flight and, my favorite feature, it lets you look outside the aircraft.

Say what?

The planes we flew had a nose camera and a tail camera broadcasting the view outside live for the whole flight. A window seat is no longer required for views. You could switch between the top and the bottom view to watch the take-off and landing, or to look at the landscape passing beneath you. It was the first time I saw this and I thought it was great.

You choose films and everything else using the touchscreen or the remote in your seat. On the refitted 777-300ER, Cathay has moved to 15.6-inch screens with 4K HDR and Bluetooth audio, so you can pair your own headphones instead of using the supplied pair.

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy WiFi

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy WiFi is now free for Cathay members, which is the single biggest change since we flew. Cathay Pacific extended complimentary WiFi to Premium Economy for anyone who adds a membership number to the booking or at check-in, on top of First and Business passengers and Diamond and Gold members in any cabin. Membership is free to join.

Without a membership number attached, you pay by package. Cathay lists them at USD 12.95 for flights of six hours or less, USD 19.95 to 24.95 for flights longer than six hours, and USD 7.95 to 9.95 for three hours of continuous use, with the exact figure set by the route. Browsing cathaypacific.com and the Cathay Shop is free in every cabin, and there is no data cap.

We didn’t use the WiFi ourselves, because there were plenty of other things to do on the flight, but a paid package was the only option at the time. If you want to clear your inbox in the air today, sign up for a Cathay membership before you book instead.

Cathay Pacific meal services

Cathay Pacific meal service in Premium Economy includes two meals on every long-haul flight, plus snacks on request between them. Cathay Pacific gives you a choice of main course, normally one meat, one fish or chicken and one vegetarian, unless you pre-selected a special meal.

On the three flights we took in the A350, we were offered a paper menu at the start of the flight. On the A330 flight from Cairns to Hong Kong, the flight attendants just listed the options as they handed out the meals.

If you follow a specific diet, you can choose the matching meal type in advance through Manage Booking. I don’t need to follow one, but to test it I ordered low-fat meals while my ex went with the regular option. All meals were served on porcelain with stainless steel cutlery.

In terms of drinks, we were given bottles of water to keep with us, got drinks with every meal, and could always ask for more water or orange juice. I was very happy with my meals: the low-fat ones were light and had flavour. My ex thought his regular meals were fine.

Service

The service in Cathay Pacific Premium Economy was the strongest part of the experience, and the cabin crew was some of the friendliest I’ve met while traveling. The crew on our first two flights welcomed us warmly and you could tell they genuinely wanted the flight to go well for us.

They were always friendly, never bothered by a question, and came round often with fresh drinks and snacks.

Maybe because the service on those first two flights was that good, I was a little disappointed by the crew on the way back. In fairness, the service was still excellent, and if every flight had been like the last two I would have nothing negative to say. Drinks and snacks came round a little less often. Garbage was collected a little less often. And when I asked for noodles about an hour before breakfast (yes, you can get unlimited noodles), the flight attendant seemed reluctant to make me a cup.

So, again, the service on all four flights was good. The crew on the first two was simply better than the crew on the second two.

One thing I found odd on our flight from Cairns to Hong Kong was that they turned the cabin lights off and asked passengers to close their window blinds on a daytime flight. I spent the whole flight reading with my light on, but if you fall asleep easily and were trying to beat jet lag, it wasn’t ideal.

Is Cathay Pacific Premium Economy worth it?

Cathay Pacific Premium Economy is worth it for anyone who sleeps badly on planes, and less so for anyone who doesn’t. It depends on your budget and on how much comfort matters to you: if you drop off whatever the seat, the extra space and features may not earn their price, but if you’re like me and rarely sleep on a plane while taking on ten different positions in a few hours, it does.

I had expected Cathay’s Premium Economy to beat regular Economy. I hadn’t expected the experience to be as good as it was. Not once during any of our flights did I get that annoying “are we there yet” feeling, and I didn’t dread flying home, because I knew we’d be comfortable.

Compare the extra cost of flying Premium Economy against the extra cost of flying Business, and Premium Economy is the easy call when you want more comfort and have a bit of extra budget.

What does flying Cathay Pacific Premium Economy cost?

Flying Cathay Pacific Premium Economy costs whatever the fare is on your route and dates, because Cathay sells it as its own booking class rather than as a fixed upgrade fee on an Economy ticket. That is why no single figure is useful here: the gap over Economy moves with route, season and how far ahead you book, and it moves a lot.

Two things do stay true. The Premium Economy fare is consistently well above the Economy fare on the same flight, and it is far below the Business fare, which is what makes the middle cabin the sensible compromise rather than a small extra. Prices also differ between one-way and return.

For your own dates, compare live Cathay Pacific Premium Economy fares and check the Cathay Pacific site for the fare conditions attached to the ticket you are buying.

That’s it. I hope this Cathay Pacific Premium Economy class review has given you a good idea of what to expect when you book Premium Economy. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions.

PIN FOR LATER

We were invited by Cathay Pacific to try their Premium Economy class so I could share an honest review about it.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

The 5 tips below come from our four flights between Brussels, Hong Kong and Australia and from re-checking Cathay’s current rules in 2026.

1. Add a Cathay membership number to the booking before you fly. Membership is free to join, and it now makes WiFi free in Premium Economy. Without a number attached you pay by package, at USD 12.95 for flights of six hours or less and USD 19.95 to 24.95 for anything longer.
2. Open the seat map for your exact flight number, not for the route. Premium Economy is not fitted to every aircraft in the fleet, and Cathay runs several configurations on the same route family. The Cairns service is seasonal on top of that, so the cabin you are reading about is not guaranteed to be on your plane.
3. Read your checked allowance off the e-ticket rather than off any table. Cathay runs two systems side by side: 2 pieces at 35 kg in total under the weight system, and 2 pieces of up to 23 kg each on routes touching the Americas. Manage Booking shows which one your ticket uses.
4. Buy the Hong Kong lounge pass only if you already hold Cathay status. It costs a flat USD 75 (HKD 600) plus tax, is sold through Manage Booking within 90 days of departure, is limited to Silver, Gold and Diamond members buying for companions on the same booking, and is forfeited with no refund if you change route or cancel. Our layovers ran 3 and 4 hours and the lounge earned its place; under 2 hours it would not have.
5. Ask for noodles between the two meal services, and look in your headrest. Noodles are available outside meal times, and each seat hides a personal reading light in the headrest. I only found mine late into the fourth flight, which is three flights later than I needed to.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the first-hand notes in this post come from four Cathay Pacific Premium Economy flights between Brussels, Hong Kong and Australia. The team covers long-haul flying for independent travellers, including the cabins, lounges and stopover tours worth booking, and updates this page when allowances, prices and rules change.