I can remember the details from only a few of the long-haul international flights I’ve taken over the years.
There was the 13 hours from SFO to Istanbul where I was wedged into a middle seat in a back row that didn’t adjust at all; the 13-and-a-half hours to Taipei where my personal entertainment system was broken; the 11 hours to Amsterdam that became 14 hours when last-minute repairs were required before takeoff.
Every time I tell myself that’s just the nature of international travel. The aching joints and sleep deprivation are the ounce of flesh you give in exchange for seeing the world.
But a couple years ago, Cathay Pacific came up with a better option—and they’re finally giving travelers in and out of San Francisco the chance to experience it for themselves. A few months ago, the airline introduced its award-winning Aria Suite to its first U.S. flight—the 14- to 15-hour direct route from SFO to Hong Kong—and taking it this spring has forever ruined me for all future air travel.
If you're traveling with a companion, you can lower the privacy screen between adjacent seats in the middle of the row to chat.(Courtesy of Cathay Pacific Airways)
No, seriously. Have you ever been on an international flight you literally didn’t want to end? I have.
This isn’t just a seat on an airplane. It’s an entire micro hotel room, complete with a door of its own. The Aria Suite is, in fact, so tricked out that it takes me several solid hours and an instructional video to figure out all its bells and whistles.
The thing I’m most excited about is the seat, which stretches out into a recliner or lays completely flat with the push of a button (and can be adjusted to any position in between). Maybe, for once, I’ll actually be able to sleep—which will come in handy considering I arrive in Hong Kong at 6:40am and have to stay awake at least until late afternoon hotel check-in.
For the waking hours, there’s a 4K personal screen with Bluetooth audio streaming installed over the nook into which the foot of the bed extends when at full length. Two feet from my eyeballs and 24 inches wide, it's so immersive it might as well be a movie theater screen. The content is expansive: mega blockbusters, indie films, international films, television shows from premium streamers, and tons more. I listen to it with the comfy, over-ear headphones that hang on a little hook in the magnetic-doored cupboard at my side. Next to it is a shelf-cum-desk with personalized adjustable lighting and a sliding surface concealing a cubby underneath. If you were flying with a buddy, you could keep the privacy slider between the two rows of center suites open for optimal communication.
A meal in the Aria Suite(Courtesy of Cathay Pacific Airways)
Meals are taken seriously in the Aria Suite. I don’t even know there’s a dining table stashed away under the entertainment center until a flight attendant pushes a button to swing it out and lays it with a placemat and real silverware. At dinner there are two soups—tomato basil or shrimp and pork dumpling, for example—and three main dishes to choose from, some of which, like the halibut with scallion oil and butter sauce with sautéed French beans with lily bulbs, were developed in collaboration with Michelin-starred restaurants Duddell’s and Louise. Dessert, too, has a Michelin pedigree, with the French-inspired Louise turning out dishes like chocolate panna cotta with sourdough tuiles, and Duddell’s “Hong Kong flavors” like hawthorn jelly with Chinese yam. Several items from the menu are also available on request throughout the flight.
After dinner and the conclusion of my movie, it’s time to get ready for bed. The amenity kit, which was designed by British lifestyle brand Bamford, has a wood-handled toothbrush and toothpaste, little bottles of moisturizers and balms, an adjustable sleep mask, and disposable ear buds. By the time I shuffle back from the bathroom in my provided slippers, nighttime routine complete, the flight attendant has turned down by bed, which in this case means fitting my seat with a soft, custom seat cover that stretches from foot to leather headrest and topping it with a cozy, 600-thread-count-covered duvet and pillow. Deeming the softness of my pillow acceptable (I could have requested a firmer option if I hadn’t), I spritz it with Bamford’s dreamy Pillow Mist, then close the door to my Aria Suite and touch the button to melt my seat into bed mode.
Did I sleep well? Well, no, not really—but I did manage to log a solid six hours before my restlessness got the better of me. Another movie and some research on Hong Kong on the free wifi later, and breakfast arrives. I’d already pre-ordered, hanging the menu card on my door for the flight attendant before I’d gone to bed, selecting from one of four choices: a “wellness” breakfast full of superfoods; a “lighter breakfast,” something like an avocado and tomato omelette; a Chinese breakfast; and a meat-heavy Western breakfast. Coffee (including cappuccino) is from Illy; classic and bespoke teas by Jing.
The Aria Suite is like a micro hotel room with a door that closes.(Courtesy of Cathay Pacific Airways)
Still the flight goes on and, somehow, I don’t mind at all. The ability to easily adjust the angle of my seat prevents the cramping legs and aching back that I know most of the rest of the plane’s passengers are suffering from right about then—though along with their Aria Suites, Cathay Pacific has also added a new Premium Economy option and refreshed their Economy cabins. Honestly, I feel a little guilty. I’m about as comfortable as I am watching movies at home.
Eventually, though, the captain announces that we’ve begun our descent. We’ve made it halfway across the world in just under 15 hours and, when I deplane into the parallel universe that is Hong Kong, I do so with the kind of pep in my step I can’t remember ever having had after a long international flight.
It’s hands down the best flight I’ve taken, full stop. Every international flight I take from this point forward, will forever be chasing the dragon that is Cathay Pacific’s Aria Suite.
// The Aria Suite is available only on direct flights between SFO and Hong Kong. Get the details at flights.cathaypacific.com.
The amenity kit was designed by British lifestyle brand Bamford.(Courtesy of Cathay Pacific Airways)
