Cathay Pacific ramps up Perth-Hong Kong flights
There’ll be more flights and more seats on board the Cathay Boeing 777s.
By David Flynn, July 27 2023
Cathay Pacific is continuing a steady rebuilding of its Australian footprint, with Perth gaining not only more flights but seeing a larger aircraft.
That’s good news for the extra opportunities it brings travellers, as well as helping put downwards pressure on airfares by boosting the number of seats available to book.
From December 6 2023, Cathay Pacific will increase its Perth-Hong Kong route to five flights per week – up from the current three – with a return to daily flights likely in 2024 as the Oneworld member climbs back to 100% of pre-pandemic capacity.
Flight CX170 will run every day from Wednesday to Sunday, departing Perth at 12.10am to reach Hong Kong at 7.40am; the CX171 return leg leaves Hong Kong at 3.15pm every day from Tuesday to Saturday, arriving into Perth at 10.50pm.
However, Cathay’s decision to replace the route’s current Airbus A350 with a Boeing 777 will receive a mixed response from its Perth-based passengers.
Yes, the 777 delivers a welcome increase in the number of seats in the sky - there’s an extra 21 business class flatbeds (and a score more premium economy and economy recliners, if that’s where you’ll be for the eight-hour journey).
But the 777 has a notoriously noisier cabin than the A350, while also lacking some of the Airbus jet’s refinements which make it more pleasant to spend those eight hours sitting in a metal tube.
Cathay Pacific regional exec Sandeep Pillay says the extra flights and larger aircraft “will be a huge boost to international tourism, business travel, those visiting friends and family, overseas students and demand for WA exports.”
Of course, it’s not just about flying to Hong Kong – Cathay’s extensive international network makes it a popular choice for onwards flights across Asia, Europe and the UK, with the chance to break your journey in the Asian metropolis or just spend some hours in Hong Kong airport’s world-class lounges.
Elsewhere in Australia, Cathay Pacific currently has 19 flights per week to Sydney, 16 per week to Melbourne and four weekly flights to Brisbane, with all of these primed for an increase from the end of this year.
QFF
19 Sep 2013
Total posts 196
Usually a good choice for those elusive business award seats out of Perth, including flights to the U.S. and Canada.
11 Mar 2012
Total posts 314
Given QF has been missing from this route for years I'm happy that CX is ramping it back up.
01 Apr 2014
Total posts 114
Is it known yet if they will operate with 3 class, or 4 class (with First) B77W's?
QFF
19 Sep 2013
Total posts 196
When I last flew a Cathay 777 out of Perth, it had first class. Thought all their 777s had first class.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 435
No, there are 777s without First and this looks like one of them.
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 435
A dummy booking on the CX website shows these 777s don't have First.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
26 May 2014
Total posts 464
5 flights a week to Perth is a long way short of the 10 that CX ran 5 years ago. At one time they probably would have added more other than the senseless quota on their operations to the 4 largest cities in Australia. I see no benefit to Australian carriers from this arrnagement when Qantas hasn't operated on the Perth route for more than a decade. Meanwhile SQ runs up to 5 flights a day.
14 Feb 2023
Total posts 1
Just got an email letting me know that my CX156 flight BNE-HKG is being swapped to a 77W from 359, and looking through the other flights, it seems BNE is also upgrading to a 77W. The one on my route is a 4-class 777, and business class passengers can select seats in the first cabin.
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