Cathay Pacific’s New Route to Washington DC And Possible Cape Town Flights?!

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Cathay Pacific has announced that they will be launching a new service to Washington Dulles from the 15th of September, 2018. The new route will be Cathay’s seventh destination in the United States, and will also be Cathay Pacific’s longest route, as well as the longest route out of Hong Kong. The flight will be operated by Cathay Pacific’s yet-to-be-delivered A350-1000 aircraft. You can read more about the cabin configuration and the seats on the aircraft here. 

a large airport with a tower and a traffic towerWashington Dulles Airport 

The flight schedule will be as follows:

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Overall, the flight times are quite similar to what you see on Cathay’s Newark flights as well as Cathay’s CX846/845 services to JFK. While I really dislike the outbound flight timing (it basically drops you off at your destination bright eyed and bushy tailed), the inbound flight times look quite good for maximising rest and minimising jet lag.

Cape Town Rumours?

After Cathay’s new Washington DC route leaked, rumours of a new Cape Town route started swirling on the CX Secrets Facebook page. CX Secrets has historically been a really reliable source for information leaks, and have been a really valuable insight into the inner workings of the airline.

cape-town-1314002_1920.jpg

Cape Town is an increasingly popular tourist destination for Asian travelers, so it makes sense that this would be Cathay’s second foray into the South African market.

Cathay Pacific currently offers flights to Cape Town in the form of a codeshare agreement with Comair for British Airways on flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town. The codeshare agreement also extends to flights to Durban and Port Elizabeth.

a plane flying in the skyComair for British Airways Boeing 737-400

Personally, I’m going to hedge my bets that the new flight will be operated by the Airbus A350-900, which is an aircraft designed for longer routes with limited capacity.

a large white airplane parked at an airport

The Airbus A350 features Cathay Pacific’s latest cabin products, including their latest reverse herringbone Business Class seat, which Alvin reviewed a couple of years ago.

IMG_0593Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 Business Class

The aircraft also features Cathay’s latest Premium Economy seat, which I recently wrote about briefly. 

IMG_0574Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 Premium Economy 

In the back of the bus, Cathay has stocked an Economy seat which I haven’t been given the opportunity to try, but I’ve heard many good things about.

IMG_0577Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 Economy Class Cabin 

If the route is announced, it will be the fifth long-haul destination that Cathay Pacific will be launching in 2018 after Dublin, Copenhagen, Brussels and Washington DC, meaning that next year will be a massive year in terms of network growth for the airline which.

Bottom Line

It’s really nice to see Cathay Pacific expanding to more long-haul destinations. The introduction of new Airbus A350 aircraft is allowing the airline to expand their global reach, which is really great news for consumers (especially since it means fewer people are stuck on their 10-abreast 777 economy product). Here’s to hoping that the slew of new destinations helps the airline get back on their feet!

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