Just checked in to CX178. Looking forward to Aria. I thought I missed out after someone booked it right before I did (I had to do some OWA shenanigans first). Then I thought I'd check on Asia Miles instead of QFF and lo and behold it was there.
Interestingly it was available when there was less than 5 overall open seats. I guess CX are one of the airlines to open up their own awards close to departure.
Impression of Aria Suite for me after taking it a few days ago.
Solid next gen product. It's more of an evolution upgrade on the existing Cathay business than a whole new revolutionary product.
Some Pros:
Big 4k Screen. Very nice big touch screen - althought I didnt see any way to connect my own device to it.
Really nice blanket and mattress topper in a bag (that I thought was an ottonman for a bit). Mattress topper was soso but the blanket was good.
Good controls for the most part. Very sleek design for the seat controls - but it wasn't obvious immediately.
Lots of nooks and cranny to put stuff.
Nitpicks:
The seat controls only allow you to hit the button to preset positions and then you press stop to adjust.
The tray table comes down but in the "recline" preset position, it would potentially hit my thighs. My partner had no problems on that end though.
They had the opportunity to bad the back shell wall with some softer material and could end up with a lite version of Finnair's product when the seat was fully reclined. I sat up after I woke up and realised it was pretty similar but not quite same - missed opportunity here I think.
The Doors and dividers were already struggling a bit so I dont know how their longevity would last. My partners door took forever for the attendants to unjam itself and then they couldn't fully lock it on landing so it just slid back out on landing impact (same with the dividers actually). The crew also took forever to unlock the doors as compared to the QR crew who pretty much undid it even before we hit cruising.
Overally pretty solid safe update imho from CX. Just not revolutionary.
