I tried Cathay Pacific's new premium economy. It is TOP and there are plenty of premium seats

During 2025, I flew only once in premium economy, but it was by no means my intention to "snub" the hottest cabin of the moment in the aviation world.

Things in 2026 will be decidedly different And I wanted to start the year with the big "Italian" news viz. Cathay Pacific's new cabins That, currently three days a week, connect Milan with Hong Kong.

Premium economy by now is a product that makes sense

When the first premium economy seats were born. Were a middle ground with little sense, today things have changed profoundly, at least on the most traveler-friendly companies.

Of course this is not the case for everyone, but it is undeniable that today if you fly in some of these products you will not feel that you wasted money (or points) but that you saved money (compared to business) while still traveling much better (compared to economy).

My impressions of Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy

The full review will come out in the next few weeks, but today I want to tell you about my hot impressions also because if you are thinking of booking for your next vacation, this is the right time to do it. I just tried it, as a paying passenger, and here is my honest opinion.

Six rows of seats, 2-4-2 set-up. With plenty of legroom between rows. There are no compromises and all the choices have been made to make traveling in this cabin comfortable:

1. The first row has the screens in the wall, not in the armrest
2. The last row reclines completely
3. The section is physically separated from the economy

They may seem like three details, but they are the ones that make the difference and are not so obvious.

For example on the new Lufthansa and Swiss cabins, premium economy is not physically separated from tourist class.

Or in PE on ITA's A350s, passengers do not have bathrooms nearby and have to go up to the middle of the plane.

Even if your neighbor doesn't recline, you don't feel "squashed," the leg support, footrest and generous tilt allow you to find the perfect comfortable position, even for a +13h trip.

I flew from Tokyo to Hong Kong, a flight of just over 5h, but the service was really premium. First they offered drinks, then served lunch: real (and beautiful) cutlery, porcelain plates, and Häagen-Dazs ice cream for dessert.

15″ screen, bluetooth connectivity, free wi-fi, bathrooms accessible to people with mobility impairments. In short, nothing is lacking.

How to fly with points

Asia Miles is the loyalty program of Cathay Pacific and is one of the partners of American Express, this means that it is possible transfer Membership Rewards And book a ticket with points.

The cheapest price to fly to PE with Cathay Pacific points is 50k Asia Miles and there is really plenty of availability from now until the end of the year.

Of course, as always you have to add taxes, which for Milan Hong Kong are about 115€ each way.

If instead of stopping in Hong Kong, you want to continue on, for example to Tokyo, the cost of the itinerary rises to 75k Asia Miles plus about 150€ in surcharges.

In conclusion

This is a middle cabin that makes sense to use for flying, either alone or with family, for a long-haul trip like that to Southeast Asia, and if you add to that the ability to do free stop-overs and fly there, easily, with points is really good news.

As a reminder, the new cabins do not fly every day from Milan, currently only flights in the Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from Milan to Hong Kong are operated with refurbished 777s, it is possible that by summer things will improve again, but it is not certain.

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