Cathay Pacific 777-300 (Non-ER) Seat Selection Guide (2026)

There are two Cathay Pacific 777-300s and they are not the same aeroplane. The 777-300ER is the long-haul flagship, and depending which of its three sub-fleets you draw it carries Aria Suites, a four-class cabin with First, or a dense Cirrus II layout — all of them with a lie-flat bed in Business. The 777-300, without the ER, is a different airframe doing a different job: seventeen aircraft on regional routes out of Hong Kong, with 438 seats and no bed anywhere on board.

Business: 42 seats, seven abreast, and no flat bed

Business on this aircraft is a 2-3-2 recliner across rows 11 to 18, lettered A C | D E G | H K. There is no row 13. Row 11 is the centre block only — 11D, 11E and 11G — and row 18 drops the centre block, leaving 18A, 18C, 18H and 18K.

Seven abreast means the geometry is against you. Only 24 of the 42 seats have an aisle beside them; the rest are middles, and 12E, 14E, 15E, 16E and 17E have someone on both sides. If you have flown Cathay's Business before and are expecting the herringbone, this is a considerable step down, and the booking engine will not say so.

Best Business seats

• 14A, 14K, 15A and 15K — the four window seats with a properly aligned view, and far enough back from the galley to stay quiet. These are the picks.
• 11D, 11E and 11G — the front row of the cabin, with extra room ahead at the bulkhead. 11E has no aisle, but it also has nobody in front.
• 16A, 16K, 17A, 17K, 18A, 18K — ordinary window seats. Fine, unremarkable, and 18A and 18K sit in the four-seat back row where the centre block has ended.

Business seats to be careful with

• 12A and 12K carry bassinet mounts. Families with infants have priority at these seats and you may be asked to move.
• 12C and 12H sit directly behind those bassinet positions.
• Any E seat — 12E, 14E, 15E, 16E, 17E. The centre of a 2-3-2 with a neighbour either side.

Economy: the bulkhead row is the trap

Economy runs rows 39 to 80 in 3-4-3, lettered A B C | D E F G | H J K. Row 39 is the first row, and on a seat map it looks like the best row on the aircraft: it is a bulkhead with about 31 inches of clear floor to the wall, and it costs what an ordinary seat costs.

39A, 39B and 39C sit immediately beside a lavatory door. You get the legroom, and you also get the queue, the door, and everything that comes with it, for the whole flight. Every seat in row 39 additionally has no underseat storage and the tray table and screen in the armrest, which narrows the seat you actually sit in.

Row 39 also stops at G — there are no 39H, 39J or 39K seats. That produces the one genuinely underpriced block in this cabin.

Best Economy seats

• 68A and 68K — the best seats in Economy. Exit-row legroom and the best window alignment on the aircraft, which is a combination you almost never get. The price is no underseat storage and the tray table in the armrest.
• 70A, 70K, 72A, 72K, 74A and 74K — standard seats with a well-aligned window and nothing wrong with them. If you want a normal seat with a proper view, these are it.
• 41A — the same, near the front of the cabin. Note that 41K is not its equal: the window alignment on the right-hand side of that row is only average.
• 76D, 77D, 78D, 79C and 79D — the tail tapers, and these five seats have no seat beside them. Extra elbow room and the spare underseat space is yours. They are deep in the back of the aircraft, which is the trade.

Economy seats to avoid

• 46A and 46K — no window at all. Nothing on a booking map distinguishes them from the window seats above and below.
• 54A and 54K — no window either, and here it is worse: these are exit-row seats, so the map shows extra legroom and gives no hint of the blank wall. The exit door also takes about 15% of the seat width.
• Rows 51 and 52 — a lavatory bank sits immediately behind row 52, and row 51 is close enough to catch the traffic.
• Row 53 — 53D, 53E, 53F and 53G, the centre-only row. Lavatory directly behind, limited recline, and no window seats in the row at all.
• Row 67 — limited recline across the row because the exit is behind it, and 67E and 67F also back onto a galley.
• Rows 77 and 78 on the right — 77H, 77J, 77K, 78H, 78J and 78K sit against the rear lavatories.
• Row 80 — three seats, does not recline, and 80G is against a lavatory door.

The exit rows, in order of preference

Quick picks by traveller

Frequently asked

Does Cathay's 777-300 have lie-flat Business?

No. All 42 Business seats on the 777-300 are 2-3-2 recliners. Lie-flat Business on a Cathay 777-300 means you are on the 777-300ER, which is a different aircraft.

How do I tell which 777-300 I am booked on?

Look at the Business cabin on the seat map. Seven seats across a row means the 777-300. Four across, each touching an aisle, means the 777-300ER. The row numbers help too: Economy starts at row 39 on the 777-300.

Is row 39 worth paying for?

Not on the A, B or C side — a lavatory door is immediately ahead of those three. 39D to 39G are more tolerable, though every seat in the row loses its underseat storage and some seat width to the armrest tray. If legroom is what you want, row 68 is better on every measure.

Which economy seats have no window?

46A, 46K, 54A and 54K. The 54 pair is the one that catches people, because they are exit-row seats and the map advertises the legroom rather than the wall.

Is there Wi-Fi and entertainment?

Yes to both. Panasonic eX2 on demand at every seat, and Gogo 2Ku satellite Wi-Fi rated at 10–40 Mbps.

Where is row 13?

It does not exist. Business runs 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Economy starts at 39.