Where In Europe Can You Fly With Cathay Pacific Next Year?

Cathay Pacific
has been flying to Europe from its hub in Hong Kong for several decades. The airline received route approval and launched flights to London on July 16, 1980. Cathay continued to expand its flight offerings to Europe throughout the 1980s and 1990s, offering services to cities such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Manchester, Paris, Rome, and Zurich. Over the decades, the airlines’ gorgeous Boeing 747s
became a regular sight at airports across Europe. This was followed by the appearance of Boeing 777-300ERs
which served the European routes faithfully. More recently, the airline’s Airbus A350
started linking Hong Kong to Europe. These days, the A350 is the most regular type utilized by Cathay Pacific on its European routes.

Speaking of the Airbus A350, Cathay Pacific was an early customer of the type. The airline began flying the A350 in 2016. Since then, its fleet has grown to 48 aircraft. Cathay Pacific’s Airbus A350 fleet comprises thirty A350-900s and eighteen A350-1000s. Overall, the A350 has served Cathay well, although it has not always been without problems.

Cathay’s first A350 was delayed due to installation issues with the airline’s new business class seats. More recently, the airline temporarily grounded its A350 fleet for a short period to complete inspections of the Rolls-Royce XWB-97 engines. The airline initiated this action after a Zurich-bound Flight (CX383) on September 2, 2024, experienced an engine fire and was forced to return to Hong Kong. The voluntary inspections turned up a fault with the Rolls-Royce engines. A Reuters report concerning the A350 grounding and inspections stated:

Cathay Pacific found 15 planes that needed fuel line repairs following the in-flight failure of an engine

The airline completed the inspections and subsequent repairs, and the A350s were quickly returned to service without further issues.

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Hong Kong’s investigators highlighted that it had recommended EASA to mandate Rolls-Royce to issue inspection instructions of the part.

Overall, the Airbus A350 has been a workhorse for Cathay Pacific on its routes to Europe and will remain so in 2025. Some cities will still see the lovely Triple Sevens, but the majority of European services will be flown with the newer A350s. We took a look at what can be expected for the Hong Kong carrier’s European routes through the end of November 2025.

London Heathrow

London Heathrow (LHR) remains Cathay Pacific’s leading route in Europe. According to Cirium data currently available through November of next year, the airline plans its 2025 services to London Heathrow to be operated by 33 flights with the Airbus A350-1000
, 1,248 flights with the Airbus A350-900
, and 386 flights with the Boeing 777-300ER
.

According to Cathay Pacific’s timetable, the airline will fly five flights daily to London. Beginning in April, a sixth flight will be added to the schedule on Fridays, and this will continue until October 2025, when the Friday services will be reduced to five flights a day.

In January 2025, London Heathrow will be served with three daily A350 flights and two 777 flights. However, as the year continues, the number of flights being offered on the A350-900 will increase. The A350-1000s will be flown to London only through March 2025. The 777-300ERs will operate in London until October 2025, although the number of flights served by the Boeing jetliner will decrease as the presence of the A350-900 increases. At the end of October, all flights will be operated with A350-900s through the remainder of the year. Overall, London Heathrow will see an increase in A350-900 services from Cathay Pacific, whilst the use of the A350-1000 and 777-300ER will diminish over the year.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS)

Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) are both scheduled to receive 334 flight services from Cathay Pacific through November 2025. Amsterdam’s services will see both the A350-1000 as well as the A350-900, but no 777 flights will be operated on Cathay’s route connecting Hong Kong with Holland.

Cathay’s Airbus A350s will serve the Dutch capital on a daily flight from Hong Kong. According to Cirium, 88 flights will be served by the A350-1000, with the remaining 246 scheduled with A350-900s. Timetable data shows that the A350-1000 will serve the route from January 2025 to March 2025. However, the route will transition to A350-900 equipment at the end of March. Once the Airbus A350-900s take over, the A350-1000s are not scheduled to return to Amsterdam for the rest of the year.

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Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG)

Like Amsterdam, Cathay Pacific has scheduled 334 flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) in 2025, solely utilizing the Airbus A350. Also, like Amsterdam Schiphol, Cathay Pacific’s timetable shows that Paris will be served with a daily flight from Hong Kong. Only an odd day here and there will be skipped, but for the most part, the service connects Hong Kong to Paris every day of the week. However, unlike Amsterdam, the services to Paris will be flown entirely with A350-900 equipment. Cathay currently has no plans to operate the larger A350-1000 to Charles de Gaulle in 2025.

Photo: Zoomworld88 | Shutterstock

Frankfurt Am Main Airport (FRA)

Cathay Pacific plans to serve Frankfurt Am Main Airport (FRA) from Hong Kong 333 times through November 2025. This is one of the cities that will continue to see Boeing 777 service. According to Cirium, the breakdown of flights shows 245 flights being scheduled to Frankfurt utilizing Airbus A350-900 equipment. Boeing 777-300ERs are scheduled to serve the route only until March 2025.

Cathay’s timetable shows that Frankfurt is scheduled to receive a daily Boeing 777 service until March 29th, 2025. On March 29th, two flights are scheduled to Frankfurt, one served by a Boeing 777-300ER and another by an A350-900. After March 29th, Airbus A350-900s will be utilized on the Frankfurt route for the remainder of 2025. The service remains as a daily flight operated by Cathay throughout the year.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

Zurich Airport (ZRH)

According to Cirium, Cathay Pacific will serve Zurich 332 times from January to November 2025. All flights will be flown utilizing the airline’s Airbus A350-900s. One notes a trend here with Cathay’s routes to Europe in 2025. Where one might expect Airbus A350-1000s to be utilized a little more, Cathay plans to primarily utilize its A350-900s to serve the European routes. Only London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol will see the A350-1000s, and only for a limited number of flights. Cathay plans to serve Zurich with one daily flight from Hong Kong. Except for an odd day here and there with no flights scheduled, Zurich will normally be scheduled with a daily A350 service.

Manchester Airport (MAN)

Manchester was one of Cathay Pacific Airways’ early destinations in Europe and continues to be an important city on the airline’s route network. In 2025, Manchester Airport is scheduled to receive 322 flights through November. As with other European cities, Cathay Pacific plans to serve this route solely utilizing its A350-900 fleet.

As for timetable data, Cathay’s scheduling of this service could best be described as inconsistent. Generally, throughout the year, one to three days of the week do not have a flight scheduled to Manchester. In January and February, the service is Tuesday through Sunday. However, as the year progresses, the days that Cathay Pacific does not serve Manchester fluctuate. The only consistent period is scheduled from August to October 2025, when the city is expected to receive daily service from Hong Kong.

Photo: Benthemouse | Shutterstock

Milan Malpensa International Airport (MXP)

Milan Malpensa is also an important destination for Cathay Pacific. The city will be served by 306 direct flights from Hong Kong. Like Frankfurt, Milan will initially be served by Cathay’s Boeing 777-300ERs before transitioning to Airbus A350-900s. From January to November 2025, the route will be served by the 777 fleet 61 times and the A350 fleet 245 times.

From January to March, the route is generally scheduled to operate once daily, Wednesday through Sunday. The Boeing 777s will be flown on the route until March. Like Frankfurt, Cathay will fly its last 777 service to Milan on March 29th, and the route will transition to A350-900s on March 30th. At the same time, the Milan route will become a daily service until November 3rd, when it will resume the Wednesday through Sunday schedule.

Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD)

Madrid will receive year-round scheduled flights. Cathay Pacific plans to serve Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) from Hong Kong 191 times in 2025, utilizing the airline’s A350-900s. The schedule is consistent all year, with Cathay serving Madrid with a single flight on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

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Routes to Barcelona, Brussels, and Munich

Barcelona, Brussels, and Munich are not scheduled to receive year-round service in 2025. All of these cities will be served by Cathay Pacific’s A350-900 fleet, but not continuously. Leading these seasonal services, Barcelona International Airport (BCN) will receive 106 scheduled flights from Hong Kong.

Cathay’s service to Barcelona begins with a single March 30, 2025 flight. The service continues with three weekly flights scheduled on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until July. In July, an additional flight will operate on Saturdays. According to Cathay Pacific’s timetable, this Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday regimen will continue until October 24th, when direct flights to Barcelona will end.

Brussels Airport (BRU) will receive only 48 Cathay Pacific flights in 2025, making it the least-served city in Cathay’s European route strategy. As expected, all 48 flights will be served with A350-900s. They are planned to begin on August 2nd, with four flights a week scheduled on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This schedule will remain the same until the direct flights from Hong Kong end on October 23rd.

Lastly, Cathay Pacific plans to serve Munich Airport (MUC) with 76 direct flights from Hong Kong in 2025. This service will run from June to October, and the A350-900s will be used to serve this route. Cathay’s timetable shows Munich flights will begin on June 15th. The route will be served four times a week, operating on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. This schedule is planned to continue until October 24th.

Photo: BearFotos | Shutterstock
 

A quick review of the fleet used on routes to Europe

According to AeroLOPA, the A350s are equipped with Safran Cirrus III seats in business class. They are arranged in a 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone pattern; each seat converts into a 75″ flatbed. In premium economy, customers will find Collins Aerospace MiQ seats in a 2-4-2 configuration, while the economy has Collins Aerospace Pinnacle seats set to a 3-3-3 configuration.

Photo: Cathay Pacific

The Boeing 777-300ER fleet has three different layouts for long-haul flights. The 77A differs from the others because it is the only configuration with a first-class cabin. The first class on these 777s offers six suites in a 1-1-1 configuration. The business class cabins have Safran Cirrus II lie-flat seats that are configured in a 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone pattern. Premium economy passengers can enjoy wide seats with lumbar support, footrest, and a goose-neck reading light. These seats are configured in a 2-4-2 arrangement, which is considerably better than the 3-4-3 Recaro slimline seats in economy.

The Cathay Pacific Airbus A350 set to grow in Europe in 2025

Next year, Cathay Pacific will continue to rebuild its presence in Europe. The airline will provide eleven European cities with options for direct service to Hong Kong. Most of these routes will be flown utilizing Cathay’s A350-900s, though airports like Amsterdam Schiphol and London Heathrow will see a limited number of flights served by the carrier’s A350-1000s. The Boeing 777-300ERs will be scheduled to fly to London, Frankfurt, and Milan, but its utilization on these routes will diminish as A350-900s pick up the bulk of these services later in the year.