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A Flight that Improves Business Performance?

Commuters between Hong Kong and Vancouver can count on arriving at their best when they book on Cathay Pacific's new aircraft. State-of-the-art technology combined with sleek interior details on the A350-900 allow passengers to arrive composed, as if their business interests were across town instead of across the world

  

 

  

Hong Kong is the fourth most visited destination for Canadian business travellers, meaning many professionals know firsthand how much a flight affects one’s performance in important meetings. Arrive well-rested and the presentation is a piece of cake; suffer 12 hours of awkward discomfort and spend the entire first day distracted by jet lag.

Now, commuters between Hong Kong and Vancouver can count on arriving at their best when they book Cathay Pacific’s new aircraft for any of the additional three new weekly flights. State-of-the-art technology combined with sleek interior details on the A350-900 allow passengers to arrive composed, as if their business interests were across town instead of across the world.

Scientific research has influenced every aspect of the plane’s design, from lighting to acoustics. Light therapy, for example, has been proven to have a significant impact on sleep quality and mental resiliency. Based on these findings, the aircraft is awash with LED lights that subtly change colour as the flight progresses. Essentially, this kind of lighting triggers the body’s internal clock to reset, helping passengers adjust to the new time zone before they even disembark.

One aspect of air travel that is happily reduced on Cathay’s new plane is the constant roar of air-circulation systems. In the A350-900, machinery operates draft- and (nearly) noise-free. Combined with the sleek acoustics of the contemporary interior and fliers’ attentive crew members, passengers won’t need to raise their voices above a whisper.

The aircraft has been uniquely engineered to adjust to a lower altitude of 6,000 feet (compared to the usual 8,000). Thus, cabin air pressure is lower, resulting in less strain on the human body. As a result, passengers will experience fewer headaches and other irritating physical symptoms of jet lag, and adjust more easily to their destination’s time zone. The combination of advanced aerodynamics, lightweight composite materials and the latest Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines result in a significant reduction in fuel burn compared to existing wide-body types. As well as reducing operating costs, the highly efficient A350-900 also benefits the environment, with a corresponding cut in C02 emissions and a reduced external noise footprint. 

And while arriving businesspeople may not have the home-court advantage for contract negotiations, they at least have the opportunity to prepare over the entire flight. The A350 is the first in Cathay Pacific’s fleet to offer passengers direct connections to Internet through personal devices. For a fee, customers can browse sites, send email or access social media accounts as soon as the aircraft reaches 10,000 feet. Satellite TV is another first, exclusively available in Business Class; BBC, CNN and Euronews channels are all complementary.

One of the smartest improvements — from both the flight attendants’ and passengers’ point-of-view — is the inflight entertainment system that operates from gate to gate. Finally, instead of grumbling about tarmac delays, travellers can immediately catch up on news or forget themselves in a film. The aircraft’s higher-capacity servers have a much wider selection of programs than any previous offering, as well as a 3-D interactive map, games and digital magazines.

For many business travelers, inflight amusements are not nearly as important as arriving refreshed. In that case, a seat in Business Class is essential. Each seat is cleverly positioned for maximum privacy and folds out to a fully horizontal bed nearly two metres long. Add high-quality linens, set your personal controls to “Do Not Disturb” and you might just log your usual seven hours of sleep.

From light therapy to human-friendly acoustics, blanket connectivity to blanketed sleep, every aspect of Cathay Pacific’s A350-900 has been designed with one goal in mind: helping travellers hit the ground running after the most refreshing flight possible.