Always wish you could reserve your cheap seat early with Cathay Pacific? Now you can as airline changes economy class policy to offset losses from price war

Cathay Pacific is to allow customers flying on the cheapest fares to reserve their seat for a fee of HK$150 (US$20) for regional flights and HK$300 for long-haul ones.

Hong Kong’s biggest airline did not previously provide this option for the most discounted economy class fares, and passengers had to wait until 48 hours before take-off to select a seat.

But there’s a catch – it will only apply to certain sections of the plane, according to an internal document seen by the Post. However, more parts of economy class could be available later, another document said.

As the airline feels the pinch from a price war with budget carriers, mostly mainland Chinese and Middle East airlines, the document states explicitly the move is to “increase source of revenue to” Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon as a whole.