Despite the trade war, the company has described its business as robust thanks to stronger business travel and premium bookings. But its offering is under scrutiny as rivals add new hardware and products at the higher end of commercial air travel.

Sources said business class fliers will get a thin mattress topper pad and slippers to accompany the existing duvet and pillow to help travellers sleep better. While in first class, ticket holders will get a thicker mattress pad, an upgrade on an existing topper used. New amenity kits are also going to be rolled out.

An earlier trial on mattresses was carried out in late 2017 on a couple of long-haul routes, but was dropped amid Cathay’s financial constraints which saw it suffer two straight annual losses, before the group bounced back in 2018 with a HK$2.3 billion profit.

With dozens of new planes added in recent years, Wi-fi being rolled out in-flight and a new business-class dining service, passengers will have noticed some big improvements on board, and new lounges at airports it flies from.

A new lounge in Shanghai and expanded in-flight entertainment boasting the biggest range of content of any Asian carrier is also coming by the third quarter. The airline will also move from HD screens to 4K quality in the coming years as a new benchmark for in-flight television.

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Luya You, transport analyst at Bocom International, said: “We see these premium products as inevitable investments for future competitiveness given the number of carriers beefing up their premium offerings.

“Cathay is certainly at the forefront when it comes to their premium products, and these developments are integral to their ongoing transformation programme.”

However, the addition of airfares in business class being cheaper this year plus travellers becoming more price sensitive are concerns for analysts.

A Cathay source said airlines were adding lots of new features but passengers were paying less to enjoy them.

Rivals have or are planning to improve their premium seats with a focus on privacy by adding doors to business class seats or are flying with mattresses, pyjamas or book-the-cook restaurant food to eat when you want.

Among Cathay’s rivals, Qatar Airways’ luxury business class seat, which is marketed as being as good as first class, leads the pack.

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China Eastern Airlines has added new seats with privacy doors, and British Airways is following suit, bettering Cathay’s current offering on a comparable basis.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines has upgraded its first class suite, while introducing lie-flat business class on more Asian flights on new planes.

On the Los Angeles route, where Cathay competes directly with American Airlines, its rival offers pyjamas and a foam padded mattress for business class fliers, unlike Cathay.

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David Flynn, editor of Australian Business Traveller, said by the time the new seat is flying, in the 10 years that Cathay’s current business class seat has been around, it “has left plenty of room for competitors to launch cutting-edge business class products”, underscoring the challenge for the airline.

“Cathay’s recent upgrades to business class dining and now the sleep service are aimed to bridge this ‘hard product gap’ and improve the passenger experience without the cost of designing and installing new seats,” he said.

“Many passengers find Cathay’s current business class seats a little hard for their liking when used as a bed, and ask for a second duvet to use as a makeshift mattress, adding an extra layer of cushioning.”

Flynn said slippers would be welcomed, but passengers would probably like pyjamas on long overnight flights to Europe and North America.