Cathay Pacific’s State-of-the-Art IFE Interface Takes Personalization to New Heights
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Cathay Pacific recently revamped its in-flight entertainment (IFE) interface in collaboration with Reaktor Aero. The resulting product, which debuted on a Boeing 777-300ER retrofitted as part of the airline’s ground-breaking Aria business-class suites, reaffirms Cathay’s commitment to providing its customers with a premium, personalized in-flight experience.
The system was designed for usability across 14 screens and three different aircraft types. It presents travelers with a harmonized experience no matter the aircraft model or screen resolution. According to Reaktor’s VP Michael Holler, it “is truly state-of-the-art, seamlessly incorporating the latest technology with a design that is elegant and intuitive to use.”
Cathay Pacific’s Head of Customer Experience – Connectivity & IFE Strategy Guillaume Vivet said the carrier undertook “rounds of customer interviews and usability tests, to ensure we were creating the right experience for our customers.”
A Holistic Approach to the Cabin Environment
The updated IFE interface provides travelers with enhanced control over their environment by integrating cabin technology with the seats. Vivet explained that one of the goals for the new IFE system is “to provide our passengers with an end-to-end personalized experience with continuity.”
In the new Aria Suite business-class seat onboard Cathay’s retrofitted Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the airline has five pre-set modes known as “Activity modes” that are curated for passengers: Movie, Relax, Work, Dine, and Sleep. Vivet said, “With one touch, we may put the passenger into defined settings consisting of seat positions and light settings that are suitable for the needs.”
In “Movie” mode, the seat is adjusted to a relaxed position with dimmed lights to create a movie theater-like experience. If passengers opt for the “Dine” setting, the seat is adjusted to the upright position in line with the dining table. Furthermore, a feature lamp shines a spot light on the meal table to enhance the presentation of the dishes served.
Once one of the pre-set modes is activated by the one-touch selection, “the IFE Interface will show a state change indicating that passenger is now in Relax mode, for example,” according to Vivet. What’s more, passengers can make further adjustments to the pre-set modes based on their personal preferences, and can save the settings so they can come back to that position later in the flight.
Vivet commented, “This development was years of work involving many teams including Cathay, JPA Design, Reaktor, and IFE and seat vendors. From pre-design collaborations, ideation, design, development and testing to delivery, a project team from all over the world spent thousands of hours working towards one goal: to deliver a simple, user-friendly experience that elevates passenger comfort.”
Cutting-Edge Features
Elsehwere, Cathay Pacific also became the first airline in the world to embed lavatory status within the IFE system, allowing passengers to see which lavatory is unoccupied without leaving their seats. The interface displays the occupancy status of all the lavatories in the cabin at the top status bar, enabling passengers to easily check to see if the nearby lavatory is available. This feature, which is available in all classes, has been “one of the most well-received features by the public since it launched, which we are delighted about,” Vivet explained. Delta Air Lines also has a similar feature.
Another noteworthy feature of Cathay’s IFE interface is called “My Journey.” It combines flight tracking with entertainment by merging real-time flight paths and map layers (thanks to FlightPath3D’s API toolkit and widgets) to create an individualized game-like flight path preview.
In addition, it enables passengers to connect their Bluetooth headphones to the 4K ultra-high-definition seatback entertainment screens, enhancing travelers’ audio-visual experience.
Planning for the Future
Cathay is continuously updating the new interface with more features, and in the near term, it plans to allow passengers to customize the “My Journey” feature. Vivetsaid it will “enable passengers to plan and tailor their in-flight journey and, in addition to meal service, set their preferred time for sleep, movies, drinks, and more.” Other future developments under consideration include a messaging function that will allow passengers to make service requests directly to cabin crew.
Whatever the future updates hold, it is clear Cathay Pacific is setting a new benchmark in terms of IFE user experience. The airline’s interface has already won Gold at the German Design Awards and the Red Dot Design Award in Brands & Communications Design. Most recently, it was announced as a finalist in the 2025 Crystal Cabin Awards. The winner for the latter will be announced at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in April.