Cathay Pacific will now fly to Christchurch, New Zealand from December 1st through to February 28th 2018. The airline plans to use their A350-900 aircraft on the route. Cathay’s A350-900 is a 3 class aircraft with 38 lie-flat Business Class seats, 28 Premium Economy and 214 Economy seats.

Cathay A350 (Image – Cathay Pacific)

At this stage the airline will run the service 3 times weekly, here is the following schedule:

CX123 leaves Hong Kong at 2:50 PM and arrives into Christchurch at 7:00 AM+1

CX126 leaves Christchurch at 2:25 PM and arrives into Hong Kong at 8:55 PM

This is the 3rd pacific region to get the Cathay A350, Auckland got it late last year, Melbourne got it at the start of the month and Brisbane will get it late next month.

Cathay is the third Asian carrier to start flights to Christchurch. Singapore Airlines use a 777-200 directly from Singapore and China Southern fly Guangzhou – Christchurch with their 787.

How can I fly with points?

There are few great ways you can fly Cathay’s new A350 to or from Christchurch with points. As this has just been announced the flights aren’t yet showing availability but I’d imagine there will be a lot of space free once it does open.

Asia Miles – Asia Miles charge 45,000 miles roundtrip in Economy, 54,000 miles round trip in Premium Economy and 80,000 in Business Class.
Alaska Milage Plan – Alaska Milage Plan charges 30,000 miles roundtrip in Economy, 45,000 miles round trip in Premium Economy and 60,000 miles roundtrip in Business Class.
American Airlines AAdvantage – American Airlines AAdvantage charge 60,000 miles roundtrip in Economy and 80,000 miles in Business Class.
Qantas – Qantas charge 70,000 miles roundtrip in Economy, 105,000 miles in Premium Economy and 130,000 miles in Business Class.

Hat tip – Airlineroute