Reserve your seat in advance

Seat reservations can be made any time before check-in closes.

^#Cathay members may pay for seat reservations with Miles Plus Cash except at airports in India and Nepal

Zone 1
Flights between Hong Kong SAR and the Chinese Mainland (Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Sanya, Wenzhou, Wuhan, Xiamen), Philippines (Manila), Taiwan China, Vietnam (Hanoi).

Zone 2
Flights between Hong Kong SAR and Asia (excluding those listed under zone 1).

Zone 3
Flights between Hong Kong SAR and Australia, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.

Zone 4
Flights between Hong Kong SAR and Canada (Vancouver), Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, United States (Los Angeles, San Francisco).

Zone 5
Flights between Hong Kong SAR and Canada (Toronto), United States (Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York).

The fee is paid in the local currency equivalent based on the exchange rate on the date of purchase. Any applicable tax will be collected in addition to the fees stated above.

Changing to another seat on the same flight

• If you wish to change to a seat of the same value as your existing reservation or one that you are eligible to reserve for free in advance, you can easily make changes in Manage Booking.
• If you need to change to a different chargeable seat type, please contact Customer Care for assistance.
• Alternatively, you can change to any available preferred seat or regular seat during online check-in.

Please note if you are changing to a seat that is free of charge or lower in price, any difference in fee is non-refundable. If you are changing to a chargeable seat type of a higher price, the price difference will be charged according to that on the date of purchase of the original seat.

Changing to another flight

Your seat reservation can be modified together with your flight booking within the same route. If you make changes to your flight booking online, please contact Customer Care to transfer your paid seat reservation to your new flight. Please note seat selection will be subject to the availability of the requested seat on your new flight.

If you change your flight booking to another route or cancel your booking, your paid seat reservation will be forfeited, and no refund will be provided for the corresponding fee.

Our refund policy

Paid seat reservations are non-refundable except in the following scenarios:

• If your flight changes due to disruption
• If your flight is cancelled by us
• A connecting flight operated by us is missed due to a delay of a previous flight operated by us
• Your selected seat is no longer available once you’ve changed to a different flight
• If your seat has been changed due to operational, safety, or security reasons and we are unable to offer you a suitable alternative seat
• If you choose to upgrade to a higher cabin using Upgrade Bid, Asia Miles, bookable upgrade or by paying the fare difference on the same route
• If you choose to rebook an Economy fare type which is eligible for seat reservations free of charge on the same route
• If you purchase another seat for a higher fee on the same flight

For full details, please refer to our terms and conditions.

Please note that there are specific rules and regulations which may entitle you to enhanced refund rights and compensation due to cancellation, delay and denied boarding in certain jurisdictions to and from which we fly. For further information, please refer to our General Conditions of Carriage , Conditions of Contract and Customer rights and regulations.

If you encounter any of the above scenarios, you are entitled to apply for a refund for your paid seat reservation.

How to make a refund request

Refunds can be requested within 30 days from your original flight departure date, by either filling out our refund request form online*, or by contacting  Customer Care. If you purchased your seat reservation through a travel agent, please contact your travel agent to request a refund.

Please note that once you submit the refund request form online, you will be giving up the reserved seat for your flight.

^{*If you upgraded to a higher cabin using bookable upgrade, please contact Customer Care to make a refund request.}

Refunds will be made in the currency and original form of payment used during your purchase. If you made the purchase with Miles Plus Cash, any used portion of your seat reservation, if applicable, will be deducted from the amount paid in cash first. Any outstanding amount will then be deducted from the amount paid by miles*. The remaining amount for the unused portion will be refunded in miles and/or cash accordingly.

^{*Please note, the amounts paid in cash and miles during the purchase will be allocated proportionately among all flight tickets and travel extras purchased within a single transaction.}

Most extra legroom seats* and some regular seats are located near the emergency exit doors and are subject to flight safety guidelines of the Civil Aviation Department of Hong Kong.

A passenger may be assigned a seat in an emergency exit row if they meet the following safety requirements and will not obstruct emergency exits in a way of impeding the crew in their duties, obstructing access to emergency equipment, or hindering aircraft evacuation.

Passengers occupying an exit row seat must:

• Be at least 12 years of age at the commencement of the journey, whether accompanied or not
• Not be seated with an infant
• Be able to understand and carry out cabin crew safety instructions
• Not be under the influence of intoxicating substances or drugs
• Not require the use of an extension seat belt
• Not be a passenger with reduced mobility. This includes a passenger
  • Travelling with a guide dog / assistance dog or using a mobility aid during boarding such as a wheelchair, walking stick or Postural Support Equipment (PSE)
  • Who is either vision or hearing impaired to the extent that they might not readily assimilate printed or verbal instructions
  • Who requires the use of an oxygen bottle or Medical Portable Electronic Device (MPED)

If a passenger does not fulfil the above safety requirements, we may re-assign an alternative Economy seat before or during the journey without a refund of the seat reservation fee.

*Please note the below extra legroom seats are not located near emergency exit doors:

• Boeing 777-300 (77A): 40C
• Boeing 777-300 (77K): 40C, 40H

1. Subject to these terms and conditions, passengers holding a ticket issued by Cathay Pacific (ticket number beginning with 160), and travelling in Economy cabin on Cathay Pacific marketed and operated flights are able to reserve a seat for an additional fee or free of charge, depending on their eligibility as stated within this page.
2. Seats are subject to availability and offered on a first come, first served basis upon request. Fees when applicable are based on the individual flight sector per passenger and seats will be assigned upon full payment collection.
3. Cathay Pacific may change passengers’ seat reservations, whether before travel, at check-in or on-board, for operational, security or safety reasons. For seats reserved free of charge, Cathay Pacific will not offer any compensation for any changes made to such free of charge seat reservation. For seats reserved with the payment of an additional fee, passengers may be eligible to request a refund subject to the conditions in these terms and conditions.
4. Extra legroom seat reservations are free of charge when the passenger is:
   1. a Cathay Diamond or Gold member¹; or
   2. an oneworld Emerald or Sapphire member¹; or
   3. holding a ticket on Economy Flex fares.
   Passengers that are not one of those described in clause 4 above may reserve an extra legroom seat for an additional fee. However, extra legroom seat reservations are not available for unaccompanied minors, and bookings with children and/or infants.
5. Preferred seat reservations are free of charge when the passenger is:
   1. a Cathay Diamond or Gold member¹; or
   2. an oneworld Emerald or Sapphire member¹; or
   3. holding a ticket on Economy Flex fares; or
   4. travelling with a child or an infant (aged under 12 years at the commencement of travel) under the same booking (in which case preferred seat reservations are free of charge for the passenger and child or infant).
   Passengers that are not one of those described in clause 5 above may reserve a preferred seat in advance for an additional fee. However, preferred seat reservations are not available for unaccompanied minors and Group Bookings. “Group Booking” means a booking with Cathay Pacific with 10 or more passengers under that booking.
6. Regular seat reservations are free of charge when the passenger is:
   1. a Cathay Diamond, Gold or Silver member¹; or
   2. travelling with a Cathay Diamond, Gold or Silver member¹ in the same booking and tickets issued on the same fare type; or
   3. an oneworld Emerald, Sapphire or Ruby member¹; or
      holding a ticket on Economy Flex fares or Economy Essential fares; or
      travelling with a child or an infant (aged under 12 years at the commencement of travel) under the same booking (in which case regular seat reservations are free of charge for the passenger and child or infant).
   Passengers that are not one of those described in clause 6 above may reserve a regular seat in advance for an additional fee. However, regular seat reservations are not available for unaccompanied minors and Group Bookings.
7. Passengers who do not purchase a seat reservation in advance may choose a preferred seat or a regular seat free of charge during check-in. However, passengers may not be guaranteed a particular seat type and/or sit together with their companion(s). Please note online check-in opens 48 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time for Cathay and oneworld members, and all passengers in the same booking with them. For others, online check-in opens 24 hours prior to the scheduled flight departure time.
8. Please be aware that seat reservations will only be held until 20 minutes before the check-in counter closure for your flight. Check-in counter closure times vary by departure airport, please refer to the airport information pages for further information. Any paid seat reservations that are not used will not be refunded.
9. Extra legroom seats have certain characteristics, including the following specifications:
   1. There is significantly more legroom than other seats in the Economy cabin.
   2. Extra legroom seats are located near the emergency exit doors².
   3. Exit row seats are often near toilets or galleys, so there may be increased traffic at certain points during your flight.
   4. Personal items and luggage must be stored in the overhead bins, as no under-seat or seatback storage is available.
   5. The armrests between extra legroom seats cannot be retracted because meal trays are stowed in the armrest section.
   6. Your personal TV must be stowed during taxi, take-off and landing.
   7. Some seats may see a reduction in seat width due to the location of the personal TV handset.
10. Passengers must fulfil exit row safety requirements when occupying seats located near the emergency exit doors. Please refer the exit row safety requirements stated on this page. Cathay Pacific has the sole discretion, at check-in or boarding, to determine whether a passenger meets the requirements to sit on a seat located near the emergency exit doors. If a passenger does not fulfil the necessary safety requirements, Cathay Pacific may re-assign an alternative Economy seat before or during the journey without a refund of the seat reservation fee.
11. Seat reservations are non-transferable. If a passenger decides to rebook the flight/date, the seat reservation can be transferred to the new flight/date within the same booking. Please note seat reservations cannot be transferred to another origin, destination, booking, or passenger, and, if done so, will be treated as forfeited.
12. Passengers may change to another seat that has the same reservation fee as the seat that was reserved by the passenger or to a seat eligible to reserve for free without paying any additional fee. Please note when changing to a seat which is reservable free of charge or for a lower seat reservation fee, any difference in the prices of seat reservation fees is non-refundable. If the passenger changes their seat to another seat which has a more expensive seat reservation fee, the fee difference will be collected (if any). Please note that Cathay Pacific may amend the applicable seat reservation fees.
13. Seat reservations are non-refundable except for the below scenarios. Cathay Pacific will issue a refund for paid seat reservations if the seat is not utilised under the following conditions:
    1. Flight changes due to disruption.
    2. Flight is cancelled by Cathay Pacific.
    3. A connecting flight operated by Cathay Pacific is missed because of delay of a previous Cathay Pacific operated flight.
    4. Selected seat is no longer available once passenger has changed to a different flight on the same route.
    5. Seat reservation has been changed due to operational, safety, or security reasons and no suitable alternative seat has been offered.
    6. Passenger upgrades to a higher cabin using Upgrade Bid, Asia Miles, bookable upgrade or by paying the fare difference on the same route.
    7. Passenger holding a paid regular seat reservation, rebooks their ticket to either Economy Essential fares or Economy Flex fares on the same route.
    8. Passenger holding a paid preferred seat or extra legroom seat reservation, rebooks their ticket to Economy Flex fares on the same route.
    9. Passenger purchases another seat reservation for a higher fee on the same flight.
    Please note if the passenger changes to a seat which is free of charge or lower in price, any difference in fees and/or applicable fees are non-refundable.
14. To request a refund, passengers must fill out and submit the refund request form online³ or contact Customer Care within 30 days from the original departure date of the flight for which the seat reservation was purchased. Please note that if a passenger submits a refund request form online, that passenger’s seat reservation will be automatically cancelled.
15. If Cathay Pacific determines that the passenger is eligible for a refund, such refund will only be made in the amount originally charged, and in the original form of payment and currency used, at the time of purchase. If the purchase was made with Miles Plus Cash, any used portion of the seat reservation, if applicable, will be deducted from the amount that was paid in cash first. Any remaining amount due and owing for the used portion of the seat reservation that the cash portion did not satisfy in full will then be deducted from the amount that was redeemed in Miles (at the same rate of Miles used to redeem). The remaining amount of cash or Miles (as may be applicable) will be refunded accordingly. Any refunded Miles will be returned to your Cathay Membership Programme membership account. If you have purchased/redeemed for more than one seat reservation together with flight ticket or other services in a single transaction using Miles Plus Cash, the number of Miles and amount of cash used to pay/redeem such tickets, seat reservations and/or other services will be counted in proportion to the price of each ticket and travel extra purchased when Cathay Pacific makes the deductions and refunds.
    “Miles Plus Cash” has the same meaning as ascribed to it in Cathay Pacific’s Online Booking/Mobile Booking terms and conditions.
16. Amounts paid for seat reservations are not eligible for earning Asia Miles.
17. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Cathay Pacific reserves the right to adjust the applicable fees and revise these terms and conditions at any time without notice. The applicable fees are stated on this page.
18. These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of Hong Kong. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, any dispute arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Hong Kong.
19. In case of any discrepancies between the English version and any translated version of these terms and conditions, the English version shall prevail.
20. These terms and conditions may be changed from time to time.

_{¹Eligibility for seat reservation is based on the membership status at the time of the request.
²Please note the below extra legroom seats are not located near emergency exit doors:}

• Boeing 777-300 (77A): 40C
• Boeing 777-300 (77K): 40C, 40H

_{³If the passenger has upgraded to a higher cabin using bookable upgrade, refund requests can be made by contacting Customer Care only.}