Cathay Pacific is set for its return to the Pacific Northwest.
The Hong Kong-based airline on Monday announced it will bring back nonstop flights to and from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) starting next spring.
It will mark the return of a route between Seattle and Asia that went away during the coronavirus pandemic and never came back — that is, until now.
Cathay Pacific will bring back its Seattle service to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) beginning March 30, 2026, with five weekly round trips.
Immediately, the flight should be a popular option for travelers with a stash of miles. Cathay Pacific is a partner of both American Airlines and Seattle’s hometown airline, Alaska Airlines.
That means U.S. travelers can redeem their airline miles on Cathay Pacific flights to Asia and beyond — including one TPG staffer who already scored a business-class seat for next summer!
Plus, you can transfer points from several major credit card programs to Cathay Pacific’s Cathay program, known for its strong redemption value.
Alaska Trifecta: Why I signed up for the new premium Atmos Rewards Summit credit card
Here’s more about the new flight and how you can grab an award seat for 2026.
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New flights between Seattle and Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific’s new flights from Seattle to Hong Kong will run each week — Mondays through Thursdays and on Saturdays, once the service launches.
The carrier will operate its flights with its Airbus A350-900, which sports 38 lie-flat seats in its business-class cabin, plus 28 premium economy recliners on top of 214 seats in the main cabin.
Here’s how the itinerary shakes out during the spring, summer and early fall of 2026:
- SEA-HKG: Depart 11:50 a.m., arrive 4:45 p.m. the next day
- HKG-SEA: Depart 1:30 p.m., arrive 10:10 a.m. the same day
Seattle will be Cathay Pacific’s ninth North American destination, and its first since launching nonstop service to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) earlier this year.
Like DFW, Seattle is seeing rapid growth in its flight offerings to Asia.
In 2025, airlines were set to offer 41% more seats out of the West Coast hub than they did in 2024, owing in part to Alaska Airlines and its merger partner Hawaiian Airlines beginning flights to Tokyo and Seoul, South Korea.
Suffice it to say that growth is on track to continue in 2025, helped by Cathay Pacific’s opting to bring back a short-lived flight to the Pacific Northwest that it launched in 2019 but canceled amid COVID-19 cutbacks.
“We are excited to resume direct passenger flights to Seattle, reinforcing our goal to deepen business and cultural ties between Hong Kong and a dynamic tech hub in the United States,” Cathay Pacific’s chief customer and commercial officer, Lavinia Lau, said in a statement announcing the news.
Booking Cathay Pacific flights with points and miles
We’re already seeing some enticing (but scattered) summer 2026 redemption options for this Cathay Pacific flight via its network of partners.
Partner awards
As a member of the Oneworld alliance, Cathay Pacific partners with more than a dozen global airlines — including American and Alaska in the U.S.
That means you can book award flights on Cathay Pacific using your AAdvantage miles or points from Atmos Rewards, the new joint loyalty program of Alaska and Hawaiian.
Acting quickly Monday, TPG’s Clint Henderson scored a one-way, August 2026 business-class seat from Seattle to Hong Kong for 75,000 Atmos Rewards points (plus $18 in taxes and fees).
Read more: Earn 100,000 Atmos Rewards points with Alaska’s newest credit card
We also found business-class award space on American for as little as 70,000 miles, one-way.
This award space is certainly not widespread, but if you’re flexible on travel dates, you may be able to score a great deal.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
We should also point out: Cathay Pacific’s Cathay loyalty program also offers great value even to U.S. travelers who seldom fly with the airline — and it’s easy to earn Asia Miles if you have flexible credit card points.
You can transfer points directly to Cathay Pacific from American Express, Bilt Rewards, Capital One and Citi.
You can read more about how to earn and redeem Asia Miles through the Cathay Pacific Cathay loyalty program.
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