Cathay Pacific unveiled its new regional business class upgrades on Monday which marked its 66th anniversary as Hong Kong’s home carrier.

The new features, developed over a period of two years, took into account the findings of a survey of members of Cathay Pacific’s frequent-flyer Marco Polo Club.

“Our new Regional Business Class seat was developed after listening to our customers’ feedback,” noted Cathay Pacific’s chief executive John Slosar.

The principal feature of the upgrades is the business class seat, which will be more spacious than the previous with its width increased from 20 to 21 inches.

With a seat pitch also up from 45 inches to 47 inches, every business class seat is encased in a shell to guard against an intrusion of privacy.

Other enhanced features include a seat recline of 36 inches instead of the previous 32 to 35 inches, the reclining of seats enabled electronically by buttons on the rim of the cocktail table, and a higher legrest of up to 60 inches instead of 38 to 55 inches previously.

The new headrest of the seat is also made more adjustable while meal tables have been enlarged to 14.5 inches deep from the previous 11 inches.

The aisle-side armrest of each seat can now also be lifted in order to facilitate passengers’ ease of movement during the flight.

In addition, each seat is equipped with a universal power supply outlet to keep electronic devices fully charged, a multi-port connector with USB port, as well as a connector for the iPhone, iPod or iPad.

The upgrades will also feature the new StudioCX widescreen on-demand entertainment system as each seat will be equipped with a new and enlarged 12.1 inch touchscreen monitor.

The new business class features will be fitted into all of Cathay Pacific’s 29 regional aircraft, including the Boeing 777s and A330-300s, beginning with routes to Haneda, Narita, Singapore, Osaka and Jakarta. The upgrades will be progressively installed in the carrier’s regional routes from January 2013 until the end of 2014.

Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific’s sister carrier, Dragonair, which flies to China and other Asian destinations, will also be fitted with the business class features, although no date for the rollout has been set.

The latest business class upgrades follow other recent enhancements to Cathay Pacific’s in-flight offerings as competition between airlines hots up. Earlier this year, Cathay Pacific introduced its new Premium Economy Class seats and long-haul Economy Class seats aimed at providing more comfort to passengers.