Im an airline product geek, and every so often, I like to publish a list of what I consider to be the worlds best first class airlines, best first class lounges, best business class airlines, best business class lounges, etc. In this post, I’d like to provide an updated ranking of what I consider to…
Continue reading: The World’s 10 Best Business Class Seats: Which Products Excel?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
With everything you just listed is pretty much industry standard now no matter what product an airline selects, I wonder what the next (r)evolution will be.
In my opinion, the next evolution will be the ability to control your own environment such as IFE, HVAC, lighting with your own device.
I think it'd be pretty neat to see heated/ventilated seats (and even your entire suite) as well as a massage function making a comeback.
Great update to your list, Ben. I've been very fortunate enough to have flown in all these business class seat types. My list would mainly differ from yours by placing the Collins Horizon seat two or three notches higher. And maybe I wouldn't have placed the JAL Safran Unity seat quite that high.
Anyways, what would be really fascinating is to see the evolution of this list (and your other lists of airlines based on their premium cabins and lounges) over the past ten to 15 years, like in a dynamic graphic. That would show the change in the industry and perhaps your thinking. (I vaguely recall when the Apex seat and Vantage XL seats were in the top 5 or maybe even top 3.)
Just FYI, Adient Aerospace was rebranded as "Elevate Aircraft Seating" as of April 30.
So it's "Elevate Ascent," not "Adient Ascent" anymore.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/elevate-seats
Just a comment on ANA Room -- yes, it is vast, spacious, nice, however it does not have as much storage space as I would expect, and it is not easy to get in/out from the suite when the seat is in sleep position.
I actually prefer SQ business class seat (777-300), indeed less space compared to ANA, still super comfy, plenty of storage space and easy to navigate in either of the positions.
Collins Aerospace seats are fitted to by greater number of carriers than is noted in the article …. one has to wonder why the other airlines have been omitted from Ben’s list?
I don't know....
As a side sleeper i do often struggle with the space on knee level.
Also with 183cm i'm not huge or exceptional tall, but still the headrest is quite often not suitable for me (or not adjustable at all)
That been said, (real) business class seats have usually become very good today.
I think they are getting very close to plateau with the business class seat. In terms of footprint, I’m not sure they can do an awful lot more. If anyone asked me they should invest more in finding a seat that is equally comfortable for seating and sleeping. I find the flat beds to be pretty ordinary when you’re just sitting, offering poor leg support and not that amazing back support.
Noticing the first class seats that have a bed and an armchair, I guess airlines have also realised this. How do you solve it - I for one do not know.
I was at the airspace museum in Toulouse recently and they had a bunch of the old style “cradle business class” seats. Sitting in them was so much nicer than the emirates seat that brought me to France or the AF seat that took me back home.
Ben should add one more point to
"Why you should trust OMAAT seat rankings"
- I don't extort airlines hotels or loyalty programs for upgrades, excessive compensation, or special treatment. Nor threaten to post negative reviews to blackmail or get clickbaits.
I know LH Allegris is a sh*t show but some of the seats aren’t too bad as a hard product. I’d rate the window seats and maybe the center throne-like seat above some of the products on this list.
The proletariat No: 1 troll, posts nonsense to prove that it is nothing less than a mindless click-bait junkie, yes?
Has such an unmitigated fool ever set foot inside anything but a budget U.S. airline, one is doubtful, as it cannot articulate a singe ‘premium’ experience never mind hold a sensible conversation about J seating …. poor, sad troll. Why are such tolerated on this site?
Interesting observations.
I’ve tried 1, 2, 3, 4, and 9 and my ranking will be:
1. Q-Suite: Great privacy, storage space, and leg space (the cubicle isn’t too small). Couldn’t find any fault.
2. JAL A350-1000: similar to Q-Suite, except there are no armrests on window side seat so it could be a bit concerning at upright position.
3. ANA The Room: While it’s super wide and private, that’s only about where it shines. The biggest drawback is almost zero storage, as the space under leg cubicle is fully covered. The little covered box by side table is so thin and just enough to place a few magazines so no place to even keep a water bottle! Also, the seat padding is thin and hard. Not to mention if you’re over 170cm you need to sleep diagonally.
4. Starlux A350 (Collins Aerospace Elements) : It’s a great seat for Reverse Herringbone, but personally felt the original Collins Aerospace type to be more spacious overall. The table is not sturdy at all so even a small turbulence can cause it to shake it and vibrate with sound, which is annoying. The door looks more like a gimmick as it doesn’t feel that private compared to the other three above.
5. APEX Suite: Agree totally that the best part is unrestricted leg space and privacy by the window side. It’s just the lack of storage space, otherwise it feels like first class when taking account the bed length. If only considering the window seats, I’ll put it above 4th or even 3rd position.
Interesting no SQ - shows how dated their seat has become. Can't wait for the update.
Most of these seats are geared towards solo travelers. Even with reverse herringbone config, you're pretty far from your neighbor in the center seats to have a casual conversation or help a child/elder. UA polaris is pretty dated by now but those close center seats do come in handy when traveling with family
Didn't business class already reach the point of stagnation? I mean after the QSuites and ANAs The Room, what's revolutionary after that?!
Air India is facing a serious certification issues with the Safran Unity seat (HIC) as it is installed in a lower seat pitch 45" compared to JAL 51".
They already have 2 B787-8 fitted with this seats, at least one of the new B787-9 and A350-1000 also fitted with the seat.
Heard that the A350 issue is progressing alot faster than the B787s.
Hopefully the issues are resolved before next year.
The Air Canada seat is pretty horrible for side sleeping. You end up with bruised knees from the immovable tray table under the TV.
(On top of AC being below average in all other aspects)
Most wonder why you're allowed with these weird drunken proletariat rants and unusual flexes trying to poverty-shame another guest poster, like yourself.
Where did you hear this… there were rumours of them using a different seat for the 787s.
Max darlink, like you and others, I too wonder why the trolls like Eskimo, etc, etc, are allowed to post nothing but trolling posts. Have you noticed how so many of them hardly ever post more than a few words of gobbledygook? Those being mainly in response to the post of someone else and usually in a derogatory manner.
For months I read the nonsense and the bullying posts in response to Tim Dunn’s missives, without comment. Then after posting my disgust at some trolling activity, I too became the target of their derogatory remarks.
There you have it Max, the reason why I respond thus to the common trolls who are allowed to contribute absolutely nothing to this website. Yes, I am as rude to them as they are to others. Even when I do not respond directly to them they continue to try to provoke a reaction from me. I can be very obliging with the quantity of my responses, notwithstanding, with a direct slapping down too. I do not and never have suffered fools gladly, furthermore, I detest bullies Max.
P.S. I tried to add this reply to the question addressed to me by MaxPower below, however, for some reason it will not appear there.
It's the same Safran Unity seats for the A350, B787, B777.
It never changed, though they might have considered it at one point but I didn't hear that.
I can confirm that two B787-8 already retrofitted into the new seats. At least one B787-9 and one A350-1000 is also with the seats installed.
I just wish domestic airlines would up their business class game. Yea, they are slightly more comfortable but I want to see more lie flat seats for longer domestic flight. Other airlines need to offer something like Mint from JetBlue. Problem with JetBlue is that they don't have enough Mint routes to force a change in the industry.
The certification and retrofit of the B777 isn't being prioritised for some reasons.
They need both A350 and B787 certified first as there are a flurry of new aircrafts of that family coming in from next year, the B777x doesn't get in till 2029/2030, they can hold off B77W retrofit till 2027 (well after the A350 and B787 gets going)
How does the seat heating/cooling system in LH Allegris (and soon SWISS Senses) compensate for the lack of air nozzles? I haven’t experienced it yet but it seems to me that it’s an overly complicated solution to something that could be fixed by placing individual air vents/gaspers.
Also, I think it’s interesting that several of these airlines have them on their short haul aircraft but not on long haul. This makes less sense than anything to me.
Nothing about Allegris makes any sense (at least to anyone who is not German).
ANA's The Room looks nice and spacious and all, but it just doesn't look comfortable to me. Am I wrong about that? I'd love to try it of course... but it just looks like sitting on a car bench seat, not a comfortable recliner like other hard products.
How this seat makes the top 10 is mind boggling.
Air Canada is utter garbage, the seat deflates half the time.
Notably absent from this list of top performers, Singapore Airlines.
Such a great soft product, but their hard product is becoming a punchline, as is their HORRIBLE frequent flyer program (that makes Skymiles look almost reasonable). Sad.
Apparently, everyone's forgotten Ben's rapturous review of JAL's seat with the omni-directional speakers fitted into the ear-level wings ? That, to me, was more than novel and certainly an impressive leap in seat technology. In the immediate future, I'd expect design of seats to be incremental, rather than revolutionary.
Perhaps, the next 'revolutionary step' will be some form of natural body-hugging air-filled, non-puncturable seat that truly adjusts perfectly to ALL body shapes ?
Mini MaxPower, after making a total fool of himself as he got badly beaten up by AeroB13a and Darryl Stewart in the comments, is at it again. He tried to lie and went away with a major case of Depression. Now he’s throwing money at ME, looking for forgiveness! Sad!
I’m with you, Mr. Aero.
At least one troller, probably more, has shown visceral resentment to me over the suggestion of controls on the number of comments/responses per article. The vast majority of readers of this blog have better things to do with their time than to sift through the endless and mindless and often off-topic drivel.
Maybe OMAAT is partially compensated by number of responses, which would result in Ben tolerating all the nonsense. Am I right? Wrong? Dunno.
What about Finnair's lounge/couch? I think it is one of the top-3 on my list. I know some people hate it, but I am in the love category as there's just so much space and one does not need to depend on pre-set or moving too much of the chair. Without the door, I find there's enough privacy
You’re wrong. ANA The Room is incredible. Other than JAL a35K and Qsuite, that particular ANA on 773 is top 3 business class seat.
The angle is the problem. I’ve flown on their 359ULR from NYC (both EWR/JFK) to SIN. It’s a great airline, but the way you need to contort yourself once the lie-flat is folded down (it’s not automatic), takes some getting used to. JAL’s 35K in J is better.
Qsuites are the best, especially the couples seats, and they are definitely better than the Room.
The individual air nozzles is a huge one for me. While I care about the actual seat comfort, the food and the service but if the cabin is warm then I will not be comfortable. This is why as much as other international carriers excel in pretty much every other aspect of the onboard service, I still get my best sleep on US airlines (especially United) with the cold cabin and great bedding.
Justice for Finnair AirLounge seat! Best seat in the sky!!! Free her!
Can't wait to try ANA's new no recline seat to see how it compares (I recognise I'm an outlier on this forum, but I will go out of my way to get these seats)
I found the seat itself to be comfortable but the footwell is very cramped if you're a 6' tall person like me.
I'd rather take the old non-Room ANA business class seat for that if I could, but it's not the end of the world.
Do you have your list of best business class products from 10 years ago? It'd be fun to see how it's changed over time!
Thanks! Like I said, I'm just going off what it looks like in the pictures. If it's actually comfortable then I will definitely try it sometime.
I stand corrected,
Having seen the new seats, it's obvious that it's not the Safran Unity, it's not even a staggered seat.
It is definitely the same seat UA, AA and QR are fitting on their new B787-9
Who cares what they put on. After two or three flights, it will all smell like piss, poop, and vomit.
Lucky, would be nice to see a part of baffling design choices, like power outlets that are hidden or hard to find, or tray tables that require instruction
I’m 511 and I can’t imagine how tall men are not totally overwhelmed in business class seats in the flat position. I was so claustrophobic on Japan airlines because the foot well is so narrow on the 787.
I don’t know that I’ll fly business class anymore
I'm 6'5 and I'm writing this from united polaris. Its cramped, footwell is too small, I can't lie flat but it's still better than anything else on the plane..
Every time you want to change from a bed to a seat or back again, you have to get up, block the aisle briefly, and mess with the seat. That interferes with FAs and others who are walking the aisles. A bad design. Definitely better to stay seated, whether to recline or not.
Ben (or anyone with first-hand familiarity with ANA The Room)....The Room looks fantastic, but I have two concerns:
1) Seat comfort. I've heard people lament about how uncomfortable the seats are. I tend to like firm seats/mattresses, so I'm wondering if the (dis)comfort part is overblown.
2) I'm 6'2" and I've read reports that tall people may not have sufficient length for sleeping. Is there any merit to this? I'm a side sleeper, and I tend to have knees somewhat bent in the first place, but I'm unsure if that's possible here.
This leaves me wondering whether I should simply ditch The Room in favor of ANA's older business hard product. To those of you who have flown both hard products, which is more comfortable?
Thanks in advance for your help!
I am 6’2’, and when I traveled on ANA’s Room, I was surprised that I could not lay down comfortably. When my feet reached the end of the foot cubicle, I had to bend my neck “to fit” in the sleeping area. I tried to sleep on my side, but I literally had to bend forward 30 degrees.
I actively avoid the Room. I found it to be very uncomfortable, for both sitting and sleeping even with the mattress pad, though I admit I prefer a softer mattress. It also was barely long enough for me to sleep in, and I’m three inches shorter than you.
Nice way to burn LH by not including Allegris. Though, tbh the privacy seats and the throne seats are pretty good even though they don’t have doors.
Honestly it feels like business class is starting to have diminishing returns. An arguably "inferior" Apex Suites product at 9th place is pretty much adequate for any longhaul route, it's got direct aisle access, is sufficient for sleeping and private enough. At that level, I wouldn't change products/carriers just for another one higher up on the list.
Beyond the "business plus" seats in the bulkheads with extra legroom, the seats have started plateauing.
The soft product differentiation is what really matters at that level, ground experience, inflight service, etc.
Agreed. B class plus is where the innovation is happening. For the most part typical B class is all quite ‘good enough’ for me. I for one don’t care much about the ground experience as I try to minimize my time at airports, and the soft product just needs to be good enough.
I wonder what the next (r)evolution of Business Class would be as there's not much else you can do within the existing footprint. Maybe curtains, a 1-1-1-1 configuration, or even a compact version of the Peacock suites concept, but that's about it!
One thing to note: the door on the A350 Delta One Suite does actually close the entire way. It does, however, require a bit of jostling the door for it to lock into its fully closed position — when it is simply released there’s usually a ~3 inch gap due to the temperamental design.
Agree with this mostly except for the adient ascent being so high and the turkoflot seat being so low. The ascent is a very cramped product with small footwells and very little shoulder room. Apex suites, super diamonds, the old CX/AA 77W/BR 77W seats, are far superior. And he turkoflot seats imho should be 2 or 3, as I find them better than qsuites (the tray design is better and the seat articulates) or any reverse herringbone seat.
What gets me is that so many C seats, including ones on this list, have zero storage for personal items. Sure, they have nooks and crannies to put your things, but your actual bags have to go in the overhead. And bonus! More airlines are removing the center overhead bins (style over function, IMHO), so you're fighting for space. Ridiculous.
Agree. Jal seats have literally no storage. I like to get my book etc out on boarding but there’s nowhere to put it!
I agree with your Top 2. Recently flew both and actually can't fully decide which one is better. I appreciate how the JAL seat has a lot of thoughtful touches like the shoe cubby and coat closet. I surprisingly also liked the headrest speakers. But I think ultimately, ANA has the better overall product. The external camera is much crisper, the seat wider, the bedding more comfortable, and most importantly, there are air vents which makes a world of difference.
I experienced the Vantage XL business class with door on the ex-DL 772LRs when they flew for Air India for a couple of years. It was the longest actual flight i have ever taken at 18h and 53m. But it passed the comfort test. Till date its been the best J class seat i have expereinced.
Hats off to DL for having this product almost a decade ago.
Lufthansa is the best airline. Period.
Haven’t tried Oman, but otherwise, ‘no notes,’ great list. Huge fan of ANA, JAL, QR’s products, specifically. What you should do next Ben is describe the business class products most sorely in-need of a refresh… like many of EK’s 777; Delta’s older 763 cabins, United’s 772 with 2-4-2 rear-facing lie-flat, etc.
I’ve flown 4, 5, 6 (the A350 version, though I may fly the 777 in Jan), 7, and 10. I’ll be trying out 3 in a couple weeks, so it’s nice to say I’ll have covered >50% of this list.
I’ll need to make a return trip to Japan soon so I can attempt to try one of the top 2.
The Air France A350 seats look different from your photos - more than what would indicate in your description. The monitor for one has to be pushed out. Also, the seat is incredibly uncomfortable for those who sleep on their side. To create the 2m long bed they like to tout, the cubby is really long so your knees are trapped. If the 777-300 seat is the same way, I am shocked to see it as a top 10.
The bulkhead seats on the A350 looked like your photos. But those are a completely different seat. I found the old 777 seats to be way comfier though.
Regardless of the seat, the crew were phenomenal.
I've tried #1 (Eevee jet) and it was the best flight of my life (so far).
I’m so old school. All the coffin lovers out there. I’d happily forego privacy for a lie flat “BarcaLounger” and decent bedding.
Does anyone know which Collin’s aerospace AC will be fitting on its new a350s ?
Awesome post! I'd be keen on a post about the engineering/geometry/economics of biz class seats. How does ANA pack that massively wide seat (its too big, I felt like a minnow in a shark sized aquarium) into a 777 while Lufthansa and Philippines still run 2-4-2 Biz class? Surprised the 2-2-2 JAL never took off, is it not as efficient as a 1-2-1 in the end?
Thanks for this list! I have flown ANA the ROOM, apart from vast space was not so thrilled by it. I find good old SQ J seat more comfortable and practical overall.
Next on my list to try are JAL A350 and Air France.