I’ve long published my rankings of the world’s best first class products and best first class lounges. In the past couple of years, I’ve tried to do the same for business class.
It’s kind of hard to truly rank business class products, simply because there’s so much variability in terms of the quality of products across aircraft, food and beverage service can vary significantly across flights, people prioritize very different things in business class, etc.
My list of the top business class products is essentially the airlines I generally most enjoy flying in business class, factoring in all the things that make a business class experience stand out. Before I get into this list, let me note a few things:
- This is highly subjective, and these choices are just my preferences, so if you have different picks, that’s totally reasonable, and I’d love to hear about them
- I’m attempting to factor in the overall business class experience, from seat, to food and drinks, to service, to amenities
- I’m generally going to be sorting the list starting with my favorite, though I could easily see myself switching many of these rankings by one or two spots
- I’ll always note which products I’m referring to with the rankings, since many airlines struggle with product consistency across the fleet
In separate posts I’ve written about the world’s best business class lounges, and the world’s best business class seats (which often aren’t airline specific). For that matter, going in the opposite direction, I’ve also written about the world’s worst business class seats.
With the above out of the way, below are my favorite business class products…
In this post:
Qatar Airways business class
Qatar Airways sets the standard for business class, plain and simple. The carrier is known for its Qsuites business class, available on select Airbus A350s and Boeing 777s. Boeing 787-9s also feature an awesome business class product, though it’s a bit different.
There’s simply not a more well rounded business class experience out there. Qatar Airways has thoughtfully designed seats with privacy doors, amazing dine on demand catering, impressive amenities (including pajamas), virtually unlimited entertainment, reasonably priced high-speed Wi-Fi (and free Starlink Wi-Fi is currently being rolled out), and more.
The airline even keeps one-upping itself, and now even offers caviar in business class on some routes, and has plans for a next generation Qsuites product. If I could only ever fly one airline again in business class, it would be Qatar Airways.
Japan Airlines business class
Japan Airlines recently debuted its Airbus A350-1000, which is the carrier’s new flagship, long haul aircraft. While Japan Airlines has long been great, this really takes the airline to the next level. For one, Japan Airlines is the launch customer for the Safran Unity seat, which is one of the most spacious and well designed business class seats we’ve ever seen. The tech is also awesome, with features we’ve never seen before, like headrest speakers.
Beyond that, Japan Airlines’ soft product is excellent, from friendly service, to delicious food, to free Wi-Fi, to excellent amenities, including comfortable bedding. It’s amazing how both of Japan’s major airlines now have among the best business class products in the world.
All Nippon Airways business class
All Nippon Airways has what’s probably the world’s best business class seat, known as “The Room,” on select Boeing 777s. This seat is even better than Qatar Airways’ Qsuites business class seat, and it honestly feels more like a first class suite than a business class seat. As you’d expect, service on ANA is to a very high standard as well (it’s Japan, after all!), with both Japanese and Western food and drinks, and solid amenities.
However, the tech isn’t quite as good as on Japan Airlines, and I also slightly prefer Japan Airlines’ soft product. Furthermore, neither Japanese carrier has a soft product that’s as well rounded as Qatar Airways.
Singapore Airlines business class
Singapore Airlines is one of the world’s most recognizable airline brands. Ironically enough, the carrier’s business class hard product is not cutting edge, whether you’re flying the Airbus A350, Airbus A380, or Boeing 777. And in some ways the carrier is lacking a bit when it comes to amenities, with no pajamas, very basic amenity kits, no dine on demand, etc.
However, in my opinion there’s not an airline that more consistently has exceptional service in business class than Singapore Airlines. There’s just so much pride that goes into service on Singapore Airlines, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad flight with the airline.
The airline also has a lot going for it beyond friendly service, including free Wi-Fi, endless entertainment through the KrisWorld system, and “Book the Cook,” which allows you to pre-order your food from a huge selection of options that might not be available on board.
Etihad Airways business class
Etihad Airways is really in a groove, with its new A350 business class suite. Etihad has reverse herringbone seats with doors, and the seats are comfortable and feature incredible tech (bluetooth audio, wireless charging, etc.), with lots of entertainment and solid Wi-Fi.
Etihad’s soft product is excellent as well, in particular thanks to the Armani / Casa collaboration. From great bedding, to dine on demand catering, to a great coffee selection, Etihad has come a long way in business class. Etihad has also introduced a new Boeing 787 business class, which is excellent as well.
EVA Air business class
Taiwan is blessed with three amazing airlines, with China Airlines and EVA Air being the two longstanding ones. EVA Air has the edge, and has an incredible business class soft product. The carrier’s business class seats are nothing special, and include reverse herringbone seats on the Boeing 777 or staggered seats on the Boeing 787, but it’s the food, drinks, amenities, and service, that set the airline apart.
From amazing champagne, to a collaboration with Din Tai Fung for food, to comfortable pajamas, EVA has one of my favorite soft products in the world. If you’re lucky, you can even fly on one of EVA Air’s Hello Kitty jets.
Starlux Airlines business class
Starlux Airlines is Taiwan’s newest long haul airline, and the company has started operating long haul flights with its Airbus A350s. Starlux’s business class is excellent. For one, the airline is the launch customer for the Collins Aerospace Elements product, which is without a doubt the world’s best reverse herringbone seat. This is an excellent hard product, with each seat having a door, a large footwell, and unbeatable tech.
Starlux’s soft product is quite good too, with free Wi-Fi in business class, pajamas, nice amenity kits and bedding, and an extensive selection of food and drinks. I’m excited to see this airline continuing to expand.
Turkish Airlines business class
Turkish Airlines actually has a pretty mediocre business class hard product. Turkish’s Boeing 787 business class consists of staggered seats, while Turkish’s Boeing 777 business class has seven seats per row. Turkish does have some ex-Aeroflot A350s with an impressive hard product, and also plans to introduce a new business class seat soon.
So why do I rank Turkish Airlines so highly? Well, everything about the soft product is excellent. In my opinion, Turkish has the best food of any airline in business class, plus a great coffee selection. On top of that, I find hospitality on Turkish to consistently be genuinely hospitable and friendly.
Türkiye is an incredible country with so much to offer (that’s a statement about the food, culture, history, and people, and not about the government), so connecting through Istanbul is always a pleasure.
Emirates business class
Emirates is one of the most popular airline brands in the world, and the carrier has a huge halo effect from its A380 fleet. Emirates’ A380 business class definitely isn’t cutting edge, and on many aircraft, even looks quite outdated. The cabin is also huge, so service doesn’t feel that personalized.
However, there’s no denying that there are some things Emirates does really well, and people love flying the carrier’s A380. The seats are comfortable, having an onboard bar is awesome, the drinks are phenomenal (including cocktails), the entertainment is incredible, the Wi-Fi is free, and the amenities are great, with gorgeous amenity kits and even pajamas.
Air France business class
Many people may (correctly) observe that virtually all the carriers on my list are from Asia and the Middle East. Unfortunately that’s just the cookie crumbles, given the competitive landscape. So I want to add a wildcard to the list, which is Air France business class.
While Air France business class isn’t quite to the level of some of the above, I’d argue that the carrier’s new Airbus A350 business class and Boeing 777 business class are by far the best in Europe. The planes have comfortable reverse herringbone seats with doors, excellent tech, and amazing bulkhead seats.
On top of that, I find Air France’s business class soft product to be a cut above the competition. Crews are generally friendly, food and drinks are tasty, entertainment is excellent, and Wi-Fi speeds are quite good (with free Starlink Wi-Fi being on the way). In Europe, Air France is my number one choice in business class.
Bottom line
It’s amazing how far business class has come over the years, especially when it comes to seats. Many business class seats are now better than first class seats 15 years ago.
Since we’re all looking for different things, there’s not a single business class product that we’ll all agree is the best. The above are my favorites, and Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, and All Nippon Airways, are definitely my top three. However, there are lots of other lovely products as well that I really enjoy.
What are your favorite airlines you’ve flown in business class?
"...so connecting through Istanbul is always a pleasure."
-Mayor Eric Adams
I agree. Air France's hard and soft product on their new A350s is the best business class to Europe. Flew them in October from EWR-CDG. JAL's hard product is dated on most of their planes. Only the JFK route has the new A350. Seattle and SFO we're left with the 787s and very old 777s. Their soft product is wonderful as you note. Cathay is a sad echo of what it used to be in terms of a soft product. I do love the A350s with the herringbone seats.
I disagree with SQ being on the list and we have flown this year JFK-SIN , SIN-JFK , DPS-SIN :
1. JFK lounge is total disgrace
2. No pjs on the longest flight in the world , how is that even possible ?!?
3. Subpar food in direct comparison with EK , TK, AF , JL amd even AA long haul
Of course service is polished (not to EK or JL level...
I disagree with SQ being on the list and we have flown this year JFK-SIN , SIN-JFK , DPS-SIN :
1. JFK lounge is total disgrace
2. No pjs on the longest flight in the world , how is that even possible ?!?
3. Subpar food in direct comparison with EK , TK, AF , JL amd even AA long haul
Of course service is polished (not to EK or JL level ) , drinks are great as well.
Thanks to Lucky we were in the bulkhead seats both times ( family of three ) , IMHO , your blog is simply outstanding ..
No surprise that my international lie-flat Business seats on Swiss, LATAM, Air India, United, Air Canada, and American did not make the list.
Not sure I agree. I just travelled Singapore Airlines and Emirates. The United product, in my view was far superior.
The EK seat and bedding are definitely lagging and the food on Singapore is very disappointing to anyone remembering its heyday.
Not a United fan, but I think both EK and SQ enjoy their reputation from the early 2010s
Quite disheartening that you didn't include CX in this list. Time and time again, they have always remaines in the top 10 Worlds Best. With a few # 1's along the way. By no means are they perfect just like everybody else but thay have remained pretty consistent specially with their outstanding world class service!...IMO
Is Turkish really that good? Still, the majority of their planes have older seats like the 777s and A330s. The 789s and standard A350s only have an average quality product.
The food is excellent, I will give them that, but their service is nothing special, if anything I found it to be on the poor side in terms of friendliness.
Interesting catering photo for QR. I've flown their Q-Suites product dozens and dozens of times, and I've never been served on a tray - not ever. And the cutlery is not rolled up in a napkin like a crappy US airline, either. The cutlery is set out on the linen tablecloth for each course, and the napkin is always placed in my lap by a flight attendant.
I know this is picky, but you're...
Interesting catering photo for QR. I've flown their Q-Suites product dozens and dozens of times, and I've never been served on a tray - not ever. And the cutlery is not rolled up in a napkin like a crappy US airline, either. The cutlery is set out on the linen tablecloth for each course, and the napkin is always placed in my lap by a flight attendant.
I know this is picky, but you're trying to make a case that QR's hard/soft product is amongst the best available, but you've diluted the quality of their product with this representation of their catering service.
@Ben,
I see you spent some time re-arranging main course setup for the JAL food picture. :D
No JAL flight attendant would place the items like that....
I think you overlooked Finnair.
I always enjoy your "roundups" on best of whatever. Earlier this year you wrote about the AF A350 biz bulkhead seats saying "However, the best seats in this configuration are the bulkhead seats, and they’re arguably the best business class seats in the world." I'm curious if that particular take is still valid for you - I hope so, as my wife and I are flying them next year SFO-CDG! thanks
As the hard product on the various airlines moves to "nice" or above, to me, the soft product becomes more important. What is the quality of the service and the catering? For Ben's article on that topic, I eagerly wait. And, perhaps it's worth differentiating between long-haul and short-haul. So, l/h best, s/h best, l/h worst, and s/h worst. Four articles.
PS - Since you mention Air France, I've flown its new business suite on both the B777 and A350 (always bulkhead, thank you). While the suites are nice, in-flight service has been just "okay." Which is what prompted my original comment.
Yes exactly, with airlines buying off the shelf products and making modifications it’s the soft product that needs to shine.
Are you listening, Lufthansa?
Uncomfortable seats, cheap catering just doesn’t lead to praise!
Can argue Q suites is neither First class nor Business class.
One might call it........BusinessFirst
"Türkiye is an incredible country with so much to offer (that’s a statement about the food, culture, history, and people, and not about the government)"
Be careful, Ben - you don't want to get banned from another country!
Never quite understood the fuss over BR. I think that their ground services whether it is with their check in agents or gate agents to be underwhelming. Nothing friendly or welcoming at all. Their business class lounges pale in comparison to CI. As @ quorumcall said the interior cabin finishes of CI is so much better than that of BR.
their lounge in bkk is very good, and i think their FAs are great
Great list Ben! I largely agree with your assessment, especially about the food on Turkish Airlines. There’s one carrier that I think has even better food though, and that’s Saudia. I was really impressed by the freshness and quality of the food on my recent flights with them. The downside is no alcohol, but their non-alcoholic drinks are great in a way that makes up for it. Thanks for the review!
No Cathay Pacific on your list?!
Next year I fully expect EVA to be dethroned by the CX Aria Suites and/or the Turkish Crystal business class!
As mentioned below, it's really the soft product that makes a difference. I'm not sure how many carriers within the region alone offer pajamas and Dom in Business.
While CXs Aria Suites are nice, they're pretty barebones tbh. Food and service can be hit-or-miss. The only thing that they have going for them would be the top-notch StudioCX entertainment system (with high resolution cameras), comfortable bed, and storage within the seat.
They should really invest...
As mentioned below, it's really the soft product that makes a difference. I'm not sure how many carriers within the region alone offer pajamas and Dom in Business.
While CXs Aria Suites are nice, they're pretty barebones tbh. Food and service can be hit-or-miss. The only thing that they have going for them would be the top-notch StudioCX entertainment system (with high resolution cameras), comfortable bed, and storage within the seat.
They should really invest in their catering. (And it's time to get rid of their casseroles and switch to more traditional plating at least on longer flights)
EVA plans to launch a new business class product in '26, so I wouldn't be surprised if they dethrone CX again.
Only if SQ were up to date with their business clsss seats I would have said them to be the world's best. For that matter I'd say that QR has the best business class product overall. Then followed by JAL & ANA - actually my favourites are those, I found them to be some sort of "comfort" airline choices as someone coming from their neighbouring country. Similar to that I prefer Etihad to QR or...
Only if SQ were up to date with their business clsss seats I would have said them to be the world's best. For that matter I'd say that QR has the best business class product overall. Then followed by JAL & ANA - actually my favourites are those, I found them to be some sort of "comfort" airline choices as someone coming from their neighbouring country. Similar to that I prefer Etihad to QR or EK in the Middle East, even if their product might not be as good as their competitors (still very close IMO).
To be honest I haven't really been impressed by any European airlines' business class product so far, and I don't think I have something to say about the US airlines.
I forgot to mention that I have spent six years in Abu Dhabi as well, so one more reason why I like Etihad.
Wish EVA could take a cue from CI when it comes to finishes... CI has a beautiful-looking product all around and EVA's everything else is great, but the seats are... meh. I love the CI lamps and the design style all around
Lucky which ones are better at keeping the restrooms clean?
@ Peive -- Airlines from Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore, are all particularly good at that. Gulf carriers are as well. It's something that Western airlines struggle with for sure...
Thanx
And why is DELTA not mentioned here????????
Thank you for adding invaluable insights to this discussion.
The boring adolescent who has told the same joke at parties for years.
All of these are objectively favourites among travellers, but I’d like to point out that on most Northeast Asian carriers — ANA, JAL, EVA, Starlux, even KE/Asiana — the proviso is always to bring your own entertainment. If there’s one are that these airlines fall a bit short of, it’s the IFE. While they are all spectacular in every other department (seat, attentive service, food, tech, etc.), English and IFE is where they lose out...
All of these are objectively favourites among travellers, but I’d like to point out that on most Northeast Asian carriers — ANA, JAL, EVA, Starlux, even KE/Asiana — the proviso is always to bring your own entertainment. If there’s one are that these airlines fall a bit short of, it’s the IFE. While they are all spectacular in every other department (seat, attentive service, food, tech, etc.), English and IFE is where they lose out to QR.
The one exception is CX, whose Aria Suites I expect to be here on this list next year, and very highly at that. Moreover, CX is far more Westernised than any of the other Northeast Asian airlines, and that reflects in its IFE offering; in contrast, JAL, while brilliant in terms of hospitality and product, is incredibly Japanese-centric (and that’s beautiful in its own way!).
As someone who's flown on Starlux recently, I found their English selection to be pretty solid. That being said, CX obviously does substantially better than the rest at Westernizing their IFE. Look forward to seeing where they rank with the Aria Suites... a little surprised to not see them here
That’s because the Aria Suites are only fitted on one plane for now, and fly only to PEK at the moment, a place where many Western bloggers would rather steer clear of. It’s much less risky to be flying JAL between HND and DFW (subject to award space, of course) than CX to PEK. That said, I’m sure CX will expand the product before long to, say, SIN or HND before stretching it to the West.
Fair enough... Mainland China is not always straightforward, and I say that as someone who speaks Chinese. @Lucky when Aria Suites get on another intra-Asia route am looking forward to your review, though -- but perhaps I'll beat you to it if it comes to SIN first :)
CX Aria Suites is currently on the 10:30 am HKG-NRT route, I just flew it on that route and I honestly wouldn’t rank it above Qsuites or the two Japanese airlines. The seats have some cool tech but are more or less just reverse herringbone seats, and the doors and walls are pretty low. Overall great seats and would definitely make the list but I wouldn’t rank it as one of the best of the best.
All good options. I agree with Air France. I also think that KLM, despite having wide variety of seating, offers a reliable business class with good food, friendly flight attendants, and great amenities. Also, Iberia in Europe has a consistently great business class. Not as fancy as you might get from the Asian airlines, but reliable, with good food and nice seats.
I have to disagree with Turkish. Maybe I've just had bad experiences,...
All good options. I agree with Air France. I also think that KLM, despite having wide variety of seating, offers a reliable business class with good food, friendly flight attendants, and great amenities. Also, Iberia in Europe has a consistently great business class. Not as fancy as you might get from the Asian airlines, but reliable, with good food and nice seats.
I have to disagree with Turkish. Maybe I've just had bad experiences, but my time on them wasnt great. The shell seat on the 787 from IST to IAD was very cramped, I couldnt see out the window, and the service was extremely slow, to the point where they almost had to skip the dessert service before we landed at Dulles because all the other courses took so long to complete. Service througout was not warm nor kind, no drink refills were offered during the one hour wait between when I received my starters and when my main course arrived, and the food wasnt that good anyway. That, plus a weird selection of movies and tv shows that wasnt particularly good, made me wonder why there was so much praise. The lounge in Istanbul was fine but extremely busy and not relaxing, and the airport huge with very long walks. Also, dont get me started on the ground service. I had terrrible terrible terrible times with my reservation. I booked using Turkish Miles (transferred from Cap one) and a few months after booking a confirmed seat in business there was a time change of 10 minutes and they downgraded me for some unknown reason from Business to Coach for the IST-IAD flight. It took months to restore me to business class as I had booked. Maddening - I finally had to go to the ticket counter at Dulles airport, show them a printed copy of my reservation, and they could restore it. People on the phone were worthless. Things like that should not happen.
Other than that, I agree with this list.
Certainly, many have reported having had poor flights on TK, and also QR, because of various factors. Ben has indeed been very lucky (pun intended) to have had only excellent flights on them both, which is why QR remains the number one, and TK’s Crystal business class expected to climb up the rankings shortly. Far too many people have been swapped to QR’s ancient A330s or Minipod 777s and swear never to fly the airline...
Certainly, many have reported having had poor flights on TK, and also QR, because of various factors. Ben has indeed been very lucky (pun intended) to have had only excellent flights on them both, which is why QR remains the number one, and TK’s Crystal business class expected to climb up the rankings shortly. Far too many people have been swapped to QR’s ancient A330s or Minipod 777s and swear never to fly the airline again — and the same goes for TK, whose ground handling seems to be a persistent issue.
Indeed, QR is almost on par with ET and TG in terms of the number of aircraft swaps it has, with SIN being one of the few routes I believe which is guaranteed the Qsuite. Thankfully that has never affected Ben’s assessment of QR’s outstanding J in general, a stark contrast to the disappointment that’s EK!
TK continues to be overrated based on a few nice meal tray presentations. Crews are not proactive refilling drinks etc and disappear for hours between meal services. I don't understand Ben's pleasant experiences with IST transfers. The ground personnel is consistently rude and not trained to handle any service disruptions or ticketing issues. Their phone agents are unable to handle anything and will transfer customers to departments with voice mail. It will take weeks and...
TK continues to be overrated based on a few nice meal tray presentations. Crews are not proactive refilling drinks etc and disappear for hours between meal services. I don't understand Ben's pleasant experiences with IST transfers. The ground personnel is consistently rude and not trained to handle any service disruptions or ticketing issues. Their phone agents are unable to handle anything and will transfer customers to departments with voice mail. It will take weeks and numerous calls to correct any issues.
You have 2 counts here of, I wouldn’t say “swearing”, but we would avoid QR J from now on. We came back from a trip to Oslo, but were downgraded from B77W QSuites to B77W Minipods on QR948/01DEC DOH-SIN. QSuites guarantee doesn’t work if people need to travel on official business and has no time to rebook.
Furthermore, the logistics of the catering was wanting. Of the 3 J legs out of 4 legs (1st...
You have 2 counts here of, I wouldn’t say “swearing”, but we would avoid QR J from now on. We came back from a trip to Oslo, but were downgraded from B77W QSuites to B77W Minipods on QR948/01DEC DOH-SIN. QSuites guarantee doesn’t work if people need to travel on official business and has no time to rebook.
Furthermore, the logistics of the catering was wanting. Of the 3 J legs out of 4 legs (1st leg was Y due to no availability), basic items simply ran out. We were always at Row 1 & 2, but ice cream was gone on the 1st leg, fruits ran out on the 2nd leg, and a congee listed on the menu was simply not uplifted on the last flight! The food quality was already quite poor (I’d rate it 5/10), but they were just lucky that we are easygoing.
However, I think there is enough disappointment for us to conclude that, we’ll just stick to SQ for our future European travels. We will likely send our remaining 400k Avios balance to other OW carriers like JL, AY or CX, as QR no longer seemed like a valuable option.