I’m an airline product geek, and every so often, I like to publish a list of what I consider to be the world’s 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 be the world’s best business class seats, as this is an area where we’ve seen lots of developments over the years.
Business class seats have come a long way
We’ve seen a significant amount of innovation when it comes to business class seats, with some of the world’s best business class seats having been introduced in recent years.
However, it’s worth acknowledging that this is part of a larger trend, as over the past few decades we’ve seen business class seats go from recliners, to angled flat seats, to flat beds, to seats with direct aisle access, to suites with doors. In many ways, the premium economy cabins being introduced nowadays aren’t that different than business class 20+ years ago.
I will say this, though — broadly speaking, I think business class is “peaking,” in terms of the actual comfort level that passengers experience. At this point, business class improvements seem more incremental, with a focus on improved tech, privacy, and more.
Given the amount of innovation we’ve seen, I’d like to share an updated post with what I consider to be the world’s best business class seats.
What makes a great business class seat?
My ranking will be subjective, since not everyone is looking for the same thing when flying, and I think creating a formula for ranking these seats would minimize the perspective I can provide, having tried all of these products myself.
Some people love direct aisle access from every seat. Others don’t, since they love to sit next to their travel companion. Some people love seats with doors. Others hate them. The list goes on and on.
What goes into my decision as to what I consider to be the world’s best business class seats? A fully flat bed with direct aisle access from at least most seats is a given to make this list, though here’s what I’m looking for beyond that:
- A comfortable sleeping surface — First and foremost, business class is about the bed, so a comfortable sleeping surface is the single most important factor. Part of that is lots of space for my feet, since some airlines seem to be developing elaborate seats with small footwells.
- The ability to maximize privacy — This is something I personally care about, though I know others don’t. Given the choice, I’ll always take a seat that offers more privacy over one that doesn’t. I find it awkward to sleep next to strangers on the ground, and the same applies in the air.
- Attention to detail with the design — Often I wonder if the person who designed a particular business class seat has ever actually been in business class before, because the design doesn’t have great attention to detail. I’m talking about where buttons are located, how good the lighting is, how easy it is to use the tray table, and more.
- Different seating configurations for different occasions — Everyone travels with a different purpose, so it’s important that seats are customizable depending on whether you’re traveling alone, with a companion, or with your family. It’s great to have a lot of privacy, but truly exceptional airlines have designed their cabins in such a way that you can choose whether you want to sit alone, or next to someone else.
- Great tech — Lately a lot of the innovation with new business class seating has come in the form of improved technology, including bluetooth audio, several high speed charging ports, wireless charging, high definition personal entertainment screens, and more.
- Beautiful finishes — While the substance of a seat is most important to me, there’s also something to be said for a cabin that’s stylish.
- Individual air nozzles — This is something I won’t be able to cover too thoroughly here, since in some cases I’ll be talking about seats that are used by many airlines. However, for any airline product folks reading this, individual air nozzles make a huge difference in terms of being able to sleep comfortably, given how warm cabins are often kept.
Why you should trust OMAAT seat rankings
Hopefully I don’t have to explain this to regular OMAAT readers, but I feel like this is worth mentioning for those who aren’t regular readers…
All the time I see media outlets ranking the best business class seats, though typically they’re just going off stock media images and how airlines describe their seats, rather than actual firsthand experience.
While I’m absolutely not saying you need to agree with my rankings, here’s why you should trust OMAAT rankings, in the sense that I’m sharing my honest and informed take here:
- I pay for virtually all of my own flights, either with cash or miles
- I’ve tried every kind of business class seat out there, and have flown business class literally hundreds of times, so have lots of context for what makes a great seat
- I don’t have any sort of financial relationship with any airline
- This is my passion, I’ve been reviewing airlines for 17+ years, I’ve written hundreds of flight reviews, and have logged millions of miles
The world’s 10 best business class seats
Let me now share what I consider to be the world’s best business class seats. Just a few final notes, before I do so:
- Some of the seats I list are only available on one airline, while others are available on dozens of airlines, so I’m only going to be listing each type of seat once, even if there are minor variances
- In situations where only one airline has a seat type, I’ll refer to it by airline, while when it’s a situation where multiple airlines have the same seat, I’ll refer to it by the seat name
- One general struggle I have with these rankings is deciding which seat in a configuration to judge (for example, Singapore Airlines’ bulkhead business class seats are phenomenal, while the rest of the seats aren’t nearly as good); so I’ll be judging seat variations only if at least an average of one seat in each row has the comfort that wins it the ranking
- I’m leaving service, food, drinks, entertainment, and Wi-Fi out of this equation; this list is all about the hard product
- I won’t be including “business class plus” products in these rankings, though that is becoming an increasingly common offering, that’s somewhere between first and business class
Below are my rankings, starting with the best…
1. All Nippon Airways “The Room” business class
All Nippon Airways has the world’s best business class seat, in my opinion, which was introduced in 2019. This is simply an incredible product — each seat has a door, the suites are massive, and the amount of personal space is unparalleled.
With this seat, I really feel like airline products have come full circle, because this business class suite is better than many first class suites out there. This even beats the world famous Qatar Airways Qsuites product, at least in terms of hard product.
Where to find this seat: This seat is available exclusively on select ANA 777-300ERs. No other airlines have this product, though a modified version of this will soon come to select ANA 787s.
2. Japan Airlines Safran Unity business class
Japan Airlines is the global launch customer for the Safran Unity seat, which is the latest and greatest new business class seat out there. This is ultimately a staggered business class seat, though what sets it apart is that it’s incredibly spacious, has a ton of storage, and also has excellent tech, from bluetooth audio to wireless charging.
While the seat isn’t quite as spacious as ANA’s business class, the soft product and technology is quite a bit better, in my opinion, so I’m a huge fan of this product, and it’s among my favorite business class experiences in the world.
Where to find this seat: This seat is available on all Japan Airlines A350-1000s. It will eventually be available on other airlines, including on Air India’s refreshed wide body planes, plus Qantas’ A350s.
3. Collins Aerospace Elements business class
Nowadays, reverse herringbone seats are among the most popular business class seats out there. Some time back, popular seat manufacturer Collins Aerospace took this to the next level, with the introduction of its new Elements business class seat.
What makes this different than previous generation reverse herringbone seats? Well, quite a bit. The seat has a massive 24″ entertainment monitor, amazing tech, a door, and most important of all, it has significantly more space in the footwell. Many reverse herringbone products feel really tight in bed mode, so that’s where this evolution of the concept shines. I can’t wait to see more airlines introduce this same product.
Where to find this seat: This seat is available on all Starlux Airlines A350s, on the newest Etihad 787s, and on Cathay Pacific 777s with Aria Suites.
4. Qatar Airways Qsuites business class
Qatar Airways introduced the Qsuite in 2017, and set a new standard for business class at the time. Just about everything about it is incredible — it’s private (it features a door), it’s spacious, it’s stylish, it has plenty of storage, and everything is thoughtfully designed.
What really seals the deal is how customizable these suites are. You can choose a window seat for full privacy, you can choose a double bed in the center section, or if you’re traveling as a group of four, you can even reserve a quad and create a huge suite. What’s most exciting is that Qatar Airways will soon be introducing a next generation version of the product, with even more incremental improvements.
Where to find this seat: This seat is available on all Qatar Airways A350-1000s, and on select Qatar Airways A350-900s, 777-200LRs, and 777-300ERs. No other airlines have this product.
5. Adient Ascent business class
While Qatar Airways is most well known for its Qsuites business class, the airline is installing the Adient Ascent seat on its 787-9s. These seats have doors and direct aisle access. Qatar Airways is the launch customer for this product, though you’ll also now find it on several other airlines as well.
This configuration is highly customizable, and each seat has a door. It’s a bit different than your typical reverse herringbone configuration, since the center seats sometimes face the aisle rather than the center of the cabin. The finishes in this cabin are all very well designed.
Where to find this seat: This seat is available on Qatar Airways 787-9s, on Hawaiian Airlines 787-9s, and on select American Airlines 787-9s. This is also United’s new Polaris business class seat.
6. Air France Safran Versa business class
Safran debuted its new Versa business class reverse herringbone seat on Air France, and it’s quite a good product. It has doors, excellent technology, and the seat feels quite spacious. Perhaps what’s most remarkable is the bulkhead seats in this configuration, which I’d consider to be the single best business class seats in the world. Of course only a small percentage of passengers get that seat, though.
Where to find this seat: This product is available exclusively on select Air France 777-300ERs, though you can expect this to be available on more planes in the future. Note that while Air France 350-900s have a very similar product, it’s from a different manufacturer.
7. Collins Aerospace reverse herringbone business class with door
As you can see above, Collins Aerospace’s cutting edge business class product is the Elements seat, available on Starlux Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Etihad Airways. However, it’s worth also mentioning the company’s previous generation reverse herringbone product, which is otherwise among the best you’ll find in the skies.
The Collins Aerospace Super Diamond seat is incredibly popular, and can be found on airlines like Air Canada, American, China Airlines, Qatar Airways, Xiamen Air, and many more airlines. However, what elevates this product to the next level is that we’ve seen some airlines add doors to this seat.
In general I like reverse herringbone seats because each seat is virtually identical, so there are no bad seats. The seats have plenty of privacy, the window seats face the windows, and the seats are comfortable regardless of whether you’re relaxing or sleeping. The downside is that these seats aren’t ideal when traveling with someone, since even the center seats are quite private.
Where to find this seat: British Airways has the most of these seats in service, as they can be found on all A350-1000s and 787-10s, as well as select 777s and 787s. On top of that, Etihad has a similar product on its A350-1000s.
8. Collins Aerospace Horizon business class
Here’s another staggered business class product that’s becoming increasingly popular. Collins Aerospace has produced the Horizon business class seat, which is a staggered configuration with a door. This is a very functionally designed seat, with storage, good tech, and it’s comfortable whether sitting up or trying to sleep. Personally I prefer this product to the Vantage XL product with a door.
Where to find this seat: This seat is available on a subset of Turkish Airlines A350s, and on Air India A350s, all of which were initially intended for Aeroflot. On top of that, you’ll find it on Korean Air’s 787-10s.
9. Apex Suites business class
When you look at Apex Suites, you may initially think that they’re just average business class seats, as they don’t look that impressive. For example, on a 787, Apex Suites will be in a 2-2-2 configuration. What makes these seats superior is the window seats, as they feature an unrivaled amount of privacy and personal space. The window seats have a private walkway leading to the seat, and you can raise or lower the partition between seats for full privacy.
For many other business class seats, you have to sleep with your feet in a small footwell, while in an Apex Suite you have an unlimited amount of space for your feet. The other nice thing is that if you’re traveling with someone you can select an aisle and a window seat and sit next to one another, though you won’t have the same level of privacy in the aisle seat.
Where to find this seat: This seat is available on Gulf Air 787-9s, select Japan Airlines 777s and 787s, Korean Air 747-8s, 787-9s, and select 777-300ERs, and Oman Air 787s.
10. Vantage XL business class with door
Delta’s flagship business class product is the Delta One Suite, which is a business class suite with a door. Delta uses a modified Vantage XL seat (similar to what you’ll find on Philippine Airlines, Qantas, RwandAir, and SAS, for example).
The Vantage XL seat isn’t otherwise on the list because I consider this to be an evolved version of it, given the addition of a door. The configuration is staggered, and the seats are private, spacious, and mostly well designed.
However, I do think the seat is a bit rough around the edges — the window seats lack storage, the door doesn’t quite close the whole way, the doors themselves are pretty low, and they’re difficult to open. This is a very good product, but a better job could have been done with the finishes, in my opinion.
Where to find this seat: This seat is available on Delta A350-900s and A330-900neos (though it feels much tighter on the A330s). You’ll also find the seats on Virgin Atlantic A330-900neos, China Eastern A350s and 787s, and Shanghai Airlines 787s.
Bottom line
There you have it, those are what I consider to be the 10 best business class seats. As you can see, in some cases these seats are specific to one airline, while in other cases many airlines have the same seats.
These rankings are highly subjective, and on a given day I could see the order of some of them being switched around, depending on whether I plan on sleeping the whole flight, am traveling with someone, etc. The only rankings I’m pretty committed to is my top four choices, though I could also see the order being moved around depending on the circumstances.
What do you think the world’s best business class seats are? How does your list compare to mine?
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