kthpence

Hi Everyone!

I'm working on a blog post for my travel blog, and am having a hard time narrowing down the Top 10 International Business Classes. I was hoping to come to FlyerTalk to get some outside input and to try not to be biased.

If you have the time and feel like doing so, please comment below with your Top 10. Please note that your rankings shouldn't be based on past products (i.e. old Lufthansa or Swiss seats), only the current product being offered. Rank based on Service, Wine and Food, Seat/IFE & "Bonus Items" (like limousine service, Krug or Dom, amazing lounge access, etc.). If there's a way to setup a poll, I'd love to do that as well.

Qatar Airways
Virgin Atlantic
Lufthansa
Swiss
EVA
Asiana
Turkish
Emirates
Etihad
Singapore
Air France (New Cabin)
Cathay
Korean
Thai
Air New Zealand
American
Air Canada
Austrian
Qantas
ANA

This is the list from which I'm working at the moment, I have Singapore at #1, but am struggling to create a "Power Rankings" of sort for the rest. Any help is greatly appreciated!

shuigao

What is your rubric by which "best" is defined?

1. Best seat?
2. Best service?
3. Best food?
4. Best value?
5. A combination of the above (what weights would you give for #1-#4)?

Or do you just want a subjective poll of what FT'ers "feel" is the best biz class according to their own individual weights?

moondog

I applaud your enthusiasm, but there countless threads of this nature here alone and many magazines attempt the same. Apart from the fact that this stuff is completely subjective, very few people have flown all of those airlines, let alone recently enough to have fresh insights.

kthpence

I would prefer subjective votes based on everyone's interpretation of the above categories. Quantifying the above things can be quite difficult (i.e. some people like herringbone seats, others do not, some people like LH's service, others do not, etc.), so I thought it would be fun to see what people thought offered the best overall product.

I, personally, have my own preference as to what is most important for a business class product, whereas you have your own preference as well. That's why I thought it would be good to have a vote with people taking into account the above categories.

While I've seen some threads, most have to do with one specific alliance/carrier/destination (i.e. "Best oneworld Biz product to Europe). I wanted to compile a more holistic list, and was curious to get insight from FTers. Of course it's subjective - that doesn't mean it isn't interesting! I honestly was just curious if people would be interested in ranking them in their preference, not necessarily doing an in-depth analysis of each carrier and their Biz product.

LondonElite

These lists don't make any sense to me, largely because they're so market-specific. SQ has a great business class, but what use is that if I live in Columbia and travel mainly to Brazil? Ever notice that many airlines claim to have been voted 'world's number one' according to some frequent traveller magazine? Just look to see where that magazine was published, and you'll see there is a huge home bias. BA most certainly does not have the best business class, but regularly wins in magazines published in the UK. A more useful exercise would be to come up with a grid of carriers on each route.

kthpence

This isn't for a travel magazine, it's for a personal travel blog and I just wanted to see if anyone wanted to offer their input on the topic itself, not their input on the idea. It's supposed to a fun blog post, nothing more...

lhrsfo

Of the ones I have flown in the last year, I would rank as follows:

1 Turkish
2 Lufthansa
3= United
3= British Airways
5 Avianca

kthpence

Thanks for your input! I'll be flying Turkish Biz this December to DOH, and I've been looking forward to it after reading more about their product. Interesting you have United above BA, I'd love to hear your reasoning behind that.

violist

The way the Internet goes these days, your "fun blog post" threatens
to add to the huge proliferation of crap information out there. If you
hone your inquiry a bit, you may come up with something useful.

SIA747Megatop

I don't think poll indicates anything but out of the ones I've flown I can offer my thoughts - I'm ranking the entire experience including check-in, F&B and onboard service - have kept it to long haul products only:

1. Singapore Airlines - new seat (77W) and old (77W & A380)
2. Cathay Pacific - 77W only, 744 seat is mediocre .
3. Thai - A380
4. Emirates - A380
5. ANA - 77W
6. Thai - 77W
7. Emirates - 77W

MSPeconomist

Why did the OP put AA on the original list but not DL?

kthpence

I omitted Delta an United and included AA because AA's new business class is akin to ME, European and Asian carriers, while in my opinion, Delta and United are not ... It's not as if Delta or United would ever come into a top 10 ranking for business class with their current products, whereas I was curious to see if FTers thought AA's new business was in the top 10.

Ok, thanks for your input! I think that some FTers can take things a little bit too seriously sometimes, so in the spirit of that, what do you think I should do to hone my inquiry? It's nearly impossible to create a top 10 list that anyone will agree with, even if it is entirely objective, so what's the point in even trying to do so?

ft101

Put all the names in a hat and draw out 10. It'll be as meaningful as any vote.

Gardyloo

I'm curious how many people have flown on all of these carriers in business class, and within a time frame that allows apples to apples comparisons.

Thunderroad

I don't have any problem at all with your inquiry. Hey, this is FT, the home of subjective perspectives and inexact comparisons!

But if you do want to hone a bit, you might want to specify that you're comparing the airlines based on the best business class seats/cabins they each offer, since for many airlines it can vary quite a bit. E.g., I agree that AA's newer business class seats/cabins are pretty good (and certainly better than DL and UA), but it still has lots of older ones that are not lie-flat and that don't offer all-aisle access.

Having said that, the top three I'd pick would be Singapore, Cathay Pacific and Etihad, in that order. But there are lots of good ones I haven't flown.

Finally, here's a pretty good, thoughtful comparison, though not as comprehensive as what you're seeking:http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....usiness-class/