I will be going to Milan in early Oct, for a medical conference.

I will be flying in business class.

The questions are the best route (AC +/- other Star Alliance carriers) taking account best value when buying the discounted business class ticket - in terms of configuration of cabin/seats, service in the cabin, quality of lounges, etc.

In terms of the business class seat across the Atlantic, I guess only AC offers (in terms of Star Alliance carriers) a truly horizontal flat bed, and also the only airline which offers a "private" bed (pod)?

I see that LH (or BD codeshared?) does offer direct non-stop flights from LHR to Milan.

I also understand that there are 2 airports in Milan - Malpense and Linate (pardon my spelling) - does the smaller one (which I understand is closer to most downtown hotels) offer as good Star Alliance lounges, as the larger one.

If one wants a good arrival lounge, one flies on AC, to the AC arrivals lounge at LHR, or flies LH to get the arrival lounge at FRA, or flies LX to get the LX arrival lounge at Zurich. I would say that the LH arrival lounge is probably the best of the 3.

Does OS have flat beds, in business class?