That is some interesting info but I felt a bit deceived by the title. It's not exactly EVERYTHING one needs to know. The historical data is interesting but also very limited. Other carriers (e.g. Asian, Middle Eastern or even smaller US or EU carriers, such as AZ, TK, US) have also largely caught up to the *big* majors.

Another point is that the focus seems to be solely on sleep. Some people (myself included) have a hard time sleeping on flights. Even in a biz seat on a long haul flight, the most I sleep I could possibly get is 2-3 hours. Then other parts of the int'l biz experience become important (I've never traveled long-haul first, so I can't comment on that), such as IFE, amenities, service, and so on. E.g. I think the KLM delft houses are a really nice touch. I also find that service on US-based carriers seems to be more like a diner experience whereas European counterparts seem to value the professional image.

Back to the biz seats though - some have some added features (e.g. the massage feature), some are more ergonomic when it comes to using the table or remote control. So there are more considerations than just lie flat or non lie flat.

More importantly though, how did the Religious Freedom in the Habsburg Hereditary Lands During the Enlightenment affect the choice of biz class seats?