eosphoros

Current International J classes I've flown:

AA 772
AY 359
BA Club Coffin
CX Standard
CX Refreshed (359)
JL Shell Flat Neo (772, 788) (not the new Sky Suite)
LA 788
QF Skybed Mk II (744, 388)
QF Business Suite (332)
QF Business Suite (333) — NB: I separated A332 and A333 because the A333 seats are upholstered in cloth and have extra recline for take-off and landing
QR Reverse Herringbone (359)
QR B/E Aerospace Diamond (330)
RJ 788

My ranking based on hard product alone is:

1. QR 359
2. CX 359
3. QF 333
4. CX Standard
5. QF 332
6. AA 772
7. AY 359
8. QR 330
9. RJ 788
10. LA 788
11. JL Shell Flat Neo
12. QF Skybed Mk II — I am in the minority about this but I actually prefer the Skybed Mk I over the Mk II, even though the Mk I is angle-flat.
13. BA Club Coffin — As one reviewer says, 'the best seats for long-haul business travellers are on another airline':
    You Tube

My ranking based on entire on-board experience is:

1. CX 359
2. QF 333
3. CX Standard
4. QF 332
5. JL Shell Flat Neo
6. QF Skybed Mk II
7. AA 772
8. BA Club Coffin
9. AY 359
10. LA 788
11. RJ 788 — Hard to get past the fact that most flights I've been on have an air marshal so obviously standing guard. Doesn't make for a relaxing experience.
12. QR 359 — This will be contentious. Not sure if it's only me, but it's clear to me that the crew, despite smiling and appearing to be happy, are in truth incredibly miserable. I've seen passengers treat them like trash, and I've walked into the galley a few times when they are having their meals, and none of them appeared to be genuinely happy. It's difficult to enjoy one's flying experience in circumstances such as these.
13. QR 330

As for F, my ranking is the same for both hard product alone and entire on-board experience:

1. CX
2. QF
3. BA — Let's be honest — this is really a J product.

anabolism

The problem with ranking first class is so much comes down to subjective factors that different people rank differently. For some, the food and beverage is paramount, while for others it's the service, and for still others, it's the hard product and bedding.

For me, I'd rank CX and JL very close together. I love the more spacious CX seat and the much better PJs, while JL has a more advanced mattress pad and food I enjoy more, at least on flights out of Japan. I rank AA F above BA because of the hard product (AA's food, even in F on premium routes such as HKG, ranges from barely tolerable to disgusting and sick-making). QR F is an interesting product. While it does have enclosed suites, the hard product is poorly thought-out and overall is barely better than J.

anabolism

I have yet to fly the QSuite (which I suspect is the case for many of us). Further, as the newest design, I doubt we'll see anything better for a while.