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Old Aug 1, 2016, 1:42 pm
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Last edit by: littlevoices
Since this thread started in 2016, along with the last wiki update in 2018, many airlines have significantly reduced their true first class routes, or just given up and rebranded a few seats as Business Suites or similar.

Of the oneworld airlines (now and future announcements), the following offer true first class flights

American Airlines (AA); British Airways (BA); Cathay Pacific (CX); Japan Airlines (JL); Qantas (QF); Qatar (QR)

This means the following oneworld airlines do NOT offer a first class product:

Alaska Airlines (AS); Fiji Airlines* (FJ); Finnair (AY); Iberia (IB); Malaysia Airlines (MH)#; Oman Airlines (OM)*#; Royal Air Maroc (AT); Royal Jordanian (RJ); Sri Lankan Airlines (UL)

*Future member

# Offers a business elite /studio seat

The below is as of 20 January 2025, and the number of flights is typically from around 19 Feb, so winter season

American Airlines/AA

AA offers two types of true first class. An increasingly diminishing Trans-Continental routes using specially designed aircraft, and International First (Flagship First). This explicitly excludes any domestic first class flights that typically offer 2x2 seating. Note AA executives have made statements about removing First, so this list will likely gradually decrease over time.

Routes Transcontinental on custom A321T planes, type code 32B (1-1 layout)
  • Los Angeles (LAX) New York (JFK) -> Multiple times daily (9)
  • San Francisco (SFO) JFK -> Multiple times daily (3-4)
  • JFK Orange County (SNA) -> One flight a day
  • LAX Boston (BOS) -> One flight a day
  • LAX Miami (MIA) -> Appears to have switched to a none transcontinental but is still listed on the website, so now only offers normal domestic first
Routes International, on B777-300ER aircraft (1-2-1 layout)
  • Charlotte International Airport (CLT) London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) -> 1x daily
  • Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) -> 2 x daily
  • New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) -> 1x daily
  • New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Buenos Aires' Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) -> 1x daily
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) -> 1x daily
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Sydney Airport (SYD) -> 1x daily
  • Miami International Airport (MIA) London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) -> 2 x daily
  • Miami International Airport (MIA) Sao Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) -> 1x daily
  • Miami International Airport (MIA) Buenos Aires' Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE) -> 1x daily
No longer any First class services from: PHL, BOS

British Airways/BA

BA offers first class on a variety of B777s and the A380. It remains perceived as a the best business class in the sky, excluding Qatar product. But it does go everywhere. The newer generation of planes has fewer seats, but the typical layout has 14 first class seats, so it is hardly private or exclusive.

Between London Heathrow and

North America
  • Atlanta (ATL)
  • Boston (BOS)
  • Chicago (ORD)
  • Dallas (DFW)
  • Houston (IAH)
  • Los Angeles (LAX)
  • Miami (MIA)
  • New York (JFK, EWR)
  • San Francisco (SFO)
  • Seattle (SEA)
  • Washington DC (IAD)
Latin America & Carribbean
  • Bermuda (BDA)
  • Barbados (BGI)
  • Mexico City (MEX)
  • Santiago (SCL)
Europe: No First Class flights since Moscow has been suspended

Middle East & Africa
  • Abu Dhabi (AUH)
  • Abuja (ABV)
  • Bahrain (BAH)
  • Cape Town (CPT)
  • Doha (DOH)
  • Dubai (DXB)
  • Jeddah (JED)
  • Johannesburg (JNB)
  • Kuwait (KWI)
  • Lagos (LOS)
  • Riyadh (RUH)
Asia & Far East
  • Male (MLE)
  • Hong Kong (HKG)
  • Kuala Lumpur (KUL)
  • Shanghai (PVG)
  • Singapore (SIN)
  • Sydney (SYD)
  • Tokyo (HND)


Cathay Pacific/CX

Very limited services have resumed after COVID. Many of the First class planes are now on routes and sold as business class with a nice seat for Diamond (top tier) status members. Cathay does have First class planned on their upcoming B777X deliveries, but with delays these may not be available for many years. Offers a 1-1-1 layout

Between Hong Kong, using a B777-300ER and
  • London Heathrow (LHR) -> 1x daily
  • Tokyo Haneda (HND) -> 1x daily
  • Beijing (PEK) -> 1x daily
  • New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) -> 1x daily
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) -> 1x daily
  • Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) -> Suspended for in late 2024
Japan Airlines/JL

Offered on two aircraft, an older 777-300 (1-2-1 layout), and the new A350-1000 (generally thought of as the best first class in oneworld at the moment with 1-1-1 layout).

Between Tokyo Haneda and
  • New York (JFK) > New A350-1000, 1x daily
  • Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) > New A350-1000, 1x daily
  • London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) > New A350-1000, 2x daily
  • Bangkok (BKK) > B773, 1x daily
  • Singapore (SIN) > B773, 1x daily
  • Sydney (SYD) -> B773, 1x daily [suspended for the northern summer season after 1 May 2025]
  • Helsinki (HEL) -> B773, 1 xdaily [allegedly according to this article, but not yet showing in ExpertFlyer, summer season 22 April to 29 September 2025]
Qantas/QF

Only offered on the A380, but with Project Sunrise they are planning a new improved first class on ultra long range A350-1000s. Offers 14 seats but they are enormous as set out in a 1-1-1 layout.

Between Sydney and
  • London Heathrow (LHR) -> 1x daily (via Singapore) -> 1x daily
  • Singapore (SIN) -> 1x daily (travels on to London Heathrow) -> 1x daily
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) -> 1x daily
  • Johannesburg, South Africa, O.R. Tambo International Airport (JNB) -1x daily
Between Singapore and
  • London Heathrow (LHR) -> 1x daily
Between Melbourne and
  • Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) -> twice weekly?
Qatar/QR

Offered on two planes a number of A380s (1-2-1) and ex-Cathay B777-300ER (1-1-1) planes (still using the same CX seats). The prior CEO wanted to end First Class, but the new CEO intends to improve and offer a limited First class service. This explicitly excludes any domestic Middle Eastern first class flights that typically offer business class seating and service to locations such as Dubai, Cairo and the wider Middle East.

Between Doha and
  • Hong Kong (HKG) -> 1-2x daily using B77W planes
  • Bangkok (BKK) -> 1-2x daily using A388
  • Maldives (MLE) -> 1-2x daily using B77W
  • Sydney (SYD) -> 1x daily using A388
  • Perth (PER) -> 1x daily using A388
  • Istanbul (IST) -> 0 to 1x daily using B77W [irregular, not every day]
  • Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) -> 0 to 1x daily using A388 [irregular, not every day]
  • London Heathrow (LHR) -> 2x daily using A388

==> Finally, and just for completeness, noting the business elite products (still book into A/F class), so not true first class, but would earn you the miles!:

Malaysian Airlines/MH

Between Kaula Lumpur and
  • London Heathrow (LHR) -> 2x daily using A359
  • Tokyo (NRT) -> 2x daily using A359
  • Doha (DOH) -> 1x daily using A359
  • Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) -> 1x daily using A359 [in the summer]
Oman Airways/WY

Retired all of their A330 flights which reduced their network further

Between Muscat (MCT) and
  • London Heathrow (LHR) -> 1x daily using B789
  • Bangkok (BKK) -> 1x daily using B789
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Old Apr 15, 2008 | 12:05 am
  #1  
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OW first class routes thread

As requested.

With the continual reduction in routes offering first class, it may be helpful to have a listing of routes which still have it. This may help some decide between business or first for awards, rtws, etc; as well as assist in route planning.
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Old Apr 15, 2008 | 12:05 am
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Intercontinental and Transcontinental

Watch out for codeshares and some routes have multiple aircraft types operating (with and without first class).


Names used for First Class
First Class - AA, BA, CX, JL, KA, MH, QF, QR


American Airlines
Aircraft type
All mainline aircraft type, but 757, A300 & MD-80 first class are of poor standard. Note within North & Central America 2-class aircraft are sold as First for USA and Business for Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.

Only 3-class flights (777-200 and 777-300ER aircraft) are listed below.
Warning - 777-200 retrofit configuration does not have first class.

Routes
Between Chicago O'Hare and
Beijing
London Heathrow
Shanghai
Tokyo Narita

Between Dallas Fort Worth and
Buenos Aires (some flights)
Frankfurt (some flights)
Hong Kong
London Heathrow (some flights)
Madrid (seasonal northern summer)
Santiago
Sao Paulo
Seoul Incheon
Shanghai
Tokyo Narita

Between Los Angeles and
Buenos Aires
London Heathrow
Sao Paulo
Shanghai Pudong
Sydney
Tokyo Narita

Between Miami and
Buenos Aires
London Heathrow
Los Angeles (some flights)
Madrid
Santiago (seasonal northern winter)
Sao Paulo (some flights)

Between New York JFK and
Buenos Aires
London Heathrow
Los Angeles
San Francisco (some flights)
Sao Paulo

Between Raleigh-Durham and
London Heathrow (some flights, seasonal)


British Airways
Aircraft type
Only 747, 777 (some) and A380.

Routes
Between London Heathrow and
Abu Dhabi
Abuja
Austin
Bahrain
Bangalore
Bangkok
Beijing
Boston
Cairo
Capetown (some flights)
Chicago
Dallas
Delhi (some flights)
Doha
Dubai
Hong Kong
Houston
Johannesburg
Kuala Lumpur
Kuwait
Lagos
Los Angeles
Luanda
Mexico City
Miami
Moscow DME
Mumbai
Muscat
New York JFK
Newark (some flights)
Philadelphia (some flights)
Phoenix
Rio de Janiero
San Diego
San Francisco
San Jose SJC
Sao Paulo
Seattle
Seoul
Shanghai
Singapore
Sydney
Tel Aviv (some flights)
Tokyo NRT
Toronto (some flights)
Vancouver
Washington IAD (some flights)

Between London Gatwick and
Atlanta (some flights)
Bermuda
Bridgetown
Grenada
Port of Spain
St Lucia
San Jose SJO
Tobago

Between Abu Dhabi and
Muscat

Between Bahrain and
Doha

Between Bridgetown and
Port of Spain
Tobago

Between St Lucia and
Grenada

Between Singapore and
Sydney


Cathay Pacific
Aircraft type
All 747 variants, 777-300ER (some a/c and not non-ER).

Routes
Between Hong Kong and
Bangkok (some flights)
Boston
Chicago
Dusseldorf
Frankfurt (some flights)
London Heathrow (some flights)
Los Angeles
Manila (some flights)
Milan
New York JFK
Osaka KIX (some flights)
Paris CDG
San Francisco
Seoul Incheon (some flights, northern summer only)
Taipei (some flights)
Tokyo HND (some flights)
Vancouver
Zurich

Between Bangkok and
Delhi (some flights, irregular)
Singapore

Between Taipei and
Tokyo NRT

Between Vancouver and
New York JFK


Dragonair
Aircraft type
Only A330.

Routes
Between Hong Kong and
Beijing
Kaohsiung
Shanghai
Taipei


Japan Airlines
Aircraft type
772 domestic, 773 (not 777)

Routes
Between Tokyo Haneda and
Chitose
Fukuoka
Okinawa
Osaka ITM
San Francisco

Between Tokyo Narita and
Chicago
Frankfurt
Jakarta (limited flights)
London Heathrow
Los Angeles
New York JFK
Paris CDG
Sydney (seasonal?)


LAN
Aircraft type
None.


Malaysia Airlines
Aircraft type
All A380.

Routes
Between Kuala Lumpur and
London Heathrow
Paris CDG


Qantas
Aircraft type
All A380 (but note some flights sold without first e.g. occasional SYD-HKG).

Routes
Between Sydney and
Dallas
Dubai
London Heathrow (via Dubai)
Los Angeles

Between Melbourne and
Dubai
London Heathrow (via Dubai)
Los Angeles

Between Dubai and
London Heathrow


Qatar
Aircraft type
A380 and ???

Routes
Between Doha and
Bangkok (some flights)
London LHR (some flights)
Paris CDG
some intra-Middle East routes have 2-class F


TAM
none


Current as at ?. Updated to post #208.

Please advise any errors or omissions. Thanks to all those who have contributed.



zzz
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Last edited by Kiwi Flyer; Mar 18, 2016 at 4:39 pm
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Old May 13, 2008 | 8:24 pm
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Any help in completing this listing, in particular for AA and CX, is greatly appreciated.
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Old May 13, 2008 | 9:22 pm
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CX- between HKG and:
SFO
LAX
YVR
NRT (some)
TPE (some)
CDG
LHR
BKK
ADL (some)
MNL (some)
MEL
FCO
DXB
JNB
FRA
YYZ
BOM
KIX (I think)
SYD (some)

between YVR and:
JFK

Between BKK and:
SIN

Between ADL and:
MEL

Last edited by rwhite; May 13, 2008 at 9:34 pm Reason: More locations
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Old May 13, 2008 | 11:06 pm
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Originally Posted by rwhite
CX- between HKG and:
DXB (only direct)
JNB (seasonal)
KIX (currently none)

and
TPE - NRT (a daily)
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Old May 14, 2008 | 12:15 am
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Thanks - keep them coming.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 3:38 am
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Thanks for the thread. Which CX flight has F between SYD-HKG?

I think F is also available between SYD and Buenos Aires on QF (when the route starts in Nov).
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Old May 14, 2008 | 3:45 am
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Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
Cathay Pacific
Aircraft type
All 747 variants, 777-300ER (but not non-ER), A346, some A343, some A333.
Aircraft with First Class are:

744 - F12/J47/Y324
74A - F9/J46/Y324 *new seats
74J - F12/J65/Y268

77A - F6/J57/Y238 *new seats

346 - F8/J60/Y220

34C - F8/J30/Y206

333 - F8/J32/Y211

NB. All 744s and 74Js will undergo 74A conversion. All 346s will leave CX by October 2008. 34C/34D/333 will undergo conversion to new seats but will be two-class only. i.e. 33B and 34B
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Old May 14, 2008 | 3:53 am
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In the BA list these flights should be removed:

Calgary
Chennai
Denver
Dhaka
Islamabad
Kolkata
Montreal

and

Delhi (some flights)

should be altered
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Old May 14, 2008 | 4:55 am
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Originally Posted by spanishflea
In the BA list these flights should be removed:
Looking at the LGW flights the only routes with F are;

Atlanta (selected days IIRC)
Bermuda
Barbados

all others are 3 Class with Club, WT+ and WT cabins.

LGW-JFK will have F when it stars.

Last edited by sdorling; May 14, 2008 at 5:00 am
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Old May 14, 2008 | 9:24 am
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Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
Cathay Pacific
Between Taipei and
Tokyo NRT (some flights)
Only 1 flight a day for Taipei-Narita, and it always has 1st class.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 10:50 am
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IMHO, for AA the list should only include "all 777 flights" and "all 767-200 flights" (the only planes in the fleet with 3 classes of service) as opposed to "all mainline flights".

I don't think anyone looking at this post is looking to see that a ORD-LGA MD-80 flight has a front cabin sold as F/A (since even those in DONEx products get to book A), as much as true F service offered in 3 class flights.

A rough list of those 3 class flights:

767-200
JFK-BDA
JFK-LAX
JFK-MIA (one flight)
JFK-SFO (some flights)

777-200
BOS-LHR
BOS-MIA (seasonal--may not come back)
BOS-SDQ (Sat. only, seasonal)
DFW-FRA
DFW-LHR (one flight 767-300 this summer)
DFW-MIA (seasonal--may not come back)
DFW-ORD
JFK-GRU
JFK-LHR
JFK-NRT
LAX-LHR
LAX-NRT
MIA-DFW (seasonal--may not come back)
MIA-GRU (some flights)
MIA-LAX (one flight, seasonal)
MIA-LHR
MIA-EZE
ORD-DEL
ORD-DFW (one flight)
ORD-DME
ORD-LHR
ORD-NRT
ORD-PEK (2009)
ORD-PVG
RDU-LHR
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Old May 14, 2008 | 3:17 pm
  #13  
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You missed DFW-NRT for AA 777-200 First Class service.
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Old May 14, 2008 | 5:49 pm
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I believe CX also has First on one flight from SIN-HKG (flight 716) which is operated using a 747
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Old May 15, 2008 | 5:59 pm
  #15  
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Dragonair offers 3-class service with F on flights using their 11 Airbus 330s.
http://www.dragonair.com/da/en_INTL/...nterior/a330_1

The time table includes available classes but includes CX flights as well.
http://downloads.dragonair.com/ka/ti...xtimetable.pdf

At quick glance I found flights from HKG to PEK, KHH, PVG, TPE.
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