OW business class ranking
 

Just finish another DONE4, in the past 3 months flew AA, BA,CX, IB, JL, LA & QF on business. My ranking so far for long haul equipment is:

Seat (sleep comfort):
CX = LA > BA > QF > AA > JL > IB
*All New C seats

Service:
CX > JL > LA = QF > BA > AA > IB

What is your experience? Also would be good to include other OW members in this ranking.

I don't disagree any of the order rankings that you've offered....and would be very grateful if people might be able to add in MA, RJ and KA (none of which I've yet experienced in J) into the rankings.

AY ~ IB on both counts.

I wouldn't put JL so low on seat, nor CX so high.
On service I would drop LA several places. I've flown them quite a bit and yet to have a great flight.

RJ service is right up there with the best.

Consider me contrarian......:D

Partly because if I have enough space I'd just as soon be left alone to sleep or read. A bit of thought with meal content and service is nice but not necessary. And I do like to try regional wine varieties. CX and BA have to try harder there given the lack of domestic sources ;). And I can sleep anywhere so I only notice "issues". I would probably take an OPup to F but it is unlikely I would pay $$ or miles for the seat.

I don't like the new CX seats. Too narrow at the shoulders. Though the AVOD is fabulous. But it may be that Trans PAC flights are in themselves a pain. Nor do I have good memories of the AY 340 seats (2006). Too hard. (Yes I prefer the MD11 seats). And the best meal I remember was BKK-SIN on AY (Oct 2001 - also unlikely to be seen again). But anything almost will be better than Y meal service and content. I don't perceive a great deal of difference in the BA and QF seats - though I realize one goes flatter than the other. Would I specifically chose either over AA/CX at the roughly the same price? - No. Over AY/LA maybe.

Regional J is sometimes a pain but for daytime flights < 4/6 hours it is acceptable. CX regional / QF domestic beats anything European with AA domestic somewhere in between. But I do remember a very friendly and helpful IB FA between MAD and BCN.

Some of the best service I've had was on MA BKK-BUD (may it someday return ;) ). BA service seems more natural than QF. Or the FAs have a better appearance of being comfortable with their job. CX suffers with the new seats. (I think I mentioned that those seats are not my favorite) LA and IB it helps if you have some Spanish language capability but not strictly necessary. AA has no distinctive memories - good or bad.

Disclaimer I have never flown JL nor RJ in J. (Nor RJ since 1988 when economy was very inexpensive but unpredictable) My IB J flight was the regional seats. Nor have I flown LA/IB in Y.

Happily wandering in my own directions......

Fred

Good feedback!
As for my personal preference, I like better 180 flat seats, therefore LA, CX and BA score higher. CX seems to be narrower (maybe because of the high walls of the cocoon) but actually is almost same as LA. BA, good seat, but lacks of privacy. On my last HKG-JFK CX offered also underneath bedsheets added with my own PJ's could sleep very well for 10+hrs.

JL...well I just arrived from FRA-NRT, with their new flatshell seat. I can say is the hardest to sleep in + no privacy at all, very narrow seats no separator. The angled seat is the worst you can get for a good sleep. Even a regional CX or the old AA seats are better to sleep.

On LA service, I agree that it is very variable. A good crew can make a big difference. Food is not spectacular, but eatable. LA winelist much better than fancy French names offered on JL, probable the best wines on C are LA. And they really make an effort to bring interesting Chilean wines.

I tried to separate seat vs service rankings, because they seem to be almost always on conflict.

Also consider for this rankings only long haul products, since for regional (and most FTs) we can manage short flights (sometimes Y is ok, no need to go for C).

I guess you didn't fly QF in their new J seat which is fully flat and level (but only on the A380 -- however QF has 3 A380s now and will have 20 within 3 years). I have yet to fly J on A380 however it would seem to be the best J product in OW now (for hard product).

Contrary to what many others say, I am a huge fan of the new CX J long haul seats, especially in row 11 of the 773. As I travel solo most of the time, I really appreciate the privacy and happily disappear into the cocoon for hours. BA window seats are great for privacy too.
(For the same reason, I do not like AA F, because your head is completely unprotected by the aisle when sleeping; for me, row 4 would be intolerable because your head is right by the galley curtain.)

Small point, but I think the flight map system on IB is by far the best as you get to control the display, and can scroll the map all over the world at different zoom levels. I have not seen this on any other airline.
I found the CX flight map to be annoying as it constantly switches between different views with fancy rotating view-from-space images. Just because the technology makes it possible, doesn't mean it should be done.

Happy travels.

I agree on the new J CX seat, especially row 11 on CX 773. Two weeks ago I flew HKG-JFK and didn't feel the almost 15hr flight.

Can I assume you have tried the new QF J product on an A380?

I guess you haven't discovered how to use the privacy screen that is built in to the AA Flagship F seat; next time ask the FA to show you how (it is very easy, and solves the problem that you are complaining about -- the seat designers anticipated your needs, a shame not to use the feature).

CX is my current favourite, followed by QF (haven't tried the A380 yet - in May I will), AA, then BA (only NCW - seats were too short in bed mode hopefully NNCW is better).

I'm looking forward to flying LA's new business product for the first time later this year. They look nice.

I agree with your comments re BA, however if you get NNCW configured aircraft and either 62A, 62K, 64A or 64K the new design allow your feet to overhang which makes it significantly better than QF Skybed v1.0. The new design also means there is an extra 1" or so which means that if you are only a touch over 6 ft, you will find the NNCW seats very comfortable.

KA shorthaul biz is in another Universe compared to any other OW airline. Seats, meals, service...Amazing really.

I too was looking forward, but felt rather disappointed. They're surprisingly narrow-feeling, mainly because (I think) of the way the center console is shaped. The seat is one of those where the bottom cushion rises in order to slide forward into the reclining position (hope that's clear) and in doing so it impedes any movement in your thighs. The problem diminishes as it goes into full bed position, but I found it uncomfortable when in a "recline" mode. YMMV of course.

The IFE is pretty good, about on par with AA's new J product, including NC headphones.