Best First Class Airline in the World 2025
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Sometimes it really is better to travel than to arrive. After spending years stripping out first-class cabins, airlines are racing to bring them back bigger and better than ever.
Carriers are installing new private apartments in the sky. Caviar and grand cru vintages are on the menu and ritzy travellers can enjoy new technological innovations, such as speakers built into the headrest of seats, so they don’t have to wear headphones.
The reason for the luxury arms race at 39,000ft? The appetite for upscale travel is back with a vengeance. “Demand has exceeded our expectations and travellers aren’t blinking at first-class fares,” says Sir Tim Clark, the Briton who runs Emirates.
“First-class is key to British Airways,” said the airline’s CEO, Sean Doyle, when he unveiled the flag carrier’s new first suite. First class will soon be available on 65 per cent of BA’s long-haul flights – more than any other global carrier apart from Emirates.
At the airport, all carriers have fast-track check-in, security and boarding. Once on board, there’s free Wi-Fi, fancy amenity kits, high-thread-count bed linen and the flight-attendant-to-guest ratio is one for every 3-4 passengers.
But each is different in its own way. Here’s what the main airlines offer now or will be rolling out soon.
Qantas
Vanessa Hudson, who runs Qantas, has an enviable problem. She is trying to work out how profane a fare she can charge for the greatest aviation experience since Concorde dipped its beak: first-class non-stop from London and New York to Sydney.
The first cabin on the Qantas Airbus A350 that will make the 21-hour journey starting in 2026 will be the best ever created.
There will be six large, enclosed suites, arranged in a 1-1-1 formation across the front of two rows of seats. Each will come with a 61 cm-wide reclining seat, a separate 198 cm-long bed, a wardrobe, a 32-inch TV and a dining table that can comfortably seat three people.
Each of the six stowage compartments in the suite is integrated into the surfaces and closes flush. The touchscreen controls for the seat position and lighting are discreetly mounted in a panel in the wall, and there’s wireless charging built in.
How much?
Likely return fare from Sydney to London during June is priced from $20,190.
Pros
- Qantas has the most elegantly understated, yet luxurious first-class cabin ever created.
Cons
- The new first suites are only available on four routes: London and New York to Sydney and Melbourne.
British Airways
The British flagship carrier has not been at the races in recent years but last November CEO Sean Doyle unveiled a mini-room at 39,000ft for each first-class passenger. It will be rolled out on the airline’s A380s next year.
The new seat is 91cm wide and the bed is 200 cm long, with an ottoman so travellers of any height can find the most comfortable position. The suite is big enough for two to dine together.
The walls of each suite are 152cm high and the door closes for total privacy. The suites will be arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration across the cabin. BA has done away with the conventional retractable divider at waist height. Instead, a floor-to-ceiling dividing wall retracts to create a shared lounge space.
The missing pieces? No chauffeur transfers, nor from the Concorde Room at Terminal 5 to the steps of the jet.
How much?
Return fare from Sydney to London during June is priced from $15,277.
Pros
- BA first-class customers use Heathrow Terminal 5, the best hub airport terminal in Europe.
Cons
- The new first-class cabin is being introduced downstairs on the Airbus A380, instead of upstairs.
Emirates
Once customers take their seats in one of 14 203cm-long suites on the upper deck of Emirates’ A380s they are offered Dom Perignon champagne, paired with unlimited caviar. As well as champagnes, Emirates has the best selection of Burgundy wines in the sky.
When it’s time to sleep, passengers can change into Hydra Active pyjamas. Billions of capsules applied to the fabric release naturally moisturising sea kelp. Chamomile sleep oil and a pillow mist help you to nod off.
Waking up is easy. There’s a cappuccino and a shower, where passengers can enjoy bath and beauty products from the Irish organic luxury brand, Voya.
First-class passengers also have access to the bar at the rear of the business-class cabin on the upper deck of the A380.
How much?
Return fare from Sydney to London during June is priced from $18,948.
Pros
- Food and wine, service, showers and chauffeur drive make Emirates first in first-class, overall.
Cons
- The suites are now relatively small compared to their rivals.
Singapore Airlines
Passengers booked in Suites – Singapore Airlines’ primo cabin – have their own terminal building with a private immigration desk at Changi Airport. After clearing check-in and security, an escalator leads directly to the Private Room. Total time from kerbside to a Dom Perignon 2009 apéritif is less than five minutes.
The A380 superjumbo is the only plane big enough to accommodate Singapore Suites. A private corridor on the upper deck leads to a cabin with just six suites. If you travel with a companion, the divider between two of the suites can be lowered to create a double bed.
The seat is upholstered in tobacco-brown Poltrona Frau leather and faces forward for take-off. After take-off, it swivels through 360 degrees. There’s a separate 190cm-long bed that drops down from the wall between each suite.
How much?
Return fare from Sydney to London during June is priced from $20,519.
Pros
- With only six suites, Singapore Suites is the most exclusive first-class cabin in the sky (until Qantas’s Airbus A350 launches next year).
Cons
- No chauffeur-driven transfers and no arrivals lounges at any airport, even Changi.
Etihad
The Abu Dhabi flag carrier’s decision to bring back into service its mothballed Airbus A380 superjumbos has re-introduced the most luxurious air travel experience outside a private jet. The Residence is an 11.6 sq m, three-room micro apartment where the “living room” is big enough for two adults to sit on seats upholstered in Poltrona Frau leather. There’s a large dining table and a private chilled mini-bar. A corridor leads to a bathroom with a shower. The double bed sits in the jet’s nose cone.
Behind the Residence in the rest of the first-class cabin are smaller micro “apartments”, nine arranged in a 1–1 configuration. Each has its own sliding door and, like the Residence, comes with a Poltrona Frau upholstered leather seat and separate chaise longue that converts into a 200cm-long bed. It converts back to a chaise longue without you having to leave your seat – another first for first-class.
Adjacent apartments can be joined to create a double bed so that couples can sleep together.
How much?
Return fare from Sydney to London during June is priced from $27,337.
Pros
- Etihad’s new home airport, Zayed International, is the best hub in the world.
Cons
- Its A380s are showing their age.
Lufthansa
Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa recently launched its upgraded long-haul top-end cabins, known as “Allegris”, and has opted for maximum privacy in its new first-class. Each suite has ceiling-high walls and a sliding door that fully closes.
After Etihad’s Residence, Lufthansa is the best for couples travelling on an overnight flight since the centre suite is a double suite with a double bed with no divider.
This First Class Suite Plus “conveys the feeling of privacy and individuality similar to a hotel room – only at an altitude of eleven kilometres,” says Jens Ritter, Lufthansa CEO. The design of the entire cabin is elegantly minimal. Black leather and black fabrics are offset with back-lit wood finishes.
How much?
Sydney to London return during June is priced from around $18,373.
Pros
- Lufthansa’s new first suite will be installed on its Boeing 747s, an ageing yet iconic jet that many travellers still regard as the Queen of the Skies.
Cons
- Sydney to London routes often require two stops and a mix of classes may be required.
Ones to watch
Speaking to CNBC last year, Qatar Airways CEO Badr Al-Meer said he will soon unveil a new first-class suite “combining the experience of flying commercial and executive jets.” Qatar has already created a business-class product that is better than many of its rivals’ first-class offerings: the QSuite.
Its new first-class will, therefore, have to set a new standard at the pointy end. Expect a private room with floor-to-ceiling walls, an onboard chef cooking meals to order, spa-like bath-rooms (but no showers) with limited-edition Armani amenities. Swiss is updating its first-class cabin with its new SWISS Senses service this year and Air France will also launch its all-new La Premiere first-class.
This piece originally appeared in the Telegraph UK.
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