The old adage for business class seats used to be that all seats were not created equal. Now, as airlines introduce suites for their business-class products, undesirable seats are becoming less common with the new layouts.
Most modern business class long haul seats have aisle access and sliding doors making the seat map lottery less of an issue.
Yet many of the new configurations also have larger “premium” business class seats, which can be bought for around $300 or sometimes even chosen for free.
So, which airlines have these special seats and how do you get them?
British Airways
British Airways now schedules all Club Suites with doors on its New York-JFK routes. On this route, the aircraft are mainly refurbished Boeing 777s and their newest Dreamliner, the Boeing 787-10. If you have a choice of departure times, the B787-10 wins hands down in the fight to arrive refreshed, thanks to the higher humidity and better cabin pressure.
The Club Suite seats are arranged in several mini cabins, and the front seats have a large shelf above the TV, which can be useful if you need somewhere to rest your bag while unpacking. The seat itself is pretty much the same throughout the cabin. The main issue is where to position yourself in the cabin for peace and quiet or be served first so you can get your choice of meal or some extra sleep. The optimal position is generally three to four rows from the front of the cabin, so you get served first but don’t get disturbed by the galley/toilets/babies in the bassinet positions.
JetBlue
JetBlue operates transatlantic from Europe to New York and Boston non-stop with full suites. While the JetBlue standard Mint suites are excellent, the two studio seats at the front are more akin to a first class seat and only cost an extra $299 each way. You can upgrade to the Studio when selecting your seats. The Mint Studio has a larger 22” TV screen and a buddy seat, which could be very useful when traveling with colleagues so you can chat or dine together. There is also more storage space at the seat.
The downside with seats 1A and C is that you are close to the toilets and galley, so there could be some light or noise issues. On the positive side, it also has a much larger sleeping area, which is perfect for side sleepers.
Air France
Air France’s newest Airbus 350 and Boeing 777s have an all-suite business class product, but at the front of the two cabins is a row with much larger seats. Unlike many of the other premium business class seats, these are free to book when you pre-book your seat. The window seats are better as they have a completely open footwell area, and so provide a large wide area for sleeping. They also have an additional drawer for storage. These aircraft are currently on a number of routes, including New York JFK, and Tokyo, but will gradually be rolled out to further routes, including Hong Kong and Seoul.
Air France new business class suite:
Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways has a wide range of business class seats, from the latest QSuites with an ottoman and sliding doors to the rather old-fashioned 2-2-2 configuration of their oldest Boeing 777s. Other than the oldest Boeing 777s and Airbus 330s, all the aircraft have seats with flatbeds with full aisle access on long-haul routes. However, if you are set on having the latest QSuite you can easily find out in advance which aircraft have these seats using Google Flights, which shows a suite or a lie-flat seat in the description of the flight.
Qatar Airways QSuite Quad:
Qatar Airways has a useful QSuite guarantee, which means that if you are booked on a QSuite aircraft that gets changed, you can change back onto a service with QSuites within 21 days for free. This only applies to the QSuite and not the newer Premium Suite on their Boeing 787-900s. If you are traveling with several colleagues, you can reserve a quad QSuite in advance with Qatar Airways, which allows four people to sit opposite each other in a single suite, perfect for meetings.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic introduced two “Retreat Suites” at the center front of the cabin on its new Airbus 330-900 Neo, which has two rotations a day to New York JFK as well as other U.S. cities. The New York JFK route also features the Airbus 350, which has a more modern suite rather than the traditional Virgin Atlantic standard seats that were angled away from the window.
The Retreat seats cost an extra $250, and you can select them at the time of booking. The suites have a number of extra features and are ideal for two people traveling together. However, there is a divider if you are solo. If you want to maximize your sleep on the flight, the unrestricted foot space makes a huge difference, especially for side sleepers, and additionally, there are two inches of extra legroom. If you want to chat to a travel companion or colleague, there is an ottoman perfect for dining together or having a meeting onboard. This comes with a larger tray table that can accommodate two people dining or working on laptops opposite each other. There is also additional storage space in the suite.
If you want to get up to stretch your legs or have a bigger meeting, Virgin’s newest aircraft have a communal space where you can have a drink or snack called The Loft. This consists of two rows of seats opposite each other and is generally a quieter area than their previous social bar spaces.
While each airline has different layouts and seats on offer, the principles of ensuring the best seats in business class remain the same. Make sure you do your research on the seat type and layouts using Google Flights and seat map websites such as Aerolopa. Reading reviews of the specific aircraft type and the business class experience can also yield great tips on the best seats. The very front and back of cabins can be the noisiest seats due to the bassinets, toilets and galleys. However, they often have the largest seats as well.
Deciding on your priorities for a particular flight can help balance the decisions between a larger seat that may have more noise pollution versus a quieter but less generous seat. It also pays to sit towards the front of the cabin to get your first choice of meal and get served quicker if you want to maximize your time onboard.
