We’ve rounded up the best first class airline experiences for 2019; from on-board showers to spacious privacy, dining to entertainment. Your inflight experience just went to cloud nine.
Best First Class Airline for Luxury
Etihad Residence
You’d be hard pushed to beat the Etihad Residence Suite when it comes to the ultimate in airline luxury. Personal gloved butler service. Tick. You also get your own private lounge in Abu Dhabi. Tick. Separate lounge and bedroom. Tick. Real double bed (not a folding one). Tick. Private bathroom and shower. Tick. Hefty price tag. Tick, tick tick. It is comparable with a luxury private jet and geared towards that market. Of course, for the price you’d expect complete privacy, unlimited Wi-Fi, premier wines and aperitifs, five-star meals including caviar, breakfast in bed and two TVs. Tick. While the double bed isn’t exactly ultra wide, it is easily big enough for one person to spread out and 6’10” in length. The Residence is sold for either one person or two and is approximately 25% extra for the second person to share. Private limos collect you and drop you off at both airports.
Etihad Apartments
These first class suites aren’t as private as their pricier Residence version as the partition walls don’t go right up to the ceilings, but they are still something special. There is a separate seating area, a single bed which folds out, large TV and Wi-Fi. You can revive yourself before you land with a shower and of course Etihad Apartments offer on-demand dining, degustation menu and matching excellent wine choices. Without going too extravagant and flying Etihad Residence, these are quite possibly the next best thing.
Best First Class Airline for Privacy
Emirates First Class Suites
The beauty of Emirates first class suites on the A380 or 777 is they are completely enclosed, floor to ceiling. The ultra-plush seat converts into a fully flat bed, there’s a widescreen in-room cinema with live sport options, mood lighting, wardrobe and Wi-Fi. For foodies, Emirates first class suites offer a dine-on-demand a la carte menu and snacks with paired wines or you can choose from the selection of bottles in the personal minibar. If you opt for the middle suites, you can look out of the virtual windows for a bit of space age travel. The A380 has an on-board lounge and bar if you fancy stretching your legs or chatting to other passengers, while there’s an on-board shower to freshen up before landing. Emirates first class suites also come with a chauffer driven car to and from the airport.
Best First Class Airline for Space
Singapore Airlines First Class Suites
If you were allowed to bring a cat on-board, you’d definitely have enough room to swing it in Singapore Airlines first class suites. There are only six suites, four singles which can be made into two doubles, and two fixed single suites (Row 3). The beds are fully flat and uber-comfy, you feel like you’re in a hotel room flying 33,000 feet above sea level. There’s a leather chair as well as the bed, pull down table, 32-inch touchscreen TV, sliding door for privacy and a wardrobe inside the door. For more space, the bed can be folded up during the day. The downside to Singapore Airlines first class suites is there is no shower on board but the bathrooms are huge (of course).
For dining options, you can ‘book the cook’ and pre-order your meals or opt from a smaller range in-flight. The food’s tasty, as would be expected with a string of top names attached to their menu.
By the end of 2020, all the airline’s A380 models will offer Singapore Airline first class suites.
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Best First Class Airline for Groups
Qatar First Class
Qatar A380 flies from Sydney to Europe and while the likes of Etihad and Emirates are very much focused on privacy, Qatar first class open suites allow you to chat to your companions. This makes them the ideal choice for groups or even couples who don’t want to be cooped up. While Qatar first class suites cannot compete against the other pricier ones for solitude and utter privacy, it does have, we believe, the best bar in the sky. Indulge in champagne and caviar, try a fancy cocktail or sip on a cognac.