Since the concept of business class was introduced in the 1970s, airlines have been continuously upping the ante to emerge with truly luxurious products for the corporate jet set. Many business class cabins have become so exceptionally good that some airlines have started to phase out first class to make room for this super-premium C class. Flatbed has become the minimum standard for long-haul business class among legacy airlines, in-flight menus are designed by renowned restaurants or celebrity chefs, and even amenity kits are branded. Here is a round-up of some of the latest offerings.
1 AMERICAN AIRLINES
The Dallas-based carrier took delivery of a B777-300ER in January – the first step towards building a fuel-efficient fleet. Twenty more are expected to arrive in the next few years. The new AA aircraft now flies Dallas/Fort Worth-London, JFK-London and JFK-Sao Paulo routes. Other aircraft types in AA’s stable – the B777-200ER and B767-300ER – are scheduled for retrofitting with the new seats in both business and economy. The fully flat seats in business will be a highlight of these projects. The B777-200ER, to be converted into a two-class configuration, is intended for mid- and long-haul markets in Asia, Latin America and Europe.
Plane type: B777-300ER
Launch date: January 2013
Seat configuration: 1-2-1
Seat pitch: 43 inches
Seat width: 29 inches
Seat length: 75 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal Screen Size: 15.4-inch HF touchscreen
AV on Demand: Yes
Power source: EU+US
Internet: Yes, by Panasonic
Mobile phone use: No
Amenities: Amenity kits with Akhassa cosmetics
Unique features: Mood lighting, walk-up bar well stocked with drinks, snacks and sandwiches, seat powered by three motors to adjust headrest, seat back and leg rest
2 AUSTRIAN AIRLINES
Austria’s national carrier has installed a smart-looking cabin in hues of grey and red in all four of its B777-200ERs and two of its B767-300ERs. From comments in a number of passenger review sites, the air cushion feature in the new seats seems to be finding great favour, as do the delicious selections from DO & CO.
Plane type: B777-200ER/B767-300ER
Launch date: January 2013
Seat configuration: 1-2-1/2-2-2
Seat pitch: 44 inches
Seat width: 20
Seat length: 77.1 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal screen size: 15-inch touchscreen
AV on Demand: Yes
Power source: Universal power point
Internet: No
Mobile phone use: No
Amenities: Amenity kit
Unique features: Air cushion that makes seating for long periods more comfortable, in-seat massage function, catering by DO & CO, special coffee menu and inflight chef service
3 CATHAY PACIFIC
Controlling the level of privacy and openness of passengers in its premium cabin lies at the heart of Cathay’s new-generation business class seat. And judging from a number of Business Traveller reviews and readers’ comments that we’ve carried in print and online, the carrier’s executives have managed to fulfil that brief with great innovation and style.
The product brims with numerous in-seat features, which have generally attracted favourable comment for their user-friendliness and convenience.
Coupled with CX’s well-known warm and efficient service and quality cuisine, the airline company has indeed produced an act that’s hard to follow.
Plane type: A330-300/B777-300ER
Launch date: March 2011/April 2011
Seat configuration: 1-2-1
Seat pitch: NA
Seat width: 20.2/21 inches
Seat length: 82 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal screen size: 15.4-inch touchscreen
AV on demand: Yes
Power source: Universal power supply
Internet: No
Mobile phone use: No
Amenities: Agnes B amenity kit
Unique features: Angled seat design and precision toggle for seat adjustment, retractable armrest, side cabinet with vanity mirror and shoe locker
4 DRAGONAIR
The airline recently unveiled its biggest product enhancement initiative since 2005, which will sweep through both business and economy cabins. The seats are almost identical to the new regional business class seat of sister carrier Cathay Pacific, revealed in September last year. Business class passengers will enjoy an additional 2-3 inches in seat pitch on the A330 aircraft, which will now have three fewer C-class seats.
The first enhanced A330 entered service in March, and by May a further five A330s and two A321s will carry the new product. The retrofitting project is due to be completed by the end of 2014.
Plane type: A330
Launch date: March 2013
Seat configuration: 2-2-2
Seat pitch: 45-47 inches
Seat width: 21 inches
Seat length: NA
Seat recline: 36-60 degrees
Leg rest recline angle: 60 degrees
Seat type: Cradle style
Personal screen size: 12.1-inch touchscreen
AV on Demand: Yes
Power source: Universal power point
Internet: No
Mobile phone use: No
Amenities: Amenity kits for overnight flights
Unique features: More recline, extended leg rest
5 EVA AIR
The new Royal Laurel business class seats were first seen in June of last year on a B777-300ER and deployed on the Taipei-New York route. Unlike the previous angled lie-flat Premium Laurel business class seats, which will be progressively phased out, these feature a 180-degree recline. By year-end, EVA Air’s entire fleet of B777 aircraft will have the seats installed, dovetailing nicely with the carrier’s expected integration into the Star Alliance network this month.
Plane type: B777-300ER
Launch date: June 2012
Seat configuration: 1-2-1
Seat pitch: NA
Seat width: 26 inches
Seat length: 79 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal screen size: 15.4-inch touchscreen
AV on Demand: Yes
Power source: Universal power ports
Internet: No
Mobile phone use: No
Amenities: Amenity kits with Bulgari toiletries and even a clothes brush
Unique features: Shoe cabinet, retractable armrest, separate cocktail and dining tables
6 FINNAIR
Despite a delay in the arrival of 11 A350s, which make up the carrier’s fleet of the future, vigorous efforts are still being made to keep premium customers cosy. Adapting to a scenario that should have seen the A350s in operation this year, Finnair has decided to retrofit its entire stable of A340s, except for two, with the Contour Vantage-branded seats next January. At the moment, four A330s are already equipped with the product, and being rotated on Finnair’s fast-growing network. Ville Iho, Finnair’s chief officer of operations, estimates the A350s to be delivered by the third quarter of 2015. Then, the management will decide whether or not to lease out the enhanced A340s.
Plane type: A330-300ER
Launch date: 2010
Seat configuration: 1-2-1/2
Seat pitch: 45 inches
Seat width: 21.1 inches
Seat length: 79.2 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal screen size: 12 inches
AV on Demand: Yes
Power source: EU+US
Internet: No
Mobile phone use: No
Amenities: Amenity kit
Unique features: Marimekko designed blankets and tableware now feature fleet-wide, but business class enjoys Marimekko chinaware.
7 LUFTHANSA
Business class seats on Lufthansa’s pride and joy – the new Boeing 747-800 – turn into fully flat beds unlike its previous business class offering, an angled lie-flat type. This is a three-class aircraft with eight first class seats, 92 business seats and 262 economy seats. Business class seats are distributed with 32 seats on the upper deck and 60 in the main deck. The new “Queen of the Skies” has been very busy since its inaugural flight from Frankfurt to Washington in June last year. Since then, it has flown to Los Angeles and Miami, as well as Delhi and Bangalore. In April, the aircraft journeyed to its first East Asian city, Hong Kong.
Plane type: B747-8
Launch date: June 2012
Seat configuration: 2-2 on upper deck, 2-2-2 on the main deck
Seat pitch: 64 inches
Seat width: 19.7 inches
Seat length: 77.9 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal screen size: 15-inch with hand-held controls
AV on Demand: Yes
Power source: Universal power points
Internet: Yes by FlyNet, a service being progressively rolled out on Asian routes
Mobile phone use: FlyNet enables smartphones with wifi to access the net
Amenities: Amenity kits
Unique features: Enhanced privacy on upper deck and bigger overhead bins
8 QATAR AIRWAYS
With the B787 Dreamliner hopefully having ironed out its controversial battery issues, the Middle East carrier can invite more of its high-yield customers to enjoy the innovations rolled out in the front of the plane. More space and full connectivity – internet, text and MMS and voice calls – is promised in this enhanced environment. Certainly, a dream flight on a Dreamliner.
Plane type: B787-800
Launch date: December 2012
Seat configuration: 1-2-1
Seat pitch: NA
Seat width: 22 inches
Seat length: 80 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal screen size: 17-inch touchscreen
AV on Demand: Yes. The IFE is run by an Android-based system also equipped with an Android-based touchscreen control unit
Power source: UK+US
Internet: Yes, provided by OnAir
Mobile phone use: Yes, by OnAir, but this could be disabled at any time “to minimise passenger disruption”
Amenities: Amenity kit and pyjamas
Unique features: Adjustable armrests, roomier cabin interiors, menus by celebrity chefs, Android-based IFE system with dual-screen interface, allowing passengers to play games on a handheld device while using the TV monitor
9 SWISS
A wide-scale retrofitting exercise completed in 2011 installed a fully flat business cabin on the carrier’s A340-300 and A330-300 aircraft. This can be experienced on its nonstop Asian services between Zürich and Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and, most recently, Singapore.
Plane Type: A330-300/A340-300
Launch date: 2011
Seat configuration: 1-2-1/2-2-1
Seat pitch: 45 inches
Seat width: 20.5 inches
Seat length: 79 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal screen size: 12.1-inch/10.4-inch touchscreen
AV on Demand: Yes
Power source: 110V
Internet: No
Mobile phone use: No
Amenities: Amenity kits from Swiss QWSTION for outbound passengers or aluminium box in Swiss design for passengers inbound to Switzerland
Unique features: An “air cushion” replacing conventional foam filling, permitting the customer to adjust the pneumatic pressure of the seat to various positions from sitting to lying flat. Designed by Lantal Textiles, it weighs 4kg less than the usual foam product, saving the carrier over 650 tonnes of fuel annually and helping reduce CO2 emissions.
10 VIRGIN ATLANTIC
The first of Virgin Atlantic’s A330s – “Miss Sunshine” – to carry the refreshed Upper Class Suite flew between London and New York in April 2012. The latest innovations have not been so drastic in nature as to create an entirely different product, but more to enhance further the already popular Upper Class experience. The bed has been made longer by 7.5 inches, the windows behind them improved to provide more light and more areas for socialising have been added to the famous onboard bar.
Four years of “research, imagination and expert design”, say the Virgin folks, have gone into ensuring their customers derive endless comfort and pleasure in patronising their offering.
Plane type: A330-300
Launch date: April 2012
Seat configuration: 1-2-1
Seat pitch: NA
Seat width: 23 inches
Seat length: 87 inches
Seat recline: 180 degrees
Seat type: Fully flat
Personal screen size: 12.1-inch touchscreen
AV on demand: Yes
Power source: Universal power port
Internet: Yes, via Aeromobile
Mobile phone use: Yes, via Aeromobile
Amenities: Amenity kits made from recycled materials; snooze suits (pyjamas)
Unique features: 2.7-metre-long onboard bar with added space to socialise more comfortably, and longer flat bed
WATCH THIS SPACE
When Singapore Airlines (SIA) sets out to do a revamp, the market – competitors and passengers alike – is all ears.
So it’s understandable recent news that the perennially multi-awarded airline is preparing to roll out the latest generation in-flight seats and services on its new B777-300ERs entering service later this year is causing great speculation, if not excitement. Said Tan Pee Teck, SIA’s senior vice-president product and services: “Singapore Airlines is always looking towards the future, and we have many major investments lined up to help us retain our leadership position.
“In this business, if you are staying still, you are moving backwards, as your competitors can catch up quickly.”
To help raise SIA’s ever ascending standards bar this time around are BMW Group subsidiary Designworks USA and UK, handling the first class product, and Singapore-based James Park Associates (JPA) for the business class product. Economy class is also due for a makeover, airline executives are quick to add.
Both Designworks and JPA are working in tandem with SIA’s Product Innovation Department on the project, a collaboration described by Tan as “extremely positive”. Across all classes, travellers can expect to enjoy improved comfort, and in the premium cabins, enhanced sleeping positions and more personal space will figure prominently.
Also getting ready to impress their customers in the months ahead are Cathay Pacific (CX), KLM, Air France and Qantas. CX is planning to make short-haul trips as enjoyable as their long-haul ones, introducing business class seats in all regional B777s and A330s by the end of 2014. Sister carrier Dragonair will soon carry a similar looking product.
KLM and Air France, meanwhile, will be refreshing their ageing cabins. For its B747s and B777s, KLM is choosing a business class seat like those on Continental, while Air France was so impressed with CX’s executive seat, it ordered a similar looking product from the manufacturer for its B777s and A380s.
Qantas, from the end of 2014, will introduce an entirely new-look fully flat seat in its fleet of 30 A330s, stepping up the game for commercial dominance in Australia’s domestic and international aviation arena.
