Business Class Flying High

November 1, 2006 By Matthew Paulson

Formerly business class was regarded as the domain of those who could afford something better than economy but couldn’t quite stretch to first class. With changes in standards and care it now seems to be moving closer to the luxury associated with first class travel.

The last year has seen the stakes raised in the business class market as it began to dawn on airlines that business class is one of their largest channels of income. With the regular business class traveller making up to 12 flights a year, the prospect of keeping loyal long-term customers means there’s plenty of incentive for airlines to offer a luxury service that customers will want to use again.

The race to offer the perfect business-class flight is very much on and we’ve recently seen numerous airlines make notable updates to their business-class service. British Airways for instance have rechristened their business-class Club World and brought in significantly larger 180 degree seats. Air New Zealand have pretty much overhauled their service - calling it Business Premier and introducing 10.4″ high resolution screens for every passenger, 22″ leather armchairs (complete with an ottoman) and seats that convert into 7 foot beds.

Top of the league however based on data from this year’s annual Skytrax world airline survey is Singapore Airlines who ranked first for worlds best business-class (they also picked up best airline). So what sets Singapore Airlines apart? For a start they recently upgraded the size of their lie-flat seats to 30″ in width making them the biggest in their class, their gourmet menu was designed by the acclaimed chef Alfred Portale and, for a pleasingly luxurious touch, passengers get a deluxe Givenchy kit.

Runner-up Virgin Atlantic no longer distinguishes between first and business class, instead they offer “upper-class”. The service offers therapists to massage you and entrance to spa’s and hairdressers while you wait in their luxury airport lounges.

Cathay Pacific and Malaysia also came out well in the survey.

For those on the look out for good value business class splendour, flight comparison sites like Cheap Flights or Skyscanner are a fantastic bet for finding competitively priced flights to a wide selection of destinations.

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