Not all business class seats are created equally. A part of the reason people pay a premium to fly business class is the privacy on board.

            We’ve seen it before in economy class where you have to fight for the armrest, wake people up to get out of the window seat to use the toilets or having the seat in front of you reclined so the seat back is in your face.

            There is zero privacy in economy, but there are a variety of business class seats that that offer you an oasis in the air. This post will look the best five business class seats on offer.

            One of the criticisms of business class travel in BA, Lufthansa, and some products on Air France and KLM is the privacy issue. BA is configured in such a way that, unless you are seated at the front or back of the cabin, you will have step over someone’s feet to get into the aisle. Lufthansa and some Air France and KLM configurations are two seats at the window, two in the middle, and two at the other window. Again, if you are seated at the window, you have to climb over people to get out.

            The most ideal cabins are the ones that offer aisle access to all passengers. Usually, this is achieved with a 1-2-1 configuration, but not always.

            I will examine cabin layout, advise on which seats are most ideal, and give you the pitch and width dimensions. Pitch refers to the distance from the back of the seat in front of your seat to the front of your seat. Width refers to the wideness of your seat from armrest to armrest.

5. Emirates staggered system

            The Emirates Airlines business class seat alternates between seats at the window and seats closer to the aisle for the window area seats. For the middle seats, it alternates between two seats next to each other or spaced closer to the aisle.

            Each seat has a small table with a minibar of soft drinks. The best seats for solo travellers that will give you the most privacy are those where the seat is closer to the window. This does two things: The table is next to the aisle which adds more privacy to the seat, and; between your seat and the window are a set of storage containers that give you additional space for smaller items.

            If you travelling as a couple or with a friend, the middle seats right next to each other are best because you are shielded with the tables from the aisle and you are next to each other.

            On the superjumbo Airbus A380, the business class cabin in most configurations takes up most of the upper deck of the aircraft. Business class is divided into two cabins. One of the best seats is the bulkhead (first row of the cabin) in the back, smaller cabin of the aircraft. Not only is your seat next to the window with the table adding extra privacy, but the bulkhead wall also adds to the privacy. The one drawback is that you are close to the bar at the back of the plane which can get a bit loud on routes where people like to congregate at the bar.

Other airlines that use a similar configuration: Thai Airways; All Nippon Airlines

Pitch/width: 48 inches/18.5 inches. A disadvantage of Emirates is that it offers one of the narrowest business class seats. It is only ½ inch wider than economy.

4. Herringbone

           

This is pretty much what it sounds like it is. An overview looks like fish bones. The cabin is laid out in a 1-2- format which means aisle access for all.

            Passengers sit at an angle to the direction of the plane which means you sit at about a 30-degree angle to the path of flight. But this isn’t something that makes a difference as you don’t really feel it.

            There are two types of herringbone seating: forward and reverse.

            Virgin Atlantic offers the forward variety which isn’t as great as you can’t look out your window, you face the aisles, and you lose a bit of that privacy.

            The reverse herringbone is much better because you face inward and the seat shell tends to give you a bit more privacy.

Reverse herringbone configurations: Cathay Pacific, Finnair, newer KLM/Air France business class, and Air Canada

Pitch/width: Air Canada (70/21); Cathay Pacific (81/21); Finnair: (78-81/21). As you can see, reverse herringbone gives you a lot more leg room and seat width than the Emirates seat. Because you are sitting at an angle, the legroom is greater because you are seated diagonally from the front.

Recommended seat: Either the last row of the main business class cabin or in the smaller business class section if offered. This gives you a bit more privacy. If you are in the last row of business class, then no one other than the odd flight attendant will walk past you.

3. Singapore Airlines new business

 

            Singapore Airline often ranks as the world’s best airlines. Skytrax, the industry standard for airline ratings, often rates Singapore in the top 3 for overall experience, usually in the No. 1 spot.

            This high rating also comes from the business class seat. It is in a 1-2-1 format and has the widest seat in any business class. It is so wide that you can fit two children in one seat.

            Among the amenities you get are the two pillows and a thick duvet for the flight. Unlike other business class products where you push a button and the seat collapses down into the bed position, Singapore’s bed is created by undoing a latch on the seat back and pulling down the seat back to form the bed. That is why it also has the highest seat back of any airline.

            The one criticism of the Singapore seat is that, even though it faces forward, when it is in bed mode, your feet are forced to be at an angle to your body because the foot well is off to the side of the bed. This tends to be what people don’t like about the product.

Pitch/Width: 55/30. To put into perspective how good any cabin in Singapore Airlines is, their seat width in economy class (19) is wider than Emirates’ business class (18.5).

Best seat: If you are on the superjumbo A380 in which business class takes up most of the upper deck, the very last row (row 96 old configuration; row 97 new configuration) are best. Yes, the toilets are not far and the galley is behind you, but these are emergency row seats which means it’s like a suite to yourself. But, since Singapore tends to be too pricey for most people, there are times when the back end of the A380 could be just a handful of passengers. Singapore tends to use these planes on its Singapore to Australia and Singapore to Western Europe routes.

Who else offers these seats: No one. It is bespoke to Singapore Airlines.

2 Apex Suites

         

   On first glance at a seat map of an Apex Suite looks like a 2-2-2 configuration. But it isn’t. The window seats are set slightly ahead of the aisle seats which creates a little passageway behind the aisle seat TV so you don’t have to climb over anyone.

            This means the window seat is almost closed in save for the passageway. You get even more privacy if you bring up the privacy screen that separates your seat from the one next to you.

            In terms of privacy, these are among the very best seats.

            For people travelling in pairs, the mid-cabin seats are next to each other but you still have a bit of privacy as you have to walk through the galley to the other side to get to the other seat.

Airlines that offer Apex Suites: JAL, Oman Air

Pitch/Width: JAL (74/25.5); Oman Air: 80/22.8)

Best seat: Any of the window seat. If you are travelling on Oman Air’s Boeing 787-9, Row 15 is in a cabin all to itself so you won’t have more than six passengers in the cabin. When I used this service, there were six of us travelling together so we had an entire cabin to ourselves including a toilet just in front of the cabin.

1 Q-Suites Qatar Airways

        

    Qatar Airways offers three types of configurations in business class: a regional 2-2-2 with no aisle access for window seats (Boeing 777s; Airbus A330, A340); reverse herringbone (Boeing 787, Airbus A350-900, A380), and; Q-Suite (Newer Boeing 777s; Airbus 350-1000).

            Q-Suites were launched in 2017 with a clever marketing slogan: “First in Business”. It was a first because no other airline offered it and it is like first class in business class.

            The configuration is 1-2-1 but all seats have a sliding door to create a completely private suite similar to some of the high end first class cabins in Singapore Airlines, Emirates, or Etihad.

            Like Emirates, seats alternate between being next to the aisle or a table away from the aisle.

            The window seats next to the aisles face backward while the aisle seats are forward-facing. Once you’re in the air, you can’t tell the difference if you are facing the tail or the nose of the plane. It is most telling on taxiing, take-off, and landing.

            It is also the same configuration and direction for the middle seats. The seats next to each other face backward while the ones on the aisles face forward.

            But what makes the Q-Suites even more amazing is the fact that if you are a family of four or a group of four, you can take up two rows of the middle seats, and the panels can be removed inside to create a small apartment for four. Also, when converting to a bed, the two inside sides that are adjacent to each other can be turned into a double bed when the crew puts a long padding between the seats.

            Q-Suites is Qatar Airways’ way of providing a first class experience at a business class price. In fact, Qatar Airways is moving away from First Class. As it stands, only five of their aircraft types have a first class cabin.

Airlines that off Q-Suites: Only Qatar, but the concept of having a sliding door in a business class seat is catching on as BA will soon roll out their Airbus A350 service with a sliding door.

Pitch/Width: Boeing 777-300ER (79/21.5); Boeing 777-200LR (103/17.4); Airbus A350-900 (103/21.5); Airbus A350-100 (103/21.5).

Q Suite routes: Here is a list of Q-Suite flights Qatar Airways offers. Flight numbers are in brackets).

Asia-Pacific:

Bangkok (830/831); Bangalore (572/573); Hong Kong (816/815, 818/817); Maldives (672/673, 674/675); Mumbai (556/557); Shanghai (870/871); Sydney (906/907); Singapore (942/943, 944/947, 946/945); Beijing (892/895, 896/895); Tokyo Narita (806/807); Tokyo Haneda (812/813); Canberra (906/907); Auckland (920/921).

Europe:

Amsterdam (273/274); Berlin (77/78, 81/82); Frankfurt (69/70); London (1/2; 5/6; 7/8; 15/16); Paris (37/38); Stockholm (171/172); Zurich (93/94, 95/96); Munich (57/58, 59/60); Milan (123/124, 127/128); Copenhagen (161/162)

Americas: Chicago (725/726); Houston (713/714); New York JFK (701/702; 703/704); Washington DC (707/708); Los Angeles (739/740); Dallas/Fort Worth (729/730); Boston (743/744); Montreal (763/764); Sao Paulo (773/774); Buenos Aires (773/774)