Business Class needs to mean more than a nice seat. The Skytrax awards recently highlighted the best in the business. Are these the best business class offerings in the World?
- Skytrax named Qatar Airways’ QSuite business class the World’s Best Business Class, offering luxurious amenities, including exclusive lounges and on-demand dining.
- Emirates provides exceptional business class experience with chauffeur service, access to luxurious lounges, the largest screens in the sky and customised amenity kits by Bulgari.
- Singapore Airlines offers outstanding business class service with lie-flat seats, a “Book the Cook” dining menu, and a range of entertainment options.
- Hainan Airlines offers a “Hai Dream” experience with amenities focused on quality sleep, including full-size pillows, mattress pads, quilts, and pyjamas.
- Delta Air Lines’ Delta One cabin, while not strictly a business class cabin, provides a comparable experience to other business class offerings, with lie-flat seats, premium dining options, and amenity kits by Grown Alchemist.
- Business class services and amenities may vary depending on the airline, route, and aircraft type.
Critics complain of a lack of transparency surrounding the Skytrax awards, which are famously Asiacentric and have been best with complaints that they favour the clients of the business which runs them. Only airlines who participate in the Skytrax quality certification system participate (Etihad are a high profile non-participant). Just one winner of the airline of the year award has been from outside Asia, British Airways in Willie Walsh’s time in 2006, and one winner f the airport of the year, Amsterdam in 1999.
Skytrax 2023 Business Class cabin top 20
- 1 Qatar Airways
- 2 Singapore Airlines
- 3 Emirates
- 4 ANA All Nippon
- 5 Delta Air Lines
- 6 Virgin Atlantic
- 7 Air France
- 8 Hainan Airlines
- 9 Cathay Pacific
- 10 Etihad Airways
- 11 Turkish Airlines
- 12 EVA Air
- 13 Qantas Airways
- 14 Oman Air
- 15 Japan Airlines
- 16 British Airways
- 17 Finnair
- 18 Swiss
- 19 JetBlue Airways
- 20 Iberia
Other Skytrax Awards 2023
- Airline of the year: Singapore Airlines
- Airport of the year: Singapore Changi Airport
- Airline with best Airport Services: ANA
- Best inflight entertainment: Cathay Pacific
- Best for cabin cleanliness: All Nippon Airways
- Best short haul airline: Bangkok Airways
- Best airline alliance: Star Alliance
- Cleanest airport: Tokyo
- Best airport terminal: Incheon T2
- Best transit airport: Incheon
Skytrax List of 10 Five Star airlines:
All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Garuda Indonesia, Hainan Airlines, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines.
Skytrax List of 19 Five star airports:
Bahrain, Baku, Chengdu, Doha, Haikou, Hong Kong, Houston, Istanbul, Munich, Nagoya, Quito, Rome Fiumicino, Rostov on Don, Salalah Oman, Seoul, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore, Tokyo Haneda.
