Business Class Seats in Different Airlines

The exact name for Business class may vary between operators: e.g. Northwest Airlines and KLM "World Business Class," Continental Airlines "BusinessElite," Delta Air Lines "BusinessFirst," Philippine Airlines "Mabuhay Class," Air Pacific "Tabua Class," British Airways "Club World," Aerolineas Argentinas "Club Condor," Japan Airlines "Executive Class Seasons," Singapore Airlines "Raffles Class," Malaysia Airlines "Golden Club Class" and Etihad Airways "Pearl Zone."

Long haul business class seats are substantially different from economy class seats and many airlines have moved "lie flat" seats from first class back into business class. There are essentially three types of long haul business class seats today:

1) Cradle seats are seats with around 160 degrees of recline. These seats can be found in business class on Delta, Continental, Air India, Garuda, Varig, Aerolineas Argentinas, United, BMI and Aer Lingus.

2) Angled lie flat seats recline 180 degrees to provide a flat sleeping surface, but are not level to the floor of the aircraft when reclined, making them less comfortable than a bed. Such seats can be found on Northwest Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Air Algerie, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, JAL, ANA, Qantas, Air France, Lufthansa, KLM, Emirates, SAS, Finnair, Swiss, Thai, Malaysian and Iberia.

3) Fully flat seats recline into a flat sleeping surface which is level to the floor. Many airlines offer such seats in international first class but retain inferior seating in business class to differentiate the two products and fares. Airlines offering fully flat seats in business class include BA, Virgin Atlantic, Air New Zealand, LAN, Air Canada and Royal Brunei Airlines.

Even airlines that do not offer lie flat business class seats offer substantially more leg room in long haul business class compared to the economy section. The appearance of lie-flat seats in business class has made it increasingly difficult for many passengers to justify, either to their employers or themselves, the added expense of a first class fare. Consequently, many airlines (such as Northwest Airlines on its 747s, Malaysia Airlines on their Boeing 777s, Scandinavian Airlines, Finnair and Iberia and Air New Zealand on all aircraft) have removed their first class products from some or all flights, and made business class their highest premium offering. Philippine Airlines also plans to remove their first class, but instead introduce cocoon-type seats and AVOD on their long-haul business class sets.