Jaunted

long hauls

Note: I'm 6'4" thus always looking for the most leg room

I was regularly commuting from Philadelphia to Hong Kong & tried multiple options. EWR-HKG or EWR-LHR-HKG or PHL-SFO-HKG were my primary flights.

Personally after too many flights on the 16 hour CO99 from EWR-HKG; I'd prefer to take a longer travel time with a hop in between (I tend to get a bit stir crazy after 12 hours). The service was good, the food nothing to write home about, & the seats were not lay flat....though the space between seats was immense.

At first I was flight Virgin Atlantic through LHR & was flying Premium Economy with upgrades to Upper Class. VS' Premium Econ gives you minimally more space; some have said their Upper Class really translates out to business class (I can't say as I've not flown other equal/better first classes). I love the lay flat beds & bar on the plane. I would tend to sit at the bar till after dinner & then go pass out. (& I used to love to get the shoulder/head massage mid-flight)

To appease internal auditing I started to fly to the west coast via United from Philadelphia in coach & then have business class on Singapore to HKG. The service & food (with BookTheCook) was excellent. The seats were not as comfortable as Virgin Atlantic. My primary issue with the seats was my ability to stretch my legs past the seat. I was flying the 747 flights, on the 2nd floor(quieter). I love the extra cabinets/space Singapore Air provides alone the walls. The best seats are the exit rows as well, as you can fully stretch out. (Though you're constrained from taking photos during takeoff/landing as the attendants sit in reverse in this row)

Within the USA, Virgin America has the best Business Class. But then again they have the newest planes. The seats, services & hospitality don't compare with anyone else.

upgrades

also the best bet on upgrades....is not to pay. But to use miles/points. I upgraded for all my flights with American Express & thus use those points solely for upgrades. Also in benefit; assuming you've chosen the correct class; you'll get 1.5-2x the miles for the flight.

I only paid once for a business class seat; everything else was an upgrade.

Long Haul Biz Class

Long haul flights are where biz class makes total sense. VAustralia is the best I have experienced. Flat bed seats, great service and great, free in-flight entertainment, outlets. I hear Singapore Air Biz Class is a must as well.

business class

the best I have experienced was on Air New Zealand SFO-AKL & HKG-LHR , they have full lie flat beds , great service & food with fantastic New Zealand wines

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KLM

I haven't flown biz that much but I remember flying KLM to Amsterdam and it was very good. Comfy seats and a good meal. plus an in-flight kit with toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask (flimsy) and socks! That was back in 2006 so i dont know if that still applies.

Premium economy on Virgin Atlantic was so-so. Def. more comfy than coach but was it worth the upgrade? Eh.

EI and US Airways

I've only flown Aer Lingus biz, which was fine, comfy seats, toiletries, lots of food and ample alcohol if you want but no full lie-down beds. US airways is the same seat setup for domestic - no full beds but brilliant flight attendants in biz - nearly entertainers as well!

United's New Premium Seats

While I usually would give a nod to a foreign flag (non-US) carrier for the best business class seat, I have to pony up and give it to United Airlines' new business (and first) class seats. The entertainment, true lay-flat, configuration (esp. rear-facing seats) make for a great flight. I've tried it multiple times (Moscow, London, Bangkok) and love it.

Best Business

The best business class goes to Qatar Airlines and Emirates. Singapore and Cathy are also tops. No US airlines even come close. Even with flatbeds UA has to be one of the worst airlines in the world as regards service. The world will be a better place when it finally goes under.

Best is all relative

I logged 105 flights this year, all long haul in Business and flying to highly diverse destinations (Kazaksthan, India, Brazil, USA). Asian carriers are by far a class on their own. While Emirates has a spotless product, the overall attitude to service and the OTT decorum makes them second to Singapore Airlines. Not only is the product superb, but the Service is just mindblowing. for European carriers, I have learned to love the realiability of Lufthansa. Let's also note the new Jet Airways business class, the same as cathay, but with fabulous decadent china and good food. Sorry but when I read that UA new Biz seats are good, I can only laugh. Yes they are, but compared to what ? No storage, very limited space and the pathetic United service. In a more exotic level, I liked Air Astana (no flat bed but real caviar in Business, and the service and giant screen of the new TAM business (only on 777))