Jaunted

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.

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 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.

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

Fly.com here...for a quick and simple way to keep an eye on business class fares, give us a try. We search for coach, business AND first-class fares by scouring hundreds of airline sites, online travel agencies and airfare consolidators. Results are then presented side-by-side in a clean, easy-to-navigate format so you can compare apples to apples.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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))

I am an expatriate in Malaysia, and my choice of airline is Singapore Airlines, but I also frequently fly other Asian airlines such as Thai, Cathay, Malaysia and Korean Air for both medium- and long-haul flights.  If you judge airlines by their overall services, Singapore Airline and British Airlines top the list; however, they charge more than their competitors on the same routes.  If your companies have no limits for traveling expenses then request your agents to book you on these flight whenever possible because they offer extra services.  

I have flown the most of European, Asian, Middle East, and North American airlines as well as other airlines such as Qantas and low-cost carriers like Air Asia and Silk Air (a part of Singapore Airlines).  And I must add that the most of the major airlines now offer so-called "flat bed" seats in their business classes.  However, you must take an extra effort to ensure that you get what you pay.  Some of the airlines claim that they offer flat-bed seats, but what they actually offer are "angled" flat-bed seats (not 180 degree but 170/160 degrees).  You must also understand that airlines are upgrading these seats progressively; therefore, if you are really unlucky you are stuck with old seats (that only recline) but still pay the business class fares.  I know it is unfair, but I experienced it a few times even with Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines (both are considered top-tier airlines).  It was back in November 2008 when flew the Singapore Airliens from Singapore to Brisbane, Australia (about a 7-hour flight), and I couldn't believe its B777 was equipped with first generation business seats.  Both Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines still use old business class seats for some of its medium-hauls (PEN-HKG-ICN and ICN-KUL, vice versa) within Asia.  More recently, I flew first class from Incheon (Seoul), Korea to Bangkok, Thailand on Korean Air (B777) in March 2010.  Again, it offered wide-width old generation seat.

You don't get what you pay for always, instead you get what you fly with.

Before you purchase ticket on your next trip, please check what type of aircraft your airline flies to your destination. Your travel agent should know it. If you buy tickets online, then you can always check it in "flight detail" or "flight number" section.  You get lie-flat-bed business seats depend on what aircrafts you fly.  You must not assume that you would be guaranteed with these seats just because you pay business class fares.  There is nothing worse than getting ripped and fooled by false advertisement.

United Airlines offers a feature that you can check new business class seats for its destination on web site.

Now, these airlines offer best business class based on dollar-for-mile basis.  

Qatar Airway (based in Doha)
Etihad (based on Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
*Both fly to the US.  Etihad launched new service from Abu Dhabi to Chicago as well). All their business class seats are full flat-bed.

If you fly to Asia from the US (LAX/SFO) then consider Thai Airways (non stop from LAX - BKK on its A340-600) or Philippines Airlines (the cheapest and comfortable extra-wide business seats with a plenty of leg-room on its A340 aircrafts).

Hope this helps.