Business Class cabin comparison - which is best?
 

I am planning a trip to Japan / China from the US-East Coast + plan to fly Business Class to get a relatively flat seat to sleep. We will book through Am Ex Int'l Companion deal.

Any recommendations on airlines or advice?

- Cathay Pacific
- Japan Air - JAL
- China Airlines
- Asiana


Many thanks!

One of the best web site to get information on the different business class seats is flatseats.com

http://www.flatseats.com/

IMO Cathay will have the best service and they are launching a new superior business class seat as well but I don't think they have started it yet. If you're going to Japan as well as China then I think it's more logical to fly with JAL so that you can utilise the lounges and other services by JAL while in Japan.

Cathay does have some of its aircraft in operation with the new seat, I have only been on one flight out of about 6 in the last 3 months which had the new seat however, so I do think the only have a limited number of aircraft that have been reconfigured. The configuration is a little bit of a tight fit, and seems a bit claustrophobic as the seats are quite narrow and oddly turned at angles, but once you get out the flat bed, who really cares. It is not as large a seat area, nor nearly as well-thought out as Singapore Airlines' seat, but it appears you don't have an SQ choice on the route you are on. If you get the current regular Cathay business class seat, it is OK, I fly them about 3 times a month. Service is good, but really its all about the seat as IMO all airplane food is bad. I would rank Cathay and JAL as equal in service, Asian is OK. I would put China last, but of course all of these are head and shoulders above any US or European airline so any would be fine.

If you do get the Cathay aircraft with the new seat, the window seats are all singles, so if you are traveling with someone, you might want middle seats, but even then you can hardly see the person next to you (something for which I am grateful).

Personally, if all things are about equal in price and flight time/non-stops, I would take whichever of them GUARANTEES that the seat is a flat bed seat. I am not sure Cathay is doing that yet on all their flights. JAL may be. This is something you need to confirm.

If Air Canada is a possibility (I don't know if they're part of the Am Ex deal or if they offer service from their Toronto gateway from your departure city), they would be a good option if getting a good rest is important. They use their new 777s with true flat beds on the Toronto-Tokyo flights; the seats themselves are similar to Cathay's new seats.

Air Canada's food and service levels are not as good as Cathay or JAL (though, as Cicerone rightly points out, even the best airline meal is something less than a culinary treat). However, from a flat-bed perspective, their current offering is excellent.

thanks for the responses all of you! i will continue to research...+ going to ask AmEx if a round the world ticket would be a better option in terms of cost.

might be a silly question - but what is IMO??

thanks!

IMO means "in my opinion"

I flew ANA from NYC to Tokyo and then on the Shanghai. The seats were very comfortable and the food/wine fabulous. I think I did it with miles. Two years ago business class with ANA was 90,000. They were great. The seats are 170 degrees, not completely flat, but quite comfortable.

Hello, st07!

You could also consider the website www.airlinequality.com

That website contains reviews by passengers of all the various airlines in the world.

Happy browsing!