Business Class Index

The best airports and airlines for traveling in comfort

When flying business class, the journey becomes part of the experience itself, with gourmet food and drink, access to lounges, your own comfy bed, and many other perks such as increased luggage allowance.

While flying business class is something that many of us will never get to experience, it can make for a nice treat for a special occasion.

But which airports and airlines offer the best experience for business class travelers?

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The top 3 best business class airlines

@singaporeair

1

Singapore Airlines

9.57/10 Airline Score

Looking at reviews across a number of different factors such as food, drink, seat comfort, service, and more, the airline that has the highest overall score is Singapore Airlines, with 9.57 out of 10.

Singapore has been synonymous with luxury since taking to the skies almost 50 years ago and had near-perfect scores across the board.

As well as scoring 10 out of 10 for both its cuisine and beverages, Singapore also gained a perfect score for its service and entertainment too.

@qatarairways

2

Qatar Airways

9.29/10 Airline Score

In second place is Qatar Airways, with an average score of 9.29 out of 10. Qatar unveiled a new business class cabin called “Qsuite” in 2017, taking business class travel to a new level.

The new suites offer passengers sliding doors for total privacy and double beds, with passengers in adjoining seats able to create their own private room.

Qatar scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in two categories: cuisine and service.

@cathaypacific

3

Cathay Pacific

9.00/10 Airline Score

Another Asian airline takes third place, with Hong Kong’s flagship Cathay Pacific scoring an average of 9 out of 10.

While it didn’t achieve a perfect 10 out of 10 in any category, Cathay shows remarkable consistency across the board, scoring 9 out of 10 in every single category.

The top 3 worst business class airlines

@egyptair

1

Egyptair

5.71/10 Airline Score

Not all airlines received such glowing reviews for their business class offerings, with Egyptair having the lowest average score across all seven categories, at 5.71.

While the airline has recently invested in new aircrafts for some routes, much of its fleet is outdated at this point.

Egyptair scored particularly poorly for its beverages, scoring just 4 out of 10, largely due to the fact that no alcohol is served whatsoever on their flights for religious reasons.

@copaairlines

2

Copa Airlines

6.71/10 Airline Score

In second place (albeit a significant improvement over Egyptair) is Copa Airlines, the flag carrier of Panama, with an average score of 6.71 out of 10.

Copa scored a respectable 7 out of 10 for the majority of factors, although was let down slightly by its service and entertainment options.

@airchinalimited

3

Air China

7.14/10 Airline Score

The third worst-rated business class airline is Air China, with an average score of 7.14 out of 10. Air China is China’s flag carrier airline and one of the country’s “Big Three” airlines.

While scoring pretty highly across the board (with 8 out of 10 for both beverages and amenities & facilities), Air China scored just 6 out of 10 for its entertainment offering.

The best airlines for traveling in comfort

KEY
Airport experience Cabin & seat Cuisine Beverages Service Entertainment Amenities & facilities Average score

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Airport

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The top 3 best business class airports

@heathrow_airport

1

Heathrow Airport,

United Kingdom
7.10/10 Business Class Score

The airport most suited to business class travelers is London’s Heathrow. Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world and has by far the most business class lounges for passengers to enjoy, with 43, compared to New York JFK in second with 33.

It also operates flights to a large number of locations, with over 230 unique destinations around the world, acting as a hub for British Airways and the primary operating base for Virgin Atlantic.

@haneda.airport_official

2

Haneda Airport,

Japan
7.03/10 Business Class Score

In second is Haneda Airport in Tokyo, which traditionally dealt with the majority of Tokyo’s domestic international travel although has increasingly expanded its international operations too.

The primary reason Haneda performs so highly is that its the major airport with the best on-time performance, with 86.4% of flights departing on time from the airport.

@changiaairport

3

Changi Airport,

Singapore
6.83/10 Business Class Score

Regularly voted as one of the best airports in the world, Singapore’s Changi Airport comes in third place here.

Changi scores particularly high when it comes to its on-time performance, with 82% of flights being on-time.

As well as attracting lots of business travelers to the city of Singapore itself, Changi is also an important layover destination for flights across Asia and the rest of the world.

The top 3 worst business class airports

@missmandyy

1

Ninoy Aquino International Airport,

Philippines
0.88/10 Business Class Score

The worst of the world’s busiest airports when it comes to business class travelers is Manila’s Ninoy Aquino.

The main gateway to the Philippines, Manila’s airport was the worst scoring for three different categories: its number of destinations, on-time performance, and rating from Skytrax.

@gatwickairport

2

Gatwick Airport,

United Kingdom
1.82/10 Business Class Score

While London’s Heathrow ranks amongst the best airports for business class travel, the opposite is true for Gatwick.

As well as a score of just 3 out of 5 from Skytrax, Gatwick was among the worst airports when it came to the on-time performance of its flights, with just 67.8% being deemed to be on-time.

@united

3

Newark Liberty International Airport,

United States
2.03/10 Business Class Score

Completing the three worst-rated airports is Newark Liberty International Airport, which is located in New Jersey but serves the New York metropolitan area.

Newark scored fairly poorly across the board, with a 3 out of 5 rating from Skytrax, as well as when it comes to delays, with just 69.4% of flights from Newark being on time.

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The top 10 best business class airports mapped

Click on a map marker to reveal the top 10 best business class airports.

The top 10 worst business class airports mapped

Click on a map marker to reveal the top 10 worst business class airports.

The best airports for traveling in comfort

KEY
Lounges Destinations Served Annual On-Time Flights Skytrax Rating Business class score /10

Rank

Airport

Location

Country

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Methodology

Airlines

For each airline we looked at reviews from BusinessClass.com, which gives each airline a score out of ten on the following factors, taking an average of all seven scores for each airline for which reviews were available:

Airport experience Cabin & seat Cuisine Beverages Service Entertainment Amenities & facilities
Airports

We looked at the 50 biggest airports in the world by passenger volume, analyzing them on the following factors.

Each airport was given a normalized score out of ten for each factor, before an average was taken across each of the scores.

The number of lounges listed on LoungeBuddy.

The number of destinations that the airport serves, according to Wikipedia (correct as of March 21st, 2022).

The percentage of on-time flights between June 2018 and May 2019 according to OAG’s The percentage of on-time flights between June 2018 and May 2019 according to OAG’s. “On-time” here refers to flights departing no more than 15 minutes after the scheduled flight time.

The airport’s rating out of five according to Skytrax.

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