This month we’re taking a moment to clean up our summary pages and bring you updated business and first class reviews. After about four months of operation, we’ve expanded our reviews tremendously. For business class, we now have 192 reviews from 26 different review websites spanning 22 airlines. For first class reviews, we now have 138 reviews from 26 different review websites spanning 15 airlines. We still have a long way to go, but the updated business and first class reviews show how far we’ve come!
As a reminder, Premium Travel Insider aggregates reviews from around the web and scores them on a 1-3 scale. A 3 indicates that a given category exceeded reviewer expectations, a 2 indicates it met expectations, and a 1 failed to meet expectations. We evaluate a variety of categories, the most important of which we call the “Big 5” that are most important to a premium travel experience: seat, food, drink, service, and in flight entertainment. You can learn more about our methodology here.
Business Class Overview
The first question everyone wants to know, of course, is who should I fly for the best business class product? Based on aggregated review scores, the two clear winners are EVA Airlines and Qatar Airways. Both scored very high for the overall experience, as well as for the “Big 5” categories of seat, food, drink, IFE, and service.
Looking to see who had the best of each category? Below is each of the categories we cover – and who came out on top.
| Category | Best Business Class |
| Seat | Qatar Airways |
| IFE | Air Canada |
| Food | Austrian |
| Drink | Qatar Airways |
| Service | EVA |
Honorable mentions include Air Canada and Delta, both of which appeared several times in the top 3 for multiple categories.
If you’re looking for something more specific, check out the full business class reviews page.
First Class Overview
Who’s the best in the skies when it comes to first class? This question is a bit trickier. Based on our aggregated scores, you have several options. Garuda Indonesia scored highly both in average reviewer score and “Big 5” — which is based on the categories of seat, food, drink, IFE, and service. However, with only five reviews, readers should note that’s a limited sample size.
Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific led the pack for top overall experience. However, based on the “Big 5” categories, Emirates and Etihad are your best bet. Fortunately, these airlines fly to very different regions, so you can’t go wrong choosing from any of them.
Looking to see who had the best of each category? Below is each of the categories we cover – and who came out on top:
| Category | Best First Class |
| Seat | Garuda Indonesia / Emirates (tied) |
| IFE | Emirates |
| Food | Japan Airlines / Garuda Indonesia (tied) |
| Drink | 10 Airline Tie |
| Service | Air France / Garuda Indonesia / Japan Airlines / Swiss |
If you’re looking for something more specific, check out the full first class reviews page.
Look Before You Book!
Spending your hard-earned points – or dollars – on an aircraft premium product? Make sure you see what the experts have said first! You want to make sure you get an experience to remember for the right reasons – not the wrong ones.