Not sure what first class to fly? Our full airline first class reviews summary includes the “top line” for everything. See what airlines are the best at what categories, then go to our airline-specific pages for more details. Make sure you’re picking the best airline for your needs before you book.
Looking for the airline with the best first class experience? 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 for something more specific? Read on to see the best airline first class reviews and learn where you can find the best food, drink, and more in the skies.
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.
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Overall Picture
Last Updated: 2/2/20
Number of Reviews in our Database: 170
Number of Different Sites Providing Reviews: 32
Top 3 by Average Reviewer Score: Japan Airlines (3/3), Cathay Pacific (2.93/3), ANA (2.88/3)
Top 3 by “Big 5” Score: Emirates (2.92/3), Etihad (2.85/3), Singapore (2.84/3)
The Big 5
Best Seat: Emirates (3/3), Etihad(2.93/3), Garuda Indonesia (2.88/3)
In Flight Entertainment: Emirates(3/3), Etihad(2.82/3), Singapore (2.80/3)
Food: Japan Airlines (3/3), ANA (2.92/3), Emirates (2.92/3) (tie)
Drink: ANA / Cathay Pacific/ Emirates / Japan Airlines / Korean Air / Lufthansa / Singapore / Swiss / Thai Airlines (3/3)
Service: Air France / Japan Airlines / Swiss (3/3) (3-way tie)
Other Scores
Lavatory: Etihad (2.80/3), Emirates (2.73/3), Qatar Airways (2.70/3)
Amenity Kit: Swiss (2.75/3), Qantas (2.75/3) (tie), British Airways (2.64/3),
Bedding: Cathay Pacific / Qantas (3/3) (tie), / Swiss (2.89/3)
WiFi: Swiss (2.20/3), Garuda Indonesia (2.13/3), Japan Airlines (2.00/3)
Detailed Airline First Class Reviews
Looking for the best airline first class reviews? Check out our detailed First Class Reviews summary table.
| Airline | Total Reviews | Average Review Score | Average Level of Detail | Average Big 5 Score | Seat | IFE | Food | Drink | Service | Lav | Amenity Kit | Bedding | WiFi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air China | 9 | 2.11 | 2.00 | 2.04 | 2.63 | 1.86 | 1.67 | 1.67 | 2.38 | 2.17 | 1.75 | 1.75 | 0 |
| Air France | 11 | 2.82 | 2.09 | 2.67 | 2.78 | 2.13 | 2.55 | 2.90 | 3.00 | 2.50 | 2.25 | 2.89 | 1.00 |
| ANA | 12 | 2.88 | 2.67 | 2.64 | 2.45 | 2.00 | 2.92 | 3.00 | 2.83 | 2.33 | 2.36 | 2.50 | 1.44 |
| British Airways | 12 | 2.38 | 2.17 | 2.39 | 2.18 | 1.82 | 2.67 | 2.91 | 2.36 | 1.40 | 2.64 | 2.33 | 1.40 |
| Cathay Pacific | 7 | 2.93 | 2.14 | 2.67 | 2.86 | 2.20 | 2.57 | 3.00 | 2.71 | 2.50 | 2.00 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Emirates | 13 | 2.88 | 2.31 | 2.92 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.92 | 3.00 | 2.67 | 2.88 | 2.56 | 2.83 | 1.83 |
| Etihad | 15 | 2.80 | 2.13 | 2.85 | 2.93 | 2.82 | 2.86 | 2.91 | 2.71 | 2.80 | 2.60 | 2.50 | 1.00 |
| Garuda Indonesia | 13 | 2.77 | 1.92 | 2.66 | 2.88 | 1.83 | 2.77 | 2.89 | 2.92 | 2.00 | 1.60 | 2.50 | 2.13 |
| Japan Airlines | 8 | 3.00 | 2.38 | 2.70 | 2.25 | 2.25 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.20 | 2.50 | 2.57 | 2.00 |
| Korean Airlines | 10 | 2.30 | 2.30 | 2.40 | 2.33 | 1.89 | 2.40 | 2.89 | 2.50 | 2.00 | 2.11 | 2.57 | 0 |
| Lufthansa | 13 | 2.81 | 2.62 | 2.61 | 2.42 | 2.11 | 2.85 | 3.00 | 2.69 | 2.27 | 2.09 | 2.63 | 1.40 |
| Qantas | 9 | 2.44 | 1.89 | 2.62 | 2.75 | 2.33 | 2.75 | 2.57 | 2.71 | 2.55 | 2.75 | 3.00 | 0 |
| Qatar Airways | 10 | 2.30 | 1.90 | 2.30 | 2.60 | 2.00 | 2.20 | 2.50 | 2.22 | 2.70 | 2.25 | 2.40 | 1.33 |
| Singapore Airlines | 8 | 2.75 | 2.38 | 2.84 | 2.63 | 2.80 | 2.88 | 3.00 | 2.88 | 2.17 | 2.43 | 2.80 | 1.67 |
| Swiss Airlines | 10 | 2.85 | 2.60 | 2.74 | 2.70 | 2.22 | 2.80 | 3.00 | 3.00 | 2.00 | 2.75 | 2.89 | 2.20 |
| Thai Airways | 10 | 2.40 | 2.60 | 2.53 | 2.33 | 2.29 | 2.44 | 3.00 | 2.60 | 2.00 | 2.22 | 2.50 | 0 |
Premium Travel Insider scores on a 1-3 scale. Higher is better. NR = not rated by the reviewer for their flight or insufficiently reviewed. 0 = that product was not offered on a flight (typically bedding, WiFi, amenity kit). Click here for more details.