Continental Airlines progress on fully lie flat business class install

Flightglobal reports that Continental Airlines has completed its installation of fully lie flat business-first seats in its 777 fleet.  This will be welcome, as the airline appears to have the best business class product of any North American airline, and also brings it closer in line to United (which is, after all, the same airline) which has fully installed its entire 747 and 767 fleet (but still only partially installed the 777 fleet).  Continental's website claims the 757 fleet have 68% installation (in a 2-2 configuration with 23" seat width but 58" pitch).  A seat map of the 757 is here.  Continental has earlier claimed that all flights to London Heathrow are with aircraft equipped with the fully lie flat seats.  However, it is important to note that none of the Boeing 767-400ERs are equipped with the lie flat seats, but rather fairly old fashioned recliners seen here.   As can be seen below, they are rather impressive seats, all facing forward, with adequate width and privacy.  They remind me of what the American Airline ones might be like, if they had more pitch and went fully flat.

Continental BusinessFirst fully lie flat seats.

The full description of these seats is here.  They are 6'6" (198cm) long, 22" wide and 60" pitch between rows, and in the 777 are in a 2-2-2 forward facing configuration as seen here in this seat map. 

The previous product varied considerably.  The old 757 recliners that are being replaced are depicted here. The 777s had an angled almost flat type of seat still depicted on the Continental website.

For some time US carriers have always been seen as well behind Europe, Asia and Australasia in having the best hard product, but of those carriers Continental has been highly rated on soft product.  Continental's new seats make it more competitive than most continental European carriers (only Swiss, Iberia and Finnair have fully lie flat products outside the UK).   It is a chance for Continental to ensure its entire experience makes it a serious rival for non-US carriers.   The question is whether the merged United/Continental can meet those standard or whether the haphazard soft product of United will win the day.

Continental says by July 2011 all of its 757s will be equipped with the new seats, but it will be July 2012 by the time the 767 fleet is fully equipped.

By contrast, United only has 6 out of 46 777s equipped with its new lie flat business class.  To be fair to United, its Suite Dreams website does indicate exactly all flights and routes that are equipped.  

Blue 1 introduces business class

Finnish based subsidiary of SAS, Blue 1, is introducing a short haul business class product showing once again that the European airline sector is moving full circle into upgrading service standards on board flights.

Blue 1 Premium replaces the Economy Extra product and includes the usual premium checkin, fast track security, lounge access, full hot meal and bar service, with fully flexible tickets.  It claims to be up to 30% cheaper than competitors and has first been rolled out on services to London using the newly acquired refurbished Boeing 717s (the replacement to the MD80).  

Seating is 3-2 in both economy and Premium, although it is unclear if the middle seat of the 3 will be blanked out as is standard in competing European business classes.   

Blue1's main competitor is Finnair and so is clearly aiming at gaining more high yield business travellers.

Cathay Pacific launches new long haul business class four years after last one

In October 2006 Cathay Pacific launched a major upgrade of first, business and economy classes, the details of which were published on this blog.   Today Cathay Pacific launched a new business class only.  The reason?  A strategic mistake in 2006 that saw it take the cheap option in moving to fully lie flat seats.

The new first class has been widely acclaimed and is still seen to have been a success.   It is a big seat with enough room for a guest which folds down to a bed.  There is little good reason to change this and Cathay's high yield First Class business seems assured.

The economy class has been revolutionary in having fixed frames which the seats slid forward within for recline.   The benefit was meant to be that passengers would not face seats reclining into their faces, but there were many reports of discomfort and cramped conditions.  Not exactly a success, but economy passengers are mostly price sensitive.  

The business class has been a bit of a flop.  The intention was to catch up with the likes of Singapore Airlines and British Airways in replacing the angled lie flat seats with a fully lie flat seat.  What was chosen was an option that is a version of the herringbone seats seen on Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand, yet there were two crucial differences.  First the Cathay version reclined into a fully lie flat bed, whereas the Virgin/Air NZ version flipped over into a flat bed surface.  Secondly, and more importantly it is a lot narrower.    The Cathay seats are 20" wide, the Virgin and Air NZ ones are 22" wide.  The Virgin and Air NZ ones are considered a success and widely acclaimed, the Cathay ones have been compared to coffins and claustrophobic.

Enough anecdotal reports of the Cathay product, compared to the competition, kept some business class travel from Cathay, which otherwise has excellent ground product and soft product.  From London, for example, BA, Virgin and Air NZ all offer fully lie flat seats.   Singapore Airlines and now Qantas (A380 only) both have better products for the Kangaroo route as well.   So Cathay listened and has come up with this:

Cathay Pacific New Business Class

The press release states that it has both privacy and openness.  The configuration is 1-2-1 for Boeing 777-300ERs and Airbus A330-300s for long haul routes.  Key features listed are:

- Added storage, including a Side Cabinet that doubles as privacy screen with vanity mirror;

- Side seats are outward facing towards windows;

- All seats continue to have direct aisle access.

However, the best to judge is to see it.  This PDF file from Cathay compares all of the dimensions of the current seats with the new ones.

Business Traveller also has some excellent photos on its Flickr site.  It also notes no announcement yet of a rumoured premium economy class for Cathay.

It is notable that Cathay has not announced that it is retrofitting either the Airbus A340s or the Boeing 747s with the new seats.  The A340s can be expected to be replaced by 777s and A350s in due course, but the 747s are the workhorses of key routes such as London-Hong Kong.  Cathay has not ordered replacements for these aircraft as of yet, nor indicated that it is in a hurry to do so.  Maybe it will be announcing a retrofit once it has made decisions on premium economy, or perhaps there are issues with sacrificing the number of seats on 747s given the configuration must be 1-2-1 in a rather wider cabin than exists on A330s and 777s.

The Wing lounge at Hong Kong is also to be refurbished, and added to Hong Kong hub is the new Cabin lounge, of which few details have been announced.   Also launched is a new uniform.

UPDATE:  Australian Business Traveller has perhaps the best write up about it.

Korean Air's A380s will have the least seats of all

Korean Air Airbus A380 artist's depiction

With Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Air France and Lufthansa all operating Airbus A380s (and despite the debacle of RR engines on the Qantas A380s), the next airline to start flying A380s in service will be Korean Air, which has ordered 10 of the type.   The aircraft will operate routes from Seoul to the US and Europe from August 2011, with some short haul training services in the interim.

Korean Air has worked hard in recent years to improve its reputation both for inflight service and safety, and it will be taking things further with its recent announcement that its A380s will have the lowest number of seats of any A380s in service to date - 400 to 450 seats.   What this should mean is more space, on average, for all passengers compared to others with A380s.  Qantas at present has the lowest seating density on A380s with 450 passengers in a four class configuration.  Korean Air will have a three class configuration, so it is better comparing with other A380 operators with similar configurations.   Of those Singapore Airlines has 471 passengers.   

Korean's on board product will include its latest first, business and economy class products as follows.  It has graphic displays of the first and business products on its website here.

Korean Air, Kosmo Suite First Class

First Class is the Kosmo Suite, a 79inch long, 26.5 inch wide seat that becomes a fully flat bed in a semi private suite with a 23in LCD monitor.  Easily a competitive product up there with the best, perhaps only surpassed by Singapore Airlines Suite Class on A380s.  Entertainment for all classes will include AVOD with 50 movies and 50 short documentaries.  There will be premium restrooms and complementary sleeping suits.   Food is apparently prepared by a dedicated chef.

Korean Air, Prestige Sleeper Seat

Business Class is the Prestige Sleeper Seat, a fully lie flat seat with some privacy dividers.  21.6 inches wide and 71 inch seat pitch puts this seat up among the best as well.  15.4 inch AVOD monitors, and catering also prepared by the first class chef.  Beyond that are the standards of business class service that are to be expected, which with Korean is typically high.

Even Korean's economy class is far from shoddy.  Industry leading 34 inch seat pitch, 10.6 inch IFE screens, and power at every seat.  That is fairly difficult to beat.

Korean might not have the very best first and business class products, but it is likely to have the best on the routes it services.  Its economy class will be difficult to beat as well.   Certainly compared to Air France and Lufthansa, which squeeze 538 and 526 passengers in their A380s, Korean Air will appear spacious in all classes, and perhaps deserves to be called the very best Skyteam airline!

SAS in flight internet to come to short haul routes

Business Traveller reports that Star Alliance carrier SAS (Scandinavian Airline Systems) is to introduce broadband services on its Boeing 737 flights from April 2011.  As these aircraft primarily fly Norwegian domestic routes and services to London, Frankfurt and Paris, it will be limited to a minority of SAS European services.  Hopefully it can then be rolled out to the Airbus A320/A321 fleet as well, as I do not expect it to be installed on the aging McDonnell Douglas MD-80 fleet.  

Mobile service is also to be offered, although it is unclear if this is just SMS/MMS or also voice calls.  Internet access will be free for business class and economy extra (SAS's short haul premium economy product), but charged in economy class.

It is curious to see Lufthansa introducing long haul internet access, but SAS introducing short haul.  Given the Lufthansa shareholding in SAS, will it be that both are testbeds for wider roll out?

Qantas upgrades Australian domestic service standards

Qantas's strategy on its core domestic network has been to split services between its low cost subsidiary - Jetstar- and its full service offering.  It has now launched an upgrade to its full service domestic offering.

Qantas domestic business class - Airbus A330

It has three key features:

- Upgraded lounges and catering in lounges;

- Upgraded catering and onboard service; and

- Next generation check in.

Next generation check in allows Qantas Frequent Flyer to automatically check in using their cards to touch in, and the card acts as a boarding pass (and boarding pass details can be automatically sent by SMS to mobile phones). 

Business lounges are to have:

• New Neil Perry designed seasonal menu changing weekly

• New tray around snack service in the morning and evening

• Island dining offering a "plate of the day" with matching wine

• Appropriate time of day meal offerings and increased portion sizes

• Enhanced environment with new furnishings including Qantas signature Akira Isogawa fabric feature walls and custom lounge furniture designed specifically for Qantas

• Qantas Signature Moooi Light pendants in contrasting sizes which animate the bar area

• Enhanced environment with fresh flowers and a new scent specifically designed for Qantas by Air Aroma

• New Apple Mac technology

Qantas Club lounges will have much the same and wood fired pizzas with a candy bar.   The key point being that frequent flyers will have reasonable options to eat before flights.

Economy class domestic in flight service will be closer to international standards:

• New Neil Perry influenced seasonal menu changing weekly with matching wines selected by the Qantas Wine Panel
• Complimentary Bar from 4pm on all CityFlyer flights
• New premium breakfasts
• New range of hot dinners
• Enhanced refreshments and seasonal fruit
• Enhanced personal recognition for Frequent Flyers by Cabin Crew

Complimentary bar on evening CityFlyer flights will be popular no doubt!

Qantas keeping the monopoly on quality economy class domestic travel.  The challenge of Virgin Blue's premium economy is being met by an upgraded business class:

• New Neil Perry designed seasonal menu changing weekly with matching wines selected by the Qantas Wine Panel
• Addition of an entrée course on trans Continent and trans Tasman flights
• Customer Service Manager hosting Business Class passengers
• Silver service in the Business Cabin
• Appropriate time of day offering (i.e. antipasto platters in the afternoon) 

Qantas is determined to remain the airline of choice for corporate travel within Australia, but the interesting thing will be to see if this sets off more competition to improve standards of service when the last few years have been primarily about price.  Qantas is setting the standard for domestic service, but the money is in the corporate market, and both Virgin Blue and Tiger Airways have found it difficult to crack into a market focused more on frequency and service than price.

UPDATED:  There will also be AVOD rolled out on some domestic aircraft (newer Boeing 767s).  Rumour was that there is to be new business class seats, but forums have only shown new seats on A330s which are akin to international premium economy.   That in itself would appear to be a downgrade.

Lufthansa to improve European service and cabins

Business Traveller reports Lufthansa is to announce major upgrades to its European service on 15 December.

New seating will be installed believed to be identical to the new Austrian Airlines product (given Austrian is owned by Lufthansa this is hardly a surprise) which will see more seats, and a slight improvement in legroom. 

The aircraft to be equipped will be Airbus A319/A320/A321s and all Boeing 737s.  However it is also understood that wardrobes will be removed (which will be a downgrade for business class) and one toilet will go on the A321s.

Catering is to get an upgrade, with more food to be provided for certain economy class flight segments.

It would appear that the Lufthansa Group has decided the future is in being seen as a carrier people want to fly on, as well as one with competitive prices.

International flights with internet access to return!

Lufthansa is to relaunch internet onboard long haul flights from January.  It is to start on routes to New York and Detroit and will offer high speed access for anyone with a laptop with wifi capability and smartphones. 

It will be followed up with the ability to use phones for SMS and MMS messages, but Lufthansa is not to allow phone calls, which will be a blessed relief to those who treat time in the sky as time to relax.

It will be free until the end of January 2011, after when there will be charges presumably (although one might expect it will remain free for First Class at least). 

However this should kickoff a flurry of interest in internet access on long haul flights, although I am far from enthused about the idea of SMS/MMS appearing on flights with endless beeps and tones from the inane who can't get the idea that if you are holding your phone, you don't need to hear when a message is received!

BMI upgrades mid haul seating in business and economy classes

Business Traveller reports on BMI's upgrade of its mid haul business class cabin.  It applies to Airbus A321 and Airbus A320 aircraft used on routes between London Heathrow and:

- Addis Ababa via Amman

- Almaty

- Baku

- Khartoum via Beirut

- Cairo

- Damascus

- Dammam

- Freetown via Malaga

- Jeddah

- Moscow

- Tbilisi

- Tehran

- Tripoli

- Yerevan

It shows photos of the new seating here.   It is basically a very nice refresh of a rather tired cabin.   Whilst BMI continues to not be profitable for its owner - Lufthansa - it is not surprising, but BMI does not exactly have a world class product for many of these routes.  The main advantage BMI has on most routes is that it is the only Western carrier, but on a few routes (e.g. Cairo) it isn't up with the competition as recliners without in seat power aren't exactly what passes as standard for what are in some cases long haul overnight flights!

Business Traveller reviewed the updated Business Class on the London-Beirut route.

Austrian Airlines upgrades short haul economy and business classes

Business Traveller reports that Austrian Airlines is launching upgrades to its European services.

Austrian new short haul economy class seats

By September 2011 new seats will be installed in economy and business class in all Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.   Whilst at the same pitch as existing seats, Austrian claims the new seats will offer up to 5cm of additional knee and legroom, whilst also allowing effectively an additional row to be installed on the aircraft.  

Austrian is already publicising the seat with this video which shows how the seat pocket is now behind the tray table, and the seat is made of more breathable fabric.

Of course as European Business Class includes the same seats with the middle seats blanked out, it applies for both cabins.

Particularly interesting is catering.  Austrian Economy Class in Europe is having improved catering:

"In practice this means that on flights lasting more than two hours, the carrier will offer an Austrian Brettljause or a “paper bag filled with warm delicacies”. The afternoon snack will feature a range of very Austrian options in future, including a miniature Gugelhupf cake."

Business class will consistently have hot meal service on all routes, except the shortest distance flights.

Good on Austrian, pushing itself as a quality full service carrier on European internal flights. 

Premium Economy for Turkish Airlines

Some years after economy plus/premium economy classes started appearing, they have grown in popularity as business class is increasingly led by airlines with fully lie flat seats.  Premium economy is seen on both BA and Virgin Atlantic, SAS, Air France, JAL, ANA, Qantas and Air NZ, with United's famous Economy Plus product being economy with more legroom.  Cathay Pacific has been openly discussing whether a premium economy product would be warranted, and now according to ABTN, Turkish Airlines is introducing a premium economy class on a number of long haul routes.  It would appear likely that it will be seen on its new Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft.   Business traveller has depictions of the cabin (and other revamped cabins) showing an apparent 2-3-2 configuration (although this would appear to be on an A330, the following economy class picture must be on a 777 with 3-3-3). 

Turkish Airlines new premium economy

The appearance of this is welcome, as it adds to Star Alliance premium economy offerings, which in Europe are rare since BMI has abandoned the class, with only SAS providing an offering on long haul routes.   It looks similar to the seating now provided by Virgin Atlantic in premium economy.  Turkish has a range of competitors, from Lufthansa to the Middle East hub carriers, most of which have no such product.  As an increasing number of better off leisure travellers are preferring to avoid being crammed like sardines in economy, those airlines without premium economy may be completely ignored by them.  Turkish looks like it is trying to capture a share of the market.

First Class - Star Alliance

Star Alliance carriers with first class products are conveniently listed in this post on Flyertalk.  Why is this interesting?  For starters,  many Star Alliance carriers are part of the Star Alliance upgrade scheme, which allows frequent flyer points to be used to upgrade on any other participating Star Alliance carrier.  However, the most important reason to care is that some actually do want something more than business class.

It doesn't matter whether the carrier of your Star Alliance frequent flyer scheme has first class, you can still upgrade with points from business to first class on another carrier.

The participating carriers for Star Alliance upgrades are:

- Air China

- Air New Zealand

- ANA

- Asiana

- Austrian

- Brussels

- Continental

- LOT

- Lufthansa

- SAS

- Singapore Airlines

- Swiss

- TAP

- Thai

- United

However, what carriers have first class and what are they like?  I am deliberately largely ignoring domestic first class in the US in this mix, as it is effectively pitched at where short haul business class is within Asia and Europe.

Air China has first class on all of its Boeing 747s, all of its Airbus A340s, its medium haul Boeing 767s and 777s, and all of its Airbus A319s, A320s, A321s and Boeing 737s and 757s.   It's latest long haul first class product is called Forbidden Pavilion First Class and looks remarkably like United new long haul first class seats.  Fully lie flat pods.   There is AVOD, exclusive catering and free limousine transfers at Shanghai and Beijing.  Beijing and Shanghai have dedicated First Class lounges.

The routes for the new product are:

Beijing to JFK, LAX, San Francisco, Vancouver, Frankfurt, Munich, London Heathrow, Paris CDG, Athens, Rome and Madrid.

Shanghai Pudong to Frankfurt, Paris CDG and Milan.

Short and medium haul first class is also available, primarily on domestic Chinese routes and some medium haul routes around Asia.

Verdict? Air China's new long haul hard product is world class, but soft product doesn't have the finesse of some others.  Short and medium haul first class is simply better than economy.

ANA (All Nippon Airways) has first class only on long haul flights operated by Boeing 747-400s and Boeing 777-200ERs and Boeing 777-300ERs. The routes operated with first class are between Tokyo Narita and:

- Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York JFK ;

- London Heathrow, Paris and Frankfurt.

ANA's long haul first class is widely regarded as exemplary, with fully lie flat beds and the latest incarnation on the Boeing 777-300ERs being private sleeper suites with sliding doors.   It has a dedicated first class lounge at Narita and arrivals lounge as well. ANA's soft product is considered exceptional and is up there with the best.  As the launch airline for the Boeing 787 it will be interesting to see if any of those aircraft get first class.

Verdict? You'll be hard pressed to find a better first class on the routes ANA operates. 

Asiana has first class on all of its Boeing 747s and some long haul Boeing 777s.   Lounge access is shared with business class.

The confirmed routes with first class are between Seoul and:

- Los Angeles and New York JFK

- Tokyo  and

- Frankfurt

However, some of the aircraft may operate medium haul services in Asia with first class sold as business class with preference given to top tier Asiana frequent flyers.

Asiana's long haul first class product is highly competitive, with fully lie flat pods, and a reputation for excellent soft product.   However, it is rolling out a new fully flat bed business class, so it will be interesting to see if it can retain first class on long haul.  It is notable that routes such as London and Paris do not have first class.

Verdict? Asiana's long haul first class is right up to standard, with a soft product to match.  Shame about the lack of routes.

Continental Airlines (now merged with United but still with separate branding, products and flight codes) has a US domestic first class product on all of its Boeing 737s and its Boeing 757-300 fleet.   Consider the seating to be akin to a good long haul premium economy class, and the soft product service likewise.  Continental's domestic first class provides access to the President's Club lounges, which are akin to business class lounges.  Continental has no international first class product.

Egyptair has first class seating on its Airbus A340 and Boeing 777-200ER fleet.  However, the A340 fleet is being replaced with new A330s that do not have first class, and the 777-200ER fleet is being reportedly reduced in scale.  There are no dedicated First Class lounges.  First Class passengers have access to business class lounges.

The routes with Egyptair first class are:

Cairo-Osaka

Cairo-Kuwait

Cairo-Jeddah

Cairo-Riyadh

Cairo-Bangkok

Cairo-Guangzhou

Cairo-Abu Dhabi

However, you should not get too excited about this.  Egyptair first class hard product is not remotely close to world class, it is closer to business class of around 15 years ago.   It consists of recliners in a 2-2-2 configuration.   Soft product involves personalised attention and reasonable catering, but no alcohol.   Consider Egyptair first class as an old fashioned business class product and you'll get the idea.  As Egyptair is introducing a new business class on new A330s and 777-300ERs that surpasses this first class, you can see where first class is heading.

Verdict? If you can get Egyptair first class at prices below that of business class competitors, then it's a good deal, as you'll get excellent personalised service and good quality catering.   However, this isn't even in the same league as business class on most other Star Alliance carriers, let alone first class.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa has its new private fully lie flat first class seats on Airbus A380s, and its full reclining first class on all of its Boeing 747s, all Airbus A330s and some Airbus A340s.  Lufthansa maintains first class on many long haul routes and has a dedicated First Class terminal at its main hub in Frankfurt.   There are also dedicated First Class lounges at Frankfurt and Munich, and 30 Senator lounges accessible only by First Class and Star Alliance Gold customers (not business class).  It has one of the most extensive first class route networks in the world.

Routes with first class are:


To Americas
Frankfurt-Atlanta
Frankfurt-Boston
Munich-Boston
Frankfurt-Buenos Aires
Munich-Charlotte
Frankfurt-Chicago
Munich-Chicago
Dusseldorf-Chicago
Frankfurt-Dallas
Frankfurt-Denver
Munich-Denver
Frankfurt-Detroit
Frankfurt-Houston
Frankfurt-Los Angeles
Munich-Los Angeles
Frankfurt-Mexico City
Frankfurt-Miami
Munich-Montreal
Frankfurt-New York JFK
Munich-New York JFK
Frankfurt-New York Newark
Dusseldorf-New York Newark
Frankfurt-Orlando
Frankfurt-Philadelphia
Frankfurt-San Francisco
Munich-San Francisco
Frankfurt-Sao Paulo
Munich-San Paulo
Frankfurt-Seattle
Dusseldorf-Toronto
Frankfurt-Vancouver
Frankfurt-Washington Dulles

To Africa

Frankfurt-Accra
Frankfurt-Cape Town
Frankfurt-Johannesburg

To Middle East

Frankfurt-Abu Dhabi
Frankfurt-Bahrain
Frankfurt-Dubai
Munich-Dubai
Frankfurt-Tel Aviv
Munich-Tel Aviv

To Asia

Frankfurt-Bangkok
Frankfurt-Beijing
Frankfurt-Chennai
Frankfurt-Delhi
Munich-Delhi
Frankfurt-Guangzhou
Frankfurt-Ho Chi Minh City
Frankfurt-Hong Kong
Frankfurt-Jakarta
Frankfurt-Kolkata
Frankfurt-Kuala Lumpur
Frankfurt-Mumbai
Frankfurt-Nagoya
Frankfurt-Nanking
Frankfurt-Osaka
Frankfurt-Seoul
Munich-Seoul
Frankfurt-Shanghai
Frankfurt-Singapore
Frankfurt-Tokyo Narita

Within Asia
Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh City
Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur
Singapore-Jakarta

Verdict?  Lufthansa soft product is up there with the best including an unbeatable airside experience at Frankfurt.  Hard product on the A380 is also up there, on other aircraft it is a bit dated, being recliner seats that simply recline all the way.   Still it may be the only first class choice on many of these routes and a reasonable one at that.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines has effectively four types of first class product if you count the A380 "Suites" as akin to first class (although the airline says it is "beyond" first).  The private suites with closing doors and dedicated beds (separate from the seating) are only on the Airbus A380.  The "new" long haul first class involves 35 inch wide leather private seats that recline fully into flat beds with 23 inch LCD IFE screens, and are seen on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and are now being retrofitted to some regional Boeing 777-300s.  The other long haul first class involves 22 inch wide flat beds with 17 inch IFE screens and are on the remaining Boeing 747 aircraft.  There is finally a regional first class with recliner sleeper seats for flights within Asia on some Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 777-300 aircraft.  What is impressive is the extent of the medium haul network with first class. 

Singapore Airlines has one of the best soft products around, although the "ground" experience is good it isn't exceptional, although there are always dedicated First Class lounges.

Note not all services on these routes include first class, only those with aircraft listed above.

To Americas (via Asia or Europe)
Singapore-Moscow-Houston
Singapore-Tokyo-Los Angeles
Singapore-Frankfurt-New York JFK
Singapore-Hong Kong-San Francisco
Singapore-Seoul-San Francisco

To Europe
Singapore-Milan-Barcelona
Singapore-Frankfurt
Singapore-Dubai-Istanbul
Singapore-London Heathrow
Singapore-Milan
Singapore-Moscow
Singapore-Munich
Singapore-Munich-Manchester
Singapore-Paris
Singapore-Zurich

To Middle East
Singapore-Dubai

To Oceania
Singapore-Auckland
Singapore-Melbourne
Singapore-Sydney

Within Asia
Singapore-Bandar Seri Begawan
Singapore-Bangalore
Singapore-Bangkok
Singapore-Beijing
Singapore-Chennai
Singapore-Colombo
Singapore-Delhi
Singapore-Hong Kong
Singapore-Hyderabad
Singapore-Jakarta
Singapore-Lahore-Karachi
Singapore-Manila
Singapore-Mumbai
Singapore-Seoul
Singapore-Shanghai
Singapore-Taipei
Singapore-Tokyo

Verdict? The Suites are the best in the business, the rest aren't far behind.   Almost certainly the best first class on any routes it operates.  You'll struggle to get an upgrade on any of these, and not at all in Suites or the 777-300ER.

Swiss

Swiss has been making an effort to put first class on all of its long haul routes.   It has first class on Airbus A340s and most Airbus A330s.   The new first class being rolled out has semi-private suites with sliding doors.  The existing first class still has fully lie flat beds which are as good as most others.  Swiss soft product is impeccably good.  There are dedicated first class lounges at Zurich and Geneva, with limo escort to the plane.

To Americas
Zurich-Boston
Zurich-Chicago
Zurich-Los Angeles
Zurich-Miami
Geneva-New York JFK
Zurich-New York JFK
Zurich-Sao Paulo

To Africa
Zurich-Johannesburg
Zurich-Nairobi-Dar es Salaam

To Asia
Zurich-Bangkok
Zurich-Delhi
Zurich-Hong Kong
Zurich-Mumbai
Zurich-Shanghai
Zurich-Tokyo

To Middle East
Zurich-Cairo
Zurich-Dubai-Muscat
Zurich-Jeddah
Zurich-Riyadh

Verdict? Swiss is one of the best.  Smaller planes than the larger airlines, but excellent service and hard product that outdoes its owner - Lufthansa.  Probably the best first class of any airline in Europe.

TAM

TAM is Brazil's largest airline and a recent joiner of Star Alliance.  It has first class on its Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s.   TAM has been making exceptional efforts to improve its product across the board.   Its hard product has fully lie flat beds in semi-pods, perhaps now to the standard of the latest business class product on Swiss and ANA (which is among the best) and easily to a standard of United in first class.

Sao Paulo- Frankfurt
Sao Paulo- London Heathrow
Sao Paulo- Madrid
Sao Paulo- Miami
Rio de Janiero- New York JFK
Sao Paulo- New York JFK
Sao Paulo- Orlando
Rio de Janiero- Paris CDG
Sao Paulo- Paris CDG

Verdict? One of South America's best airlines, damned good product from the US and well worth considering on the other routes.

Thai Airways

Thai has first class on long haul aircraft only, being Boeing 747s, Airbus A340-600s and Boeing 777-300ERs. Royal First Class is on the A340s and some of the 747s, with fully lie flat bed pods. The other 747s have flat recliners, and 777s have private pods.  Thai has a dedicate first class lounge at Bangkok with a spa, and some other lounges have first class sections.

To Europe
Bangkok-Frankfurt
Bangkok-London Heathrow
Bangkok-Rome-Madrid
Bangkok-Moscow
Bangkok-Munich
Bangkok-Paris
Bangkok-Zurich

To Middle East
Bangkok-Dubai

To Oceania
Bangkok-Brisbane
Bangkok-Sydney

To Asia
Bangkok-Beijing
Bangkok-Hong Kong
Bangkok-Shanghai
Bangkok-Tokyo

Verdict? Thai's soft product is good, hard product is up to standard, especially since the poorer quality recliners are not sold as first class on most routes they are operated on.

Turkish Airlines

Turkish only has first class on its new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The product has new private semi-cabins with fully lie flat beds, and high standard soft product compared to business class.

The only route with first class are:
Istanbul-Bangkok
Istanbul-Hong Kong
Istanbul-New York JFK
Istanbul-Tokyo Narita

Verdict? Worth a shot.  Excellent hard product, soft product probably better up to a good business class.

United
As with Continental, United has first class on many domestic US flights. However, its international product comprises two types of suites, both feature pod like fully lie flat beds. The new product is on all Boeing 747s and Boeing 767s (and now being rolled out on 777s), the older one on international configuration Boeing 777s. Hard product is up to standard, soft product more like a good business class. United has dedicated International First Class lounges.

To Americas
Washington Dulles-Buenos Aires
Washington Dulles-Rio de Janiero
Washington Dulles-Sao Paulo

To Europe
Chicago- Amsterdam
Washington Dulles- Amsterdam
Washington Dulles-London Heathrow-Brussels
Chicago- Frankfurt
San Francisco- Frankfurt
Washington Dulles- Frankfurt
Washington Dulles- Geneva
Chicago-London Heathrow
Los Angeles-London Heathrow
San Francisco-London Heathrow
Washington Dulles- London Heathrow
Washington Dulles- Moscow DME
Chicago-Munich
Washington Dulles-Munich
Chicago- Paris CDG
San Francisco- Paris CDG
Washington Dulles - Paris CDG
Washington Dulles - Rome
Washington Dulles- Zurich



To Asia
Chicago- Bangkok
Honolulu- Bangkok
Los Angeles-Bangkok
San Francisco-Bangkok
Seattle- Bangkok
Chicago- Beijing
San Francisco-Beijing
Washington Dulles- Beijing
Chicago- Ho Chi Minh City
San Francisco-Ho Chi Minh City
Chicago- Hong Kong
Honolulu- Hong Kong
Los Angeles-Hong Kong
San Francisco-Hong Kong
Seattle- Hong Kong
San Francisco- Nagoya
Chicago- Osaka Kansei
Honolulu- Osaka Kansei
San Francisco- Osaka Kansei
Chicago- Seoul
Honolulu- Seoul
Los Angeles-Seoul
San Francisco- Seoul
Seattle- Seoul
Chicago- Shanghai
San Francisco- Shanghai
Chicago- Singapore
Honolulu- Singapore
San Francisco- Singapore
Seattle- Singapore
Chicago- Taipei
Honolulu- Taipei
Los Angeles-Taipei
San Francisco- Taipei
Seattle- Taipei
Chicago- Tokyo Narita
Honolulu- Tokyo Narita
Los Angeles- Tokyo Narita
San Francisco- Tokyo Narita
Seattle- Tokyo Narita
Washington Dulles- Tokyo Narita
Tokyo Narita-Seoul
Tokyo Narita-Singapore
Tokyo Narita-Taipei


To Middle East
Washington Dulles- Dubai
Washington Dulles- Kuwait


To Oceania
Los Angeles-Melbourne
San Francisco-Melbourne
Los Angeles- Sydney
San Francisco- Sydney

Verdict? United's long haul first is a reasonable product, but probably not the best first class on the routes it operates on.

China Airlines returns to New Zealand

Given my parochial interest in aviation down under, it is good to report that, according to Airline Route, China Airlines (Taiwan) is resuming service to New Zealand.

It is extending its 3x weekly Taipei-Brisbane service onto Auckland, via Brisbane, using Airbus A330-300 aircraft.  China Airlines last flew to New Zealand 10 years ago, and Air New Zealand stopped flying to Taiwan over five years ago.

This will be a boon to tourism between Taiwan and New Zealand, but also adds competition on the Trans Tasman Brisbane-Auckland route 3x a week.   What will also be interesting is if this provides another low cost option to travel between Europe and New Zealand.  China Airlines has tended to offer competitive business class through fares on similar routes.

Its A330s are in a two-class configuration, with angled lie flat seats in Dynasty (business) class and AVOD IFE in both classes.

Shanghai Airlines leaves Star Alliance

Shanghai Airlines was originally set up by the Shanghai municipality, and has since received extensive private investment from within China.  Its route network is confined to Asia, with an extensive Chinese domestic network as well as routes to Japan, South Korea and south east Asia.  It joined the Star Alliance in 2007, but as of 1 November 2010 it is no longer a member.   The reason being its impending merger with China Eastern Airlines, a future member of SkyTeam (with routes reaching Europe, the Middle East, North America and Australia).

It will be a minor loss for Star Alliance frequent flyers, given the concentration of domestic services, but it may well have the title of the shortest running Star Alliance member to date.    Its reputation was mixed, with good service in the air by Chinese standards, but poor ground service especially when things went wrong.  For what it's worth, this is the Skytrax rating details, which places it at 3 stars - the same overall rating as all major US carriers.

iPads for entertainment - Finnair

According to Business Traveller, Finnair has announced that it will be launching a trial of supplying iPads (on loan) to some of its premium passengers.   

iPads will be handed to passengers in the Finnair Via Lounge at Helsinki Airport "preloaded with content including newspapers, magazines, films, TV series and games, as well as a bespoke Finnair application designed to gather feedback and ideas for product development."   Given Finnair has been promoting Helsinki Airport as a great hub to fly between Europe and Asia, there is an opportunity for business class passengers on many routes to try this out.   Given Finnair is often the cheapest One World airline in business class between European cities and Asian cities (and indeed Australia codesharing on BA/Qantas for the final hop from Bangkok or Hong Kong to Sydney), it is certainly presenting itself as a different carrier at the premium end of the market.

Furthermore, iPads will also be supplied to Business Class passengers on the Helsinki-Hong Kong route itself in November.   A great trial to determine if inflight entertainment might be better delivered on iPads rather than screens built into the seat. 

A gimmick?  Well maybe not.  iPads will have greater functionality than any airline IFE (In Flight Entertainment) AVOD system, and have two other advantages.  For starters, decentralising IFE reduces the risk that an entire system will freeze or break down.  If an iPad fails, get another one.   Secondly, it could reduce the weight of IFE in premium cabins, by avoiding the wiring and separate boxes for each IFE unit at every seat.   Naturally it would be a nightmare to introduce in economy class, given the size of the cabin, greater chance of theft or damage and the like.   

Still, top marks to Finnair for innovation.  As it has been converting its long haul business class to fully lie flat seats, it is now an excellent economical business class alternative, especially for those earning frequent flyer points and status on One World carriers.   It certainly outdoes its Scandinavian rival SAS.