The 10 Most Luxurious Airline Cabins

First class is the only class.

Nov 07, 2012
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If you're like us, you walk the first few rows of an aircraft feeling just a little jealous. Or, maybe even envious. Long haul flights would be a whole lot better with extra leg room and some width in the seat.

However, there are times when airline travel goes beyond normal bounds of comfort and gets straight ridiculous. Do we really need built in massagers and jump seats for dinner guests on a 13-hour flight? Of course we fucking do! We deserve it! 

Next time you're day dreaming a flight away, cramped in the middle between two folks who should have (sorry to be rude, folks) copped two seats, think about your future—when you've made it and will be traveling in high style in one of the world's most luxurious first class cabins.

Related: The 10 Worst People To Sit Next to on a Plane

10. Thai Airways

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Plane(s): Airbus A340 and Boeing B747

We begin with Thai Airways, which features the Royal First Class experience. As all quality classy tickets do these days, Thai gives you a 180-degree flat bed with all the entertainment and power connections you would need. Personal attention comes from an extremely detailed and dedicated flight crew that will even creepily tuck you in at night as you drift into dreams about giant 100 Grand candy bars. 

9. British Airways

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Plane(s): Boeing 747 and 777

Two-tone leather seats aren't just something you find in high-end custom cars anymore. British Airways offers them in a plush variety for their first class flights. One of the most unique features of all these airlines, though of somewhat insignificance, is the electronic two-window shade. Instead of having that stupid plastic shades over one tiny opening, you have an illuminated blind like something you'd have in your own house. It provides a much warmer stay. 

8. Jet Airways

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Plane(s): Boeing 737

The Jet Airways first class cabin is all privacy everything. You've got sliding doors to sleep in peace, you've got a personal lighting and air system, and personal wardrobe. Though, we're not exactly sure why you'd wear an airlines clothes.

7. Lufthansa Airlines

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Plane(s): Boeing 747

Lufthansa is unique in that each ticket buys you a seat and a separate bed. There are no awkward seat-to-bed transformations that leave metal rods sticking into your shoulder blades or that push your hips higher than the rest of your body. When you're finished watching one of the numerous entertainment options, you stand up and lie right back down. No hassels with Lufthansa. 

6. Qantas Airlines

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Plane(s): Airbus A380

We've made the trip from L.A. to Sydney in a coach on Qantas. The seats weren't bad, but for people over six feet, there's always a desire for more room, and after seeing what the first class cabin has to offer, we're wishing we had sold our kidneys for some extra cash. Every suite has its own control module that allows you to configure everything around you with the touch of a finger, including every possible angle of your sheepskin-covered mattress.

5. Virgin Atlantic Airways

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Plane(s): Airbus A330

There's Virgin's Upper Class Seat. And then there's Virgin's NEW Upper Class Seat. If you care about style, you're going to want to go with the new model. The first class cabin gives you a 7'2" bed and 12-inch TV and wraps you in a comfortable space that feels like an interior designer hand-picked the materials with you.

4. Cathay Pacific Airways

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Plane(s): Boeing 747 and 777

Feeling lonely in your personal first class space? No worries, Cathay's gigantic individual cabins are big enough to comfortably seat a guest for a lovely conversation about how you just bought a gold-plated toothbrush and built your pure-bred husky a seven-room doggy mansion.

3. Emirates Airlines

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Plane(s): Airbus A380

On a normal flight, the bathroom is the last place any person wants to go. If you have to, you try to be the first person in before it starts to smell like weird combinations of burnt airport breakfast and last night's broccoli casserole. It ain't like that on a classy Emirates flight. In the A380, we might actually spend the entire flight in the restroom, purely because we'd want to experience the novelty of our own in-flight shower. Yep, you can take that extra 15 minutes to sleep in before you scrape yourself out of bed for that early flight, because you'll find a solo stream all for your comfort with your Emirates purchase. And when you're done rinsing off, you've got two different types of specially-chosen spa kits to complete your stay.

2. Etihad Airways

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Plane(s): Airbus A340, Airbus A330, and Boeing 777

A Diamond First Class ticket with Etihad gets you a 23-inch screen, a mini bar, and a massager all built into your personal cabin. Twenty-three inches on an airplane! That's big enough to identify every individual sprinkle that Alison Brie is licking off this ice cream cone.

1. Singapore Airlines

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Plane(s): Boeing 777

The day has finally come: Airplane suites are bigger than our Manhattan bedrooms. Singapore Airlines unveiled their jaw-dropping new private suites in their A-380 planes. Your $16,000 purchase will give you a 23-inch LCD TV screen, premium skincare products and toiletries, an Italian Poltrona Frau-upholstered 35-inch wide seat, a six-foot-six bed, a convertible two-person table/desk, high-quality meals, and top-tier service. Aside from a private jet, this is truly the ultimate way to fly.

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