Champagne, caviar, double beds and showers at 38,000 feet. Who said the golden age of flying was over?
There was a time when simply getting on an airplane was glamorous.
People dressed for it. Champagne came in actual glasses. Meals arrived on china. Nobody boarded in pajama bottoms clutching a neck pillow and a family-sized bag of Doritos.
In the 1950s and ’60s, Pan Am helped turn international flying into an occasion. Passengers wore their Sunday best, flight attendants were impossibly glamorous, and dinner might involve a roast carved at your seat. The introduction of the Boeing 747 in 1970 brought upstairs lounges, cocktail bars and enough space for airlines to get wonderfully carried away.
Then airlines discovered something rather unfortunate… accountants.
Economy became increasingly cramped, Business Class became increasingly comfortable, and First Class began disappearing altogether.
Today, true international First Class is surprisingly rare. But a handful of airlines are keeping the tradition alive, and frankly, they’ve become quite competitive about who can be the most extravagantly ridiculous.
The Best of the Best
Air France La Première — For the Sophisticated
Possibly the most elegant way to cross an ocean without owning the aircraft.
Air France’s newest La Première offers just four suites per Boeing 777-300ER, each with an armchair, a chaise longue that converts into a two-metre bed, and five windows. Five! Most of us are lucky to get one.
Rather than sealing you behind a door, elegant curtains provide privacy. Add Michelin-starred French cuisine, exceptional champagne and wonderfully discreet service, and you have something approaching a Parisian palace in the sky.
Air France also claimed the World’s Best First Class Airline title at the 2026 Skytrax Awards.
And the experience begins on the ground in Paris, with private lounges, personal escorts and chauffeured transfers to the aircraft. Apparently walking through an airport terminal is terribly common.
Singapore Airlines Suites — For the Romantics
Singapore Airlines decided that a reclining seat wasn’t nearly ambitious enough.
Its A380 Suites have separate beds and swivel leather armchairs, sliding doors and an extraordinary amount of personal space. Book two adjoining suites and you can even have a double bed.
A double bed. On an airplane.
Travelling with a lover could be terribly romantic. Travelling alone, I’d simply spread out and enjoy the fact that nobody was stealing the duvet.
The airline’s legendary service and excellent dining make the experience even more appealing. And unlike most hotel rooms, the view changes at 900 kilometres an hour.
Japan Airlines — For the Perfectionists
Japan Airlines has taken a rather different approach to luxury. Less gold trim, more exquisite attention to detail.
Its new Airbus A350-1000 has just six fully enclosed First Class suites, each with an enormous 43-inch television, personal wardrobe, minibar and a seat that transforms into a proper bed.
There’s even room for a companion to join you for dinner. A rather civilised arrangement when you’re enjoying beautifully presented Japanese cuisine, including kaiseki-style meals, somewhere over the Pacific.
But the real luxury is the service. Japanese hospitality is an art form, and JAL seems determined to prove that every tiny detail matters.
It’s luxury without shouting about it. Although, given the price of the ticket, a little shouting might be justified.
Emirates First Class — For the Show-Offs
Emirates doesn’t really do understatement.
On its A380, you’ll find private suites, fabulous champagne, caviar and, most famously, two onboard shower spas.
Do you need a shower while flying between Dubai and London? Absolutely not. Would I schedule my entire morning around having one? Without question.
There’s also an onboard lounge bar shared with Business Class. Because sometimes one needs to leave one’s suite and socialize.
On selected Boeing 777s, Emirates takes privacy even further with fully enclosed suites featuring floor-to-ceiling doors and virtual windows for passengers seated in the middle of the aircraft.
Add Dom Pérignon, Bulgari amenity kits and enough gold trim to make Versailles look restrained, and you’ve got flying at its most gloriously over-the-top.
Lufthansa — For the Traditionalists
Lufthansa understands that First Class should begin long before takeoff.
Its dedicated First Class Terminal in Frankfurt offers excellent dining, comfortable lounges and the delicious possibility of being driven directly to your aircraft in a luxury car.
The airline’s newer Allegris First Class suites take things further, with full-height privacy walls, doors and considerably more personal space. The Suite Plus even offers a double-width space designed for two passengers travelling together.
Personally, I love the idea of someone collecting me from a lounge and delivering me directly to the airplane. Particularly if I never have to hear the words “final boarding call.”
One Small Warning
Before spending the equivalent of a fabulous holiday on a First Class ticket, check the actual aircraft.
Singapore Suites are on the A380. Emirates’ showers are also an A380 indulgence. Japan Airlines’ newest suites are on the A350-1000, and Air France’s newest La Première is on selected Boeing 777-300ERs.
Not every First Class cabin is created equal, and aircraft substitutions do happen.
