Five Airlines Offer First-Class Sleep in Business Class
A report highlights five airlines whose business class cabins provide a sleeping experience rivaling first class, focusing on seat design and bedding
Business class has largely become the top-tier cabin for many airlines, often closing the gap with first class, especially for sleeping. Several carriers have innovated their business class products to deliver a night's rest that closely matches the front of the plane, despite typically offering less substantial bedding and dealing with cramped footwells in many modern seat designs.
All Nippon Airways' The Room
All Nippon Airways (ANA) introduced 'The Room' business class in 2019. Based on the Safran Fusio seat, it occupies the entire width of its suite. However, the original version has a bed length of 72 inches, which can be cramped for taller passengers despite a suite pitch of 53.5 inches. The bedding includes two pillows, a mattress pad, and a duvet.
ANA has unveiled an updated version, 'The Room FX', for its Boeing 787-9 aircraft in 2026. The major change for sleep is an increased maximum bed length of 76.5 inches, making it more competitive with other leading business class seats.
Lufthansa's Extra Long Bed
Lufthansa's Allegris business class, a custom seat model, offers an 'Extra Long Bed' seat type. These solo seats in the center of the cabin feature a bed length of 86 inches, which the report calls the longest in the industry. The carrier charges extra to select these seats, as it does for most Allegris seat types except the 'Classic'.
The Allegris cabin is being installed on Lufthansa's Airbus A350s, Boeing 747-8s, 787s, and future 777-9s, and on SWISS's A330s, A350s, and 777s. However, Lufthansa's Boeing 747-8s do not appear to offer the 'Extra Long Bed' seat due to their center row configuration.
Riyadh Air's Premium Statement
New airline Riyadh Air has selected the Safran Unity seat for its business class. The report states the seat is significantly more spacious than prior staggered models, with a wide footwell, high suite walls, and doors for privacy. Riyadh Air pairs the seat with two pillows, a high-quality duvet, and a substantial mattress pad, earning praise for its bedding quality.
Qatar Airways QSuite Excellence
Qatar Airways' QSuite is one of the world's best business class products. The report highlights its excellent bedding quality, which includes two pillows, a mattress pad, and a duvet, with passengers allowed to keep the small pillow. The nearly nine-year-old seat design also debuted the first business class double bed in center honeymoon suites. A key catch is that QSuite is not on a majority of the airline's fleet, which features eight different business class seat products.
United Polaris Focus on Sleep
United Airlines' Polaris business class, introduced in 2016, uses the Safran Optima seat designed for efficiency. The report states sleep was a key focus during its introduction. United partners with Saks Fifth Avenue for bedding, offering a larger selection than most airlines: a plush pillow, a cooling gel pillow, a duvet, a day blanket, and a thick mattress pad. The bed is long and the footwell spacious, with good privacy despite lacking doors on the original seat. United now offers an updated Polaris seat on its latest Boeing 787s with suite doors and a front-row 'Polaris Studio' product with an ottoman.
