The Best First Class Airlines in the World (2026 Ranking)

Air France has the best first class in the world in 2026. It is the only airline that both the Skytrax World Airline Awards and One Mile at a Time (OMAAT), an independent reviewer who has flown every product he ranks, put at number one this year.

Singapore Airlines and Emirates tie for second on average. Singapore takes the spot because AirlineRatings.com, the third major ranking, named its Suites the world’s best first class for 2026 and put Emirates among its runners-up.

This page ranks each airline by its average position across the two full 2026 top-10 lists, as of September 2026. For each one, you also get the aircraft to book, because first class on the wrong plane can be a very different product.

1. Air France

Air France won the Skytrax World’s Best First Class Airline award for 2026. It also won World’s Best First Class Lounge Dining and World’s Best First Class Comfort Amenities, and was named the best first class airline in Europe.

One Mile at a Time ranks it first too. The new La Première cabin arrived in 2025 on the Boeing 777-300ER, and it is a single row of four seats in a 1-2-1 layout.

There are no doors. Each seat has floor-to-ceiling curtains instead, plus two entertainment screens, wireless charging and Bluetooth audio. Every plane with the new cabin has free Starlink Wi-Fi.

Why is it number one when rivals have bigger suites? The food, the service and the ground experience in Paris are all at the top of the field, so there is no weak link. The catch is price: OMAAT calls Air France first class the world’s most expensive, on average, by a wide margin.

2. Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines finished second with Skytrax and fourth with OMAAT. It wins the tie with Emirates because AirlineRatings named its Suites the world’s best first class for the second year running.

The Suites fly on the Airbus A380, with just six of them on the upper deck, in three rows of two. Each one is a small room with a separate armchair and bed, and two suites can be joined into a double for couples.

Skytrax voters named it the World’s Best First Class Airline Seat for 2026. You can also “Book the Cook” before departure and choose from a much larger menu than the one served onboard.

The one weakness is the bed itself. OMAAT’s criticism is that the space is huge but the bed is not particularly big, which is why it sits below Air France and Emirates on his list.

3. Emirates

Emirates ranks second with OMAAT, fourth with Skytrax, and is an AirlineRatings runner-up. Skytrax also named it the best first class airline in the Middle East and second in the world for its seat.

The suite to book is on the Boeing 777-300ER, introduced in 2017. Emirates was the first airline with truly enclosed first class suites, walled in floor to ceiling, with lighting and temperature controls inside.

The service matches the hardware: free-flowing Dom Pérignon, a dine-on-demand menu and unlimited caviar. On the A380, the seat is less impressive, but you get an onboard shower and a bar instead.

4. Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines has arguably the most impressive new first class seat flying. OMAAT ranks it third, Skytrax seventh, and Skytrax voters rated its seat fourth and its amenities third.

It flies on the Airbus A350-1000, which JAL introduced in 2024. The cabin has only six seats in a 1-1-1 layout, and each suite is wide enough to seat two people on the couch and a third on the ottoman.

The tech list is long: a 43-inch 4K screen, Bluetooth audio, headrest speakers, a tail camera and free Wi-Fi. You even choose between a firm and a soft mattress pad.

5. Lufthansa

Lufthansa is the biggest mover between the two lists. Skytrax voters put it third in the world and gave it the award for the World’s Best First Class Onboard Catering, while OMAAT ranks it ninth.

The product to book is Allegris First, which started rolling out in 2024 on new Airbus A350-900s. It has one row of three suites, and the center suite seats up to two people, making it one of the most spacious beds in first class.

Be careful when you book. Allegris First is only on Munich-based A350s, and Lufthansa’s first class on the Boeing 747-8, Airbus A340-600 and A380 is an older, more dated product.

Lufthansa’s Frankfurt first class lounge also finished second in the world on Skytrax, and first in Europe.

6. Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific ranks fifth with Skytrax and seventh with OMAAT. Its Hong Kong lounge, The Wing, won the Skytrax award for the World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge in 2026.

First class flies only on select Boeing 777-300ERs, with six seats in a 1-1-1 layout. The seats have no doors, but they are angled away from the aisle, and the bed is one of the widest and most comfortable in the sky.

Book it soon if you want it. Cathay is refitting these jets with its new Aria Suite business class and removing first class in the process, and an all-new first class is expected on its Boeing 777Xs.

7. SWISS

SWISS finished sixth with Skytrax and eighth with OMAAT. Its new first class, part of the SWISS Senses cabins, arrived in late 2025 on newly delivered Airbus A350-900s.

The seat is modeled on Lufthansa Allegris: two window suites and a double suite in the middle, which a solo traveler can reserve at no extra cost. OMAAT gives SWISS the edge over Lufthansa for one small reason, individual air nozzles at each seat.

The older SWISS first class on the Boeing 777-300ER is a different product. The retrofit of the rest of the long-haul fleet has not started yet.

8. ANA All Nippon Airways

ANA ranks sixth with OMAAT and eighth with Skytrax, whose voters also rated its seat fifth in the world. It flies first class on part of its Boeing 777-300ER fleet, with privacy doors and large screens.

The soft product is what sets it apart: Krug champagne, free Wi-Fi, excellent amenities and very good Japanese food and service. ANA’s first class on its small Airbus A380 fleet is nearly as good, according to OMAAT.

9. Etihad Airways

Etihad is the biggest disagreement in this ranking. OMAAT puts it fifth and AirlineRatings named it a runner-up for best first class, but it is missing from the Skytrax top 10, where it only appears eighth for its seat.

Its A380 First Apartments give each passenger the second-most floor space of any first class, after Singapore. Etihad was also the first airline with a single-aisle first class cabin on the A380, and there is an onboard shower.

The trade-off is design. OMAAT points out that the seat does not recline very far and the bed is not large, and the A380 only flies a handful of routes from Abu Dhabi, such as London and Toronto.

Above first class sits The Residence, a three-room suite with a living room, a bedroom and a private bathroom with shower. You book it as a cash upgrade from a first class ticket bought directly from Etihad, space permitting.

10. Qantas

Qantas takes the last place on a Skytrax tiebreak. Skytrax ranked it ninth, and OMAAT named it the first airline just outside his top 10.

Today’s Qantas first class flies on the A380, and its Sydney first class lounge ranked seventh in the world on Skytrax. The bigger story is coming: a new first class suite with a door on its Project Sunrise A350-1000s, with six first class seats per plane.

Those jets are built for nonstop flights from Australia to London and New York, among the longest flights in the world. The first delivery slipped by about four months to April 2027, so this ranking is likely to move once they fly.

Just outside the top 10: Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways is tenth on both lists, which gives it the same 10.0 average as Qantas. It drops out on the Skytrax tiebreak.

Its only long-haul first class is on the A380, with eight seats in two rows and a bar on the upper deck. OMAAT’s view is that Qatar’s own Qsuite business class is so good that first class barely feels different, and a new first class is planned for its Boeing 777Xs.

OMAAT’s next picks after Qantas are Thai Airways and Korean Air. Korean Air also appears in the Skytrax top 10 for first class seats and lounges.

Which airline has the best first class in the US?

No US airline makes the list, and after this year none will have a true international first class at all. American Airlines is the last one, and it is ending Flagship First.

American will stop selling Flagship First on its Boeing 777-300ERs for travel from November 19, 2026. First class on its transcontinental Airbus A321Ts ends for travel from March 28, 2027.

The refitted 777s swap eight first class seats and 52 business seats for 70 Flagship Suite business class seats with sliding doors. In 2022, then commercial chief Vasu Raja said first class would go “for the simple reason that our customers aren’t buying it.”

The “first class” on US domestic flights is a different thing: the front cabin on planes that have no business class, not a suite. JetBlue’s new BlueFirst domestic first class is the latest version of it. For what the international version actually costs, see our breakdown of how much first class costs.

Is first class disappearing?

It is shrinking, not dying. Garuda Indonesia and Oman Air have more or less eliminated first class, Cathay Pacific is removing it from refitted 777s, and American is ending it.

The reason is the same everywhere: business class seats now have doors and flat beds, so fewer people pay the premium for the cabin above. Several first class cabins on this list also live on the A380, and only ten airlines still fly it, as our look at the airlines still flying the A380 shows.

The airlines that keep it are betting bigger. Air France, Lufthansa and SWISS have launched new first class since 2024, Qantas is adding a new first suite on the A350-1000, Qatar and Cathay plan new first class on the Boeing 777X, and Emirates plans to fit its enclosed suite there too. Fewer airlines will sell first class, but the ones that do will sell a better product.