The seat is only part of a luxury flight. The airlines that do the whole trip best also send a car to your door, check you in privately, drive you to the aircraft or give you a shower at 40,000 feet. By that measure Emirates, Air France and Etihad lead in 2026. Singapore Airlines, which Skytrax named World’s Best Airline on 18 September 2026 and whose first class seat won Skytrax’s 2026 seat award, offers less on the ground.
For seat-by-seat detail, see our guides to first class and business class. Facts below are as of 9 October 2026.
The whole trip compared
| Airline | Free chauffeur | Private ground service | First class | Business class door | Onboard extras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Emirates | First and most business fares, selected cities worldwide | First lounges in Dubai | 777 Game Changer, A380 suites | No (from mid-2027) | A380 Shower Spa and bar |
 Air France | La Première, 7 French cities and Dubai | Private check-in, lounge and car to the aircraft at Paris CDG | La Première, Skytrax best 2026 | Yes, newer A350s and refitted 777s | – |
 Etihad | First and some business fares, UAE and selected airports | First lounge in Abu Dhabi | The Residence and First Apartments | Yes, A350-1000 and new 787-9 | Residence with shower |
 Singapore Airlines | No | The Private Room, Changi | A380 Suites, Skytrax best seat 2026 | No (from Q1 2027) | Double Suites |
 Lufthansa | No | First Class Terminal and car to the aircraft, Frankfurt | Allegris First | Front-row suites only | – |
 Qatar Airways | No (paid service) | Al Safwa First Lounge, Doha | A380 only | Yes, Qsuite (not on every aircraft) | A380 onboard lounge |
 Cathay Pacific | No | The Wing, First, Hong Kong | Shrinking, 777 only | Yes, Aria Suite | – |
 Japan Airlines | No | First lounge and entrance, Haneda | A350-1000 suites | Yes, A350-1000 | – |
 ANA | No | ANA Suite Lounge, Haneda | The Suite, 777 | Yes, THE Room | – |
 STARLUX | First, Taipei and selected overseas airports | Huan Yu VIP Terminal, Taipei | 4 doored suites | Not confirmed | – |
 Korean Air | First, Seoul area | First check-in and lounge, Incheon | Limited | – | – |
 British Airways | No | First Wing and Concorde Room, Heathrow | New A380 First due | Yes, Club Suite | – |
 Qantas | No | First lounges, Sydney and Melbourne | A380, then A350 from 2027 | Yes from 2027 | – |
 Virgin Atlantic | No (paid) | Upper Class Wing, Heathrow | None | Yes, A350 and A330neo | The Loft social area |
A dash means nothing notable is documented, not that the airline offers nothing.
How the airlines were ranked
The order is our judgement. It rewards airlines that offer more of the whole trip, across more of their network. The facts come from airline pages, Skytrax’s 2026 awards and, where airlines do not publish details, trade press.
The Skytrax 5-Star rating is a separate measure, an audit of product and service standards. Skytrax’s 5-Star page lists ten airlines: ANA, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, EVA Air, Hainan, Japan Airlines, Korean Air, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and STARLUX. Emirates, Etihad, Air France, Lufthansa, SWISS, BA, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic and Turkish do not hold it.
1. Emirates
One Mile at a Time calls Emirates the only airline offering a free chauffeur “nearly globally, with few restrictions”. Emirates’ terms cover selected cities in every region it serves, for First and for business class on Saver, Flex and Flex Plus fares. Its published example, Washington Dulles, allows up to 50 miles. In North America a First passenger gets a Mercedes S-Class or similar and a business passenger an E-Class or similar; in Dubai business passengers get a BMW 5 Series Touring. The conditions are:
- Book at least 10 hours before the flight.
- Classic reward tickets and upgrades from economy are excluded.
- No service in a city where you connect in under 24 hours.
On the A380, first class has suites with sliding doors and the onboard Shower Spa, and both premium cabins share a staffed onboard lounge bar. On nine 777-300ERs, the Game Changer first class has floor-to-ceiling doors. Emirates business class has no doors until the 777-9 arrives, due by mid-2027.
Emirates has three first class lounges in Dubai. The Concourse C first lounge is closed for an upgrade, and passengers are sent to Concourse B. Free Starlink Wi-Fi is being fitted across the fleet. Skytrax ranked Emirates sixth airline overall in 2026 and fourth for first class.
2. Air France
Air France won Skytrax’s World’s Best First Class for the first time in 2026. La Première passengers get:
- Chauffeur: free in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice and Toulouse, within 80 km of the airport.
- Arrival at CDG: a private check-in lobby and a separate route through security.
- Lounge: an Alain Ducasse menu, a Sisley spa and optional private suites.
- Boarding: a Porsche Cayenne drive to the aircraft.
- Arriving in Paris: an escort to a private lounge with a shower and a meal.
On board, the new La Première on the 777-300ER has four suites of about 3.5 m², each closed by a floor-to-ceiling curtain. Air France’s business seat introduced in 2023 has a sliding door; it is on the newer A350s and refitted 777-300ERs, not the whole fleet. Free Wi-Fi in every cabin is due across the fleet by the end of 2026. See our Paris luxury hotels for where to stay.
3. Etihad
Etihad calls The Residence “the world’s only three-room suite in the sky”. On the A380 it has a living room, a double bedroom and an ensuite shower for up to two guests, and comes with its own team on board, a chauffeur and a private lounge suite in Abu Dhabi. The A380’s nine First Apartments have doors, a separate armchair and an 80-inch bed, and share a shower room.
Chauffeur service is free within the UAE for The Residence, first class and Business Comfort and Deluxe fares. Residence and First Deluxe passengers also get it at selected airports outside the UAE, as do Business Deluxe bookings made from 26 February 2026. Etihad’s A350-1000 and newer 787-9 business class have doors. Etihad’s A380 routes have changed several times in 2026, so check the aircraft for your date.
4. Singapore Airlines
Skytrax named Singapore the World’s Best Airline in 2026 and gave its A380 Suites Best First Class Seat for the second year. Each Suite has a sliding door, a separate bed and armchair, and in the Double Suites a double bed. Suites and First passengers use The Private Room at Changi.
Singapore has no free chauffeur. Its business class seats have no doors until the first refitted A350-900 enters service, which Singapore expects in the first quarter of 2027.
5. Lufthansa and SWISS
Lufthansa’s Frankfurt First Class Terminal is a separate building open only to Lufthansa Group first class passengers and HON Circle members. It has a restaurant, a bar with over 130 whiskies, a cigar lounge, daybed rooms and a full-size bathtub. A car drives you from the terminal to the aircraft, and Lufthansa added 40 SIXT vehicles for these transfers in November 2025. It was Skytrax’s best first class lounge in 2025 and second in 2026.
On board, Allegris First on the A350 has suites with doors and a centre double suite. Lufthansa won Skytrax’s first class catering award in 2026 and in September 2026 said Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame is now its permanent first class champagne. SWISS, part of the same group, has its own Senses First suites on the A350-900 and a First Lounge in Zurich.
6. Qatar Airways
Qatar has the best business class by Skytrax’s 2026 ranking, the Qsuite, which has doors and seats that join into a double bed. It also has the best business class lounge, the Al Mourjan Garden in Doha. Skytrax ranked Qatar second airline overall.
First class is only on the A380, with an onboard lounge for first and business passengers. In Doha the Al Safwa First Lounge has a 250-seat restaurant and a spa with nine treatment rooms. Qatar has no free chauffeur; the Blacklane service it launched in 2017 is paid.
7. Cathay Pacific
Cathay’s The Wing, First lounge in Hong Kong reopened on 22 April 2026 after a redesign and was named Skytrax’s best first class lounge in 2026. It has an atrium bar, a dining room, massage booths and shower suites.
Cathay also won Skytrax’s Best Cabin Crew award in 2026. Its Aria Suite business class has doors. Its first class is shrinking: fewer than ten 777-300ERs still have it, until a new first class arrives on the 777-9, targeted by the end of 2027.
8. Japan Airlines
JAL’s A350-1000 has first class suites with doors and a 43-inch screen, and business class with doors. It flies from Tokyo Haneda to New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, London and Paris. At Haneda, first class passengers have a dedicated entrance and a lounge with a sushi counter run by Sushi Tsurutei.
9. ANA
ANA’s The Suite first class on the 777-300ER has eight suites with sliding doors, and its THE Room business class also has doors. Skytrax ranked ANA fourth airline overall in 2026 and gave it Best Airport Services.
10. STARLUX
STARLUX, based in Taipei, runs its own private terminal for first class: the Huan Yu VIP Terminal at Taoyuan airport, with private customs clearance, a personal assistant, a spa and a gym. First class passengers get one free use per flight, booked three working days ahead. They also get a free chauffeur within the Taipei region, in a Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series or similar, and at selected overseas airports including Singapore and San Francisco (within 50 miles). First class has four suites with sliding doors on the A350.
11. Korean Air
Korean Air gives first class passengers a free chauffeur in the Seoul area, a first class check-in lounge and an escort at Incheon. Its first class lounge reopened on 17 April 2026 at 921 m², with 11 private suites. First class itself is limited: on some flights it is sold as an add-on to a business class booking.
12. British Airways
At Heathrow Terminal 5, BA first class passengers use the First Wing check-in and the Concorde Room, which has waiter service and private dining booths. On 5 October 2026 BA announced a new lounge with a dedicated Concorde lounge, due at the end of 2028.
On board, BA’s new first class suite is due on its first refitted A380 “in the coming months”. Club Suite business class has doors. One Mile at a Time reports that BA offers chauffeurs to first class passengers only occasionally, as a surprise.
13. Qantas
Qantas runs first class lounges in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore. Its Los Angeles first lounge is closed after flooding. Qantas has brought forward the A380’s retirement, and with it the current first class, to 2028. The new Project Sunrise A350-1000 has six first class suites with doors, and its business class has doors too. Sydney to London flights start in October 2027.
14. Virgin Atlantic
Virgin has no first class. At Heathrow, Upper Class passengers check in at the Upper Class Wing and use the Clubhouse, with a brasserie and cocktail bar. The Upper Class Suite has a door on the A350-1000 and A330neo, the A330neo adds Retreat Suites with larger screens, and The Loft is the onboard social area. Virgin ended free Upper Class chauffeurs for bookings made from 1 July 2020; its Addison Lee car service is now paid.
Chauffeur service is now rare
In August 2026 One Mile at a Time wrote that free chauffeur perks in first and business class had decreased significantly over the years.
| Airline | Who gets it | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Emirates | First; business on Saver, Flex and Flex Plus fares | Selected cities worldwide; up to 50 miles in the published Washington example |
| Etihad | The Residence, first, Business Comfort and Deluxe | UAE; Residence, First Deluxe and Business Deluxe also at selected airports abroad |
| Air France | La Première | Seven French cities, within 80 km; Dubai for UAE-issued tickets |
| Korean Air | First | Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon |
| STARLUX | First | Taipei region; selected overseas airports such as Singapore and San Francisco |
 Turkish Airlines | Business, on selected routes | US and Canadian airports only, up to 35 miles |
 Riyadh Air | International business | Riyadh only; up to 50 km per One Mile at a Time |
| Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic | Paid | – |
