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THE difference between an anxiety-inducing long-haul flight and a downright pleasant one comes down to one thing: your seat. And as any seasoned traveller knows, there’s more to it than your mere cabin assignment.

With airlines making significant investments in first- and business-class cabins that focus on more space and more privacy, and even breaking up the business-class cabin into multiple different seat options, the journey really can be half the fun. But the latest seats are only installed on certain planes – which don’t fly every route – so you need to know where to look and what to choose (assuming they’re even available).

These are the best new premium airplane seats to look out for in the months ahead – and details on how to find them.

Lufthansa Allegris

Rather than redesign the front of the plane alone, Lufthansa has rethought its entire interior, from first through economy; the tailored Allegris design is already featured on long-haul A350-900s and is coming soon to the carrier’s new Boeing 787-9s. In business class, the innovative design includes cooling and heating features in the seats and an embedded tablet display (rather than endless buttons) to adjust all the ambient options, such as temperature and seat position. There are also more classic touches including sliding privacy doors, Bluetooth connectivity, wireless chargers and all-aisle access (correcting a common criticism of Lufthansa’s current cabin configuration).

Even within the business-class cabin there is variation. Some seats have additional legroom, while others have longer lie-flat beds; the descriptions of each are available when choosing your specific seat assignment. Some of these options come with ancillary fees: Those in the front row, for instance, have extra space and storage areas, but at an upcharge. No other airline has worked to monetise the business-class cabin in this way before, and the fees will vary depending on the length of the flight, demand and elite status – with some of Lufthansa’s top members able to “upgrade” within business class for free.

If a stratified business class feels overwhelming, look out for Lufthansa’s most luxurious First Class Suite Plus seats, which the airline is rolling out as it takes possession of its latest A350s. They’ll have double beds and ceiling-height walls with sliding doors; measuring about 0.9 m, the seats will be some of the widest in the skies, and when they extend to more than 2 m long as a lie-flat bed, they’re fit for even NBA players. 

Hawaiian Airlines Leihoku suites

On five-hour flights from Phoenix or Los Angeles to Honolulu, passengers in the front of the plane have typically needed to step over their neighbours to get up for a stretch or a bathroom break. Not anymore. The long-awaited Leihoku suites on Hawaiian Airlines’ new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners are laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration, so each seat has direct aisle access; better yet, each is outfitted with sliding doors for privacy. In the centre are couples’ suites that have a partial divider – just in case you need a break from your travel companion.

The seats are highly adjustable, letting you raise the leg rest without reclining the back, for instance. And winging your way to paradise is more practical now, too: The seats add a small closet with a vanity mirror (in addition to a water bottle cubby), plus a do-not-disturb sign and wireless charging pockets by your shoulder. Also new are Hawaiian design flourishes, such as a starry-night skylight feature that alludes to Polynesian wayfinding traditions. If a merger with Alaska Airlines goes through as expected, the seats could come to even longer-haul routes in the next year.

Air India Business Class

The refreshed carrier’s new Airbus A350s, originally destined for Russia’s Aeroflot before they were diverted by sanctions, are light years ahead of its existing business-class product (which can have middle seats in a 2-3-2 configuration). The planes offer sliding doors for privacy, direct aisle access for all passengers, a mattress pad for the fully flat seat, a personal coat closet, and access to a private bar at the back of the cabin. A US$400 million investment to upgrade business class on the A350s is part of the airline’s larger brand overhaul – expect to see these on routes from Delhi to Dubai and to London Heathrow.

American Airlines Flagship Business

American passengers, too, will benefit from sliding privacy doors if they nab a new Flagship Business seat, which will come to freshly delivered Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A321XLR planes in 2025. Because of production delays, the expected routes on the upgraded Dreamliners are still to be determined; the Airbus planes will likely debut first on flights from eastern US hubs to western Europe. By 2026, the new business-class suite should roll out across more of the airline’s long-haul network. These changes will increase the number of premium cabin seats across the fleet by more than 45 per cent.

The features here will be familiar: all-aisle access in either 1-2-1 or 1-1 configurations, ample storage space and large entertainment screens, plus sliding panels in the centre seats that open up so couples can see each other.

 Air New Zealand Business Premier

By next year, Air New Zealand’s ultra-long-haul flights – such as those from New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport to Auckland – will benefit from new suites on retrofitted Boeing 787 Dreamliners. These are a vast improvement over the current flat-bed seats: Instead of facing towards the aisle, they now point towards windows, giving travellers more privacy from people passing in the aisle and an easier view from the window.

Business Premier Luxe seats are also new: Think of them as an even higher-end subset of seats within the business-class cabin. They come with additional legroom, sliding privacy doors and dining seats for companions travelling in the same cabin.

Always innovative in its cabin designs – remember the famous Skycouch, which turns three economy seats into a bed? – Air New Zealand has a fun new feature to look out for in the back of the plane, too, as the airline finally introduces the Skynest concept announced back in 2020. It’s a bunk-bed setup with lie-flat beds that can be booked in four-hour increments – specifically for those who are otherwise cramped in economy.

 Cathay Pacific Aria Suite

One cabin that’s still shrouded in secrecy is Cathay Pacific’s long overdue Aria Suite, a much-buzzed-about rethink of the airline’s first-class cabin that’s expected on the airline’s Boeing 777-300ERs. Anticipated routes and the full slate of amenities have been kept hush-hush, but the expectation from early leaks is that the flat-bed seats will have sliding doors, wireless device chargers and amped-up storage features.

A new partnership means that business class meals are already being designed in partnership with Hong Kong’s Michelin-starred French brasserie Louise and the plant-based Veda by Ovolo. Cathay doesn’t mess around with luxury, and its first-class product already commands plenty of cachet; expect this to be one of the most sought-after ways to fly once the full details are released in the coming months. BLOOMBERG