Transatlantic business class seats: door, aisle and bed compared

A business class ticket across the Atlantic buys a different seat on each airline, and often on each aircraft of one airline. Three things set those seats apart: a door you can close, a way to the aisle that does not cross a neighbor, and a bed that lies flat.

This guide sets them side by side for 20 airlines that fly between the US and Europe, in each airline’s own words, as of November 2026, then adds which US airports each airline flies from nonstop, from our own route table.

Door, aisle and bed

A door. Airlines use the word in more than one way. KLM’s refitted 777s have “a lightweight sliding door”;^{Source 1} Delta One suites on most A350 and A330-900 flights have “full-height doors”;^{Source 2} Virgin Atlantic gives every Upper Class seat “a privacy door or divider”, without saying which aircraft has which.^{Source 3} A page can also call a seat a suite and name no door: JetBlue calls every Mint seat on its A321LR and neo “a private suite with direct aisle access”.^{Source 4}

Direct aisle access. In a 1-2-1 cabin every seat opens onto an aisle. KLM chose that layout for its 777s, “giving all WBC passengers direct access to the aisle.”^{Source 1} In a cabin of pairs, 2-2-2 or 2x2, the window seat’s way out passes the seat beside it.

A flat bed. Most of these airlines say the seat lies flat, and many give its length: from 183 cm on BA’s older Club World seat to “up to 2.2 meters” in SWISS’s newest cabin.^{Source 5Source 6} Some use other words. ITA describes “a backrest that reclines up to 180°”,^{Source 7} and Austrian lists a “Seat with bed function in Business Class.”^{Source 8} Where a page gives no length, the table below says so.

The aircraft. All three depend on it, and the airlines say so. Delta: “Seat configuration may vary depending on aircraft type and size.”^{Source 2} Lufthansa, of its newest cabin: “The layout and availability of seats may vary depending on the aircraft type.”^{Source 9}

The seats side by side

From each airline’s own page, seat map or press release, cited in each row and checked November 2026. “Not stated” means the page cited does not say; it does not mean the seat lacks it. Icelandair does not call Saga Premium business class: its row compares the seat, not the cabin’s name. Cabins vary by aircraft and route. Ask us which aircraft and seat your flight has.

Five seats on the table have all three in the airline’s own words, with the aircraft named: BA’s Club Suite, Air France’s newest seat, KLM’s refitted 777s, Alaska’s 787-9 and Iberia’s New Generation A350. Delta One on its A350s and A330-900s comes close, with doors on most of those flights and direct aisle access at “most” Delta One seats.^{Source 2}

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic

British Airways

BA describes the Club Suite as “Direct aisle access from every seat with a door for enhanced privacy” and “A larger 198cm (6ft 6in) fully flat bed”.^{Source 5} Its factsheet sets the suites “in a 1-2-1 configuration” and lists the aircraft that have them: the A350, “Boeing 777 (all types)”, the 787-8 and the 787-10, with the 787-9 “in progress of installing”.^{Source 10}

The A380 is not on that list. BA’s release of October 5, 2026, says the first refitted A380 will carry “106 Club Suite seats across the full upper deck” and “is expected to enter service in the coming months”; it gives no date.^{Source 28}

BA’s Club World page adds that some of its aircraft have the older Club World seat, which “converts into a 183cm (6ft) fully flat bed”, without naming them.^{Source 5} Our British Airways page has the rest of the cabin.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin states the aisle rule for its whole fleet: “Every Upper Class seat, on every Virgin Atlantic aircraft, has direct aisle access.”^{Source 3} Every seat “converts to a fully flat bed measuring up to 6ft 7in (200cm), with a privacy door or divider so you can rest undisturbed.” Virgin does not say which aircraft has a door and which a divider.

The seat’s width changes with the aircraft. “Upper Class seats are up to 22 inches wide on A330neo and A330-300 aircraft, and 20 inches wide on the A350-1000”, where the seat is “An extra-large window facing seat”.^{Source 3} For the most room, Virgin points to the A330neo: “Selected A330neo aircraft feature six Retreat Suites, including new Window Retreat Suites.” Its own advice: “If you want maximum space and privacy, the Retreat Suite is the configuration to look for when booking.”^{Source 3} More on our Virgin Atlantic page.

Every airline flying nonstop from the US to London, and the US airports it flies from, from our route table:

Our London page carries these routes.

The US airlines

Delta. Delta’s page for travel professionals describes “The Delta One suite experience, featuring full-height doors and privacy dividers between center suite, on most Airbus A350 and A330-900 flights.”^{Source 2} The seat itself is “A 180-degree flat-bed seat, most with direct aisle access”.

United. United describes the Polaris Studio, on its 787-9s with the new interior, as “United Polaris Studio℠ suites that are 25% larger than United Polaris® with privacy doors”.^{Source 11} That line comes from United’s results release for the second quarter of 2026.

American. American’s release calls its Flagship Suite seats “the new first”, and says the Flagship Suite is “featured on the Boeing 777-300ER, premium-configured Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A321XLR aircraft”.^{Source 29} In our experience, American sells the Flagship Suite as first class, so it is not among the business seats compared here.

JetBlue. “Every Mint seat on our A321LR or neo with Mint is a private suite with direct aisle access”, and Mint is “Available on all JetBlue transatlantic flights”.^{Source 4} JetBlue adds that “All Mint seats and suites convert to a fully lie-flat bed”. In our route table JetBlue flies nonstop to London and Paris from Boston and New York JFK.

Alaska. Alaska’s 787-9 brings “Fully lie-flat suites with privacy doors, direct aisle access and spacious lounge-style seating that converts into a true flat bed.”^{Source 12} Its release adds that Reykjavik “will be operated on a 737 MAX 8”, so ask which aircraft flies your route. In our route table, Alaska flies nonstop to London from Seattle.

Air France, KLM and La Compagnie

Air France. Its newest Business seat has “a sliding door that opens onto your aisle”.^{Source 13} Air France’s release introducing its new mattress pad puts it on “a selection of Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A350 aircraft”, with “fully flat beds measuring almost two meters long, with direct aisle access”. Its footnote adds the exception: “all long-haul Business seats have direct aisle access, except for certain seats on the Airbus A330 in a 2-2-2 configuration”.^{Source 14} Our Air France page has its US flights to Paris.

KLM. KLM’s release of June 29, 2023, introduced the 777 seat: “These broader seats have a sliding door ensuring greater comfort and privacy”, and the seat “can recline fully flat to form a comfortable, 198cm-long bed”.^{Source 1} The same release says these Jamco Venture seats “were previously installed in World Business Class aboard KLM’s Boeing 787 fleet”, and that KLM then “teamed up with the manufacturer to further improve the seat”. It gives the sliding door to the 777s; it does not say the 787s have one. KLM’s page for the 787-10 gives “Business Class 1-2-1” and a “Full-flat seat”.^{Source 15} On both the refitted 777s and the 787-10, every seat reaches the aisle; the door is the difference. Our KLM page covers the flights to Amsterdam.

La Compagnie. Its aircraft carry “just 76 seats arranged in a 2x2”, each “Measuring 192 cm in length when fully extended”.^{Source 16} In our route table it flies from Newark to Paris Orly, Milan and Nice.

Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian

Lufthansa Allegris. Lufthansa’s newer cabin comes in “Five different seat types, tailored to different wishes and requirements”,^{Source 17} all of them “with direct access to the aisle, no matter where you sit, thanks to all-aisle access”.^{Source 9} Lufthansa lists it “on board the Airbus A350 from Munich or the Boeing 787 from Frankfurt”, and adds “subject to change”.^{Source 17} Ask which of the five types you are booked into, and whether your flight is an Allegris aircraft at all.

Lufthansa’s A350-900 seat map. Lufthansa’s seat map of its A350-900 with 48 Business seats sets them in pairs: A and C by one window, D and G in the middle, H and K by the other, a 2-2-2 layout. The map adds: “The configuration shown is the one used in most of the Lufthansa aircraft of this type, deviations are possible.”^{Source 18} On Lufthansa, then, “an A350” is not enough: the question is which A350.

In our route table Lufthansa flies nonstop to Frankfurt from 17 US airports and to Munich from 12. Our Lufthansa page has more on both cabins.

SWISS. SWISS flew its first full SWISS Senses flight, Zurich to Boston, on November 20, 2025, on an Airbus A350.^{Source 6} “The new Business Class cabin features 45 seats, all with direct aisle access and all reclinable into a lie-flat bed up to 2.2 meters long.” Travelers choose from “five different seat categories that include compact suites offering additional inflight privacy, all available in either single- or double-seat versions.”^{Source 6} For its long-haul fleet, SWISS describes “flat-bed seats with your own personal screen” and “The modular arrangement of the seats (double and single seats)”.^{Source 19} Our SWISS page has its US flights to Zurich.

Austrian. Austrian’s 787-9 page lists “Direct aisle access in Business Class” and a “Seat with bed function in Business Class”.^{Source 8} It gives no bed length. In our route table Austrian flies nonstop to Vienna from Boston, Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, Newark and Washington Dulles, and seasonally from Los Angeles.

Turkish and the rest of Europe

Turkish Airlines. On the 787-9, Business has “a 1-2-1 seating protocol that ensures 111 cm of legroom and easy access to the aisle for every passenger”.^{Source 20} Its Business Class page, which names no aircraft, lists “Lie-flat seats that open into a 193 cm bed”.^{Source 21} In our route table it flies nonstop to Istanbul from 14 US airports, every airport in the route tables below among them. More on our Turkish Airlines page.

Iberia. The Business seat on Iberia’s New Generation A350 is a “Private booth with direct access to the aisle”, “with your own door”, and the bed is “Fully-flat bed up to 2 metres long”.^{Source 22} Its page gives the door only for that aircraft, not its A330s or other A350s. Iberia flies from the US to Madrid.

SAS. “Settle into a fully flat bed seat in a 1-2-1 configuration, giving every traveler direct aisle access.”^{Source 23} The page names no aircraft and no door. SAS flies to Copenhagen.

ITA Airways. “Each seat has direct access to the aisle,” ITA says, with “a backrest that reclines up to 180°”.^{Source 7} The features it highlights are on its Airbus A350 and A330neo. Its page does not use the word “flat” there, so neither do we. ITA flies to Rome.

TAP, Aer Lingus, Condor and Icelandair. TAP’s seats on its A330 fleet have “Full-Flat recline”,^{Source 24} and Aer Lingus’s A321XLR “16 spacious Thompson Vantage seats that lie fully flat”;^{Source 25} neither page names a door or the aisle. On Condor’s A330neo, “Each seat has direct access to the aisle” and turns into “a 199 cm long bed.”^{Source 26} Icelandair’s Saga Premium, which Icelandair calls its “premium cabin class”, offers “More comfortable seats”, and its page describes no bed.^{Source 27} TAP flies from the US to Lisbon, Aer Lingus to Dublin.

From your airport

These tables join the airlines above to the US airports they fly from nonstop, for 13 US gateways.

From our route table of nonstop flights, for the airlines in this guide. Route table checked October 2026. Routes that begin later are not shown: American JFK–Amsterdam (March 28, 2027), Alaska Seattle–Paris (May 25, 2027) and United Denver–Paris (May 27, 2027); Virgin’s Seattle–London flights resume March 27, 2027. The table names the airline, not the aircraft. Ask us which aircraft and seat your flight has.

From the same route table. Route table checked October 2026. Condor’s Chicago–Frankfurt route, which begins May 14, 2027, is not shown. A seasonal route flies part of the year only. Turkish flies nonstop to Istanbul from every airport in both tables.

How to choose

Our view, for an overnight crossing:

• If a door matters most, start with the seats the airlines state with one: BA’s Club Suite, KLM’s refitted 777s, Delta One on most A350 and A330-900 flights, United’s Polaris Studio, Alaska’s 787-9, Air France’s newest seat and Iberia’s New Generation A350.
• If the aisle matters most, a 1-2-1 cabin answers it, and most of the newer seats in the table state it for every seat. A cabin of pairs, such as the A350-900 on Lufthansa’s seat map or La Compagnie’s 2x2, does not.
• If you travel as two, a pair in a 2-2-2 or 2x2 cabin, or one of SWISS’s double seats, keeps you side by side.
• Whatever you choose, ask which aircraft flies your date. Within one airline, the seat on one aircraft can be a generation older than on another.

If one of these seats is the reason you are choosing an airline, say so in your request. Start from the routes we have fares on now, or read how booking with us works first.