These airlines are dream tickets – carriers that offer the very best cabins and customer service, according to Britons.
They were voted into the top five places in a ranking unveiled this week of long-haul carriers, the list the result of a Which? Travel survey.
These pictures of their cabins show why they hold flyers spellbound, with some resembling hotel rooms.
They feature double beds, showers, enormous TV screens and passengers in them enjoy dining worthy of a gourmet restaurant.
Scroll down for a portfolio of plane-ly phenomenal seats and suites.
Which one is your favourite? Head to the comments…
NO.1 – SINGAPORE AIRLINES
Singapore Airlines comes top of the long-haul ranking, scoring five stars for customer service, boarding, cleanliness and cabin environment. Above – the carrier’s Suites class
The airline receives four stars for seat comfort, food and drink and value for money. Above – Suites class
Flight expert and YouTuber ‘Nonstop Dan’ told MailOnline Travel that he was ‘blown away’ by the Suites experience (above)
Singapore Airlines comes top of the long-haul ranking, scoring five stars for customer service, boarding, cleanliness and cabin environment.
The airline receives four stars for seat comfort, food and drink and value for money.
The carrier is No.1 thanks to an overall customer score of 81 per cent.
Singapore Airlines’ halo comes, no doubt, partly from its incredible first class and ‘Suites’ cabin, the latter featuring a double bed.
Flight expert and YouTuber ‘Nonstop Dan‘ told MailOnline Travel that he was ‘blown away’ by the Suites experience.
Suites-class seats are on the top deck of the A380 and number just six, with Dan describing his berth as ‘beyond incredible’ and ‘unlike anything else in this category’.
In a video he documents the welcome Dom Perignon fizz (from a $300/£230 bottle); the ‘as good as it gets’ Bang and Olufsen headphones; a chair that swivels around to face the outside; the detachable tablet that controls the entertainment system; the plethora of ports including an HDMI charging slot; the plentiful storage that includes a full closet by the suite entrance, complete with hangers; the ‘massive’ tray table; and, of course, the seat that transforms into a bed.
This, he says, comes with two incredibly plush pillows and a sleek cover, though he notes that the bed is ‘surprisingly hard… South-East Asian style’.
NO.2 – ETIHAD AIRWAYS
Etihad Airways scores five stars for booking process and four stars for customer service, boarding, food and drink and cabin environment. Above – first class
Etihad scores three stars for cleanliness and value for money
Above is Etihad’s Residence. It features a private lounge, an ensuite shower and toilet, and a separate bedroom with a double bed
The Residence double bedroom. The cabin was created by London-based Acumen Design Associates
Above is Etihad’s business class. The carrier comes second thanks to a customer score of 78 per cent
Etihad Airways scores five stars for booking process and four stars for customer service, boarding, food and drink and cabin environment.
It scores three stars for cleanliness and value for money.
It comes second thanks to an overall customer score of 78 per cent.
Last year, MailOnline Travel experienced its Residence cabin, an A380 ‘hotel suite in the sky’.
It features a private lounge, an ensuite shower and toilet, and a separate bedroom with a double bed.
Our review said: ‘The Residence – designed by London-based Acumen Design Associates – is seat 1A and it’s located at the very front of the top deck of the aircraft – a supersized, upgraded version of Etihad’s already very-enticing-indeed first-class cabin.’
NO.3 – EMIRATES
Pictured above, Emirates’ first class, premium economy, business class (second from bottom) and economy (immediately above)
Emirates scores five stars for booking process and cabin environment, and four stars for customer service, boarding, seat comfort, food and drink, and cleanliness.
It scores three stars for value for money.
Emirates recently unveiled its first-ever Airbus A350 – the first new aircraft type to join Emirates’ fleet since 2008.
One of the noteworthy features of the plane is a new generation of antennae that will ‘significantly improve inflight connectivity’. Emirates claims that thanks to this technology, a ‘first in aviation history’, customers will enjoy uninterrupted global Wi-Fi coverage across all destinations, including over the North Pole for flights going to the Americas.
The cabins are divided into three classes accommodating 312 passengers in 32 ‘next-generation’ business-class lie-flat seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, 21 premium economy seats and 259 ‘generously pitched’ economy-class seats in a 3-3-3 pattern.
In first class on the Emirates 777 and A380, passengers can indulge in unlimited caviar, served with a mother-of-pearl spoon and paired with Dom Perignon vintage Champagne. And freshen up in a shower suite.
NO.4 – QANTAS
Qantas scores four stars for customer service, booking process and boarding. Above – first class
It scores three stars for seat comfort, food and drink, cleanliness and cabin environment
The Australian carrier dips to two stars for value for money. Above – the A380 lounge
In late 2025/2026, Qantas will fly passengers non-stop from Sydney to New York and London. Above – business class
The non-stop flight program – dubbed ‘Project Sunrise’ – will use a fleet of 12 Airbus A350-1000s that will ‘overcome the tyranny of distance’. Above – premium economy
Above is the Qantas A380 economy class cabin
Qantas scores four stars for customer service, booking process and boarding.
It scores three stars for seat comfort, food and drink, cleanliness and cabin environment.
But the Australian carrier dips to two stars for value for money.
In late 2025/2026, Qantas will fly passengers non-stop from Sydney to New York and London.
The non-stop flight program – dubbed ‘Project Sunrise’ – will use a fleet of 12 Airbus A350-1000s that will ‘overcome the tyranny of distance’, with passengers on the flights – which will take around 20 hours – enjoying cabins with ‘the most sophisticated and thoughtful design of any airline’.
Key to the cabin design, says Qantas, is giving passengers more space, by configuring the A350s to seat 238 passengers compared to the 300-plus seat layout featured by other carriers.
NO.5 – VIRGIN ATLANTIC
Virgin Atlantic scores four stars for customer service, booking process and boarding, then three stars for the rest of the categories – seat comfort, food and drink, cleanliness, cabin environment, and value for money. Above – the business class Retreat Suite
Swanky: Pictured above is the ‘regular’ business-class seat on the Virgin Atlantic A330neo
Virgin Atlantic’s premium economy, which MailOnline Travel rated five out of five
The full Which? ranking, which placed Jet2.com top of the short-haul table
Virgin Atlantic scores four stars for customer service, booking process and boarding, then three stars for the rest of the categories – seat comfort, food and drink, cleanliness, cabin environment, and value for money.
MailOnline Travel put the carrier’s business class (the ‘Retreat Suite’) and premium economy cabins to the test earlier this year on A330neo flights between London and New York
The pros we listed for the Retreat Suite: ‘Vast volumes of space; luxury seat; epic 27-inch entertainment screen; decent headphones; high levels of privacy; plenty of storage; starters, dessert and afternoon tea very good; The Loft lounge is great; superb crew; brilliant aircraft that’s quiet and smooth.’
We gave business class 4.5 out of 5, but premium economy five out of five, describing it as ‘very comfortable with an excellent entertainment screen and impressive meals’.
The crew in both directions were ‘superb’.