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Airlines are increasingly placing premium cabins at the center of their strategy. A growing number of travelers are willing to pay for additional space, enhanced dining, and greater privacy, even on shorter routes. In response, carriers are redesigning cabin layouts and investing substantially in upgraded onboard experiences.
Undoubtedly, a premium air experience is defined by space. With their larger fuselage diameter, Widebody aircraft enable more spacious and flexible premium configurations, creating greater scope for innovation.
This article explores some of the most innovative widebodies currently available and examines how airlines interpret innovation within the operational constraints of aircraft design to elevate the passenger experience.
Defining Innovation In Premium Cabin Design
Airlines offer a range of features under the umbrella term premium. They call it first class, business class, and premium economy, enhancing their appeal with lounge access, increased seat pitch and width, high-quality food such as caviar, baggage allowances, and priority services. These elements are designed to attract passengers by elevating comfort and exclusivity. JetBlue’s Mint, for example, is a really good example of a premium experience that many carriers seek to emulate.
When it comes to innovation, however, genuinely original features in aviation are rare. Let’s face it – we will probably not see a swimming pool inside a plane in the near future… or will we? Recent research focuses on cabin-centric aircraft design, which serves as a starting point for the overall aircraft design process. The future of premium seats is certainly very interesting. As of now, the industry operates under strict constraints, including aircraft weight, safety certification requirements, cabin pressurization, turnaround times, and cost control. This makes experimentation complex and extremely expensive.
Moreover, innovation must ultimately appeal to passengers. Emirates introduced virtual windows in its inner suites on the Boeing 777, replacing physical windows with high-definition screens that display real-time exterior views. While technically inventive, the concept received mixed reactions and could not fully replicate the psychological value of a real window. Perhaps VR is more useful for designing cabins rather than for replacing features in them.
Similarly, Emirates’ onboard shower spas in first class are widely known and undeniably novel. No other airline has widely replicated them. However, many passengers report that they would prefer to shower at their hotel upon arrival rather than allocate flight time to the experience.
True innovation in aircraft seating is not about offering broader access to features that airlines already provide, nor about simple product upgrades or inventive features that passengers don’t need. Rather, innovation lies in combining creativity with development to deliver something genuinely different within existing operational constraints. It requires thoughtful design and additional effort to introduce features that meaningfully enhance comfort and reinforce the premium experience. Here are some of the most innovative widebody premium seats you can book today.
Air France – La Première
Boeing 777-300ER
A finalist in the Crystal Cabin Awards for Innovative Cabin Concepts and ranked among the top ten in the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards for Best Business Class Airline Seats, Air France unveiled in March 2025 an entirely redesigned version of its La Première cabin, representing three years of development and a renewed expression of French luxury.
The new La Première suite is conceived as a private, tailor-made space that blends elegance, comfort, and personalized service. Manufactured in France by STELIA Aerospace, each suite features full-grain leather, soft wool, and carefully selected materials. The layout centers on a wide armchair paired with a chaise longue that converts into a fully flat two-meter bed, allowing the space to adapt seamlessly for dining, working, relaxing, or sleeping. Floor-to-ceiling curtains provide complete privacy, while central suites include an electric divider for shared or individual travel. Side suites benefit from five windows, enhancing natural light and spatial openness.
In a notable design shift, overhead bins have been removed in favor of floor-level storage compartments capable of holding two suitcases, complemented by a dedicated drawer for shoes and a personal wardrobe. During turndown service, a memory foam mattress topper, a plush pillow, and a duvet, supplied by the renowned French bedding manufacturer Dumas Paris, are added to enhance sleeping comfort, transforming the suite into a fully enclosed private bedroom at cruising altitude.
The premium experience extends to dining, where tableware designed by Jean-Marie Massaud and produced by distinguished French manufacturers elevates onboard gastronomy. Limoges porcelain by Bernardaud, cutlery by Christofle, and metalwork by Degrenne, all subtly engraved with the airline’s winged seahorse emblem, reinforce the heritage of French craftsmanship. The La Première cabin is defined by innovation, expressed through design, craftsmanship, and exceptional attention to detail.
The World’s Most Comfortable Widebody Seats You Can Book Today
Top business class hard products of 2025 as per SKYTRAX Airline Ratings.
All Nippon Airways — The Room FX
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
All Nippon Airways, in collaboration with the London-based design firm Acumen Design Associates, has been recognized as a finalist in the Crystal Cabin Awards for its latest business class suite, THE Room FX, and secured third place in the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards for Best Business Class Seat.
Building on the design philosophy of its earlier “THE ROOM” product on the 777-300ER, the new suite, where “FX” stands for Future Experience, introduces a more space-efficient and comfort-focused concept. By combining two seats into a single compact structural frame, the design reduces weight while increasing seating capacity without compromising personal space. Manufactured by Safran Seating, the suite features an innovative mechanism in which the backrest remains fixed while the legrest moves to form a continuous lie-flat surface, creating greater efficiency within the cabin footprint.
Rather than relying on a conventional reclining seatback, THE Room FX introduces what ANA describes as “multi-postural architecture.” The seat transitions smoothly between upright, relaxation, and fully flat modes through coordinated base and backrest articulations, avoiding the backward tilt typical of traditional recline systems. This posture-based approach enables more natural movement and greater ergonomic comfort. Configured in a distinctive 1-2-1 layout across 48 Business Class seats in the 787-9 cabin, the suite offers a generous 103-inch bed length, a seat width of 27 inches at the waist expanding to 41.5 inches at its widest point, and increased personal storage.
By rethinking how passengers sit, recline, and sleep, ANA advances an innovative design philosophy that prioritizes flexibility and spatial efficiency.
Singapore Airlines Suites
Airbus A380
Singapore Airlines has once again set a benchmark for ultra-premium travel with its Airbus A380 Suites, a product that occupies a cabin class of its own. It was ranked second in the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards for Best Business Class Seat and recognized as offering the world’s most comfortable First Class experience. The Suites are considered private rooms at 35,000 feet.
Each suite spans nearly 50 square feet and features a separate full-length bed alongside an adjustable leather swivel chair upholstered by Poltrona Frau, allowing the seat and bed to function independently rather than converting from one into the other. For couples, adjacent suites can be combined to create a genuine double room in the sky, complete with a shared sleeping area that enhances the sense of exclusivity.
Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors and electronic window blinds provide complete environmental control, while the seat swivels up to 270 degrees, enabling passengers to orient themselves towards the window, dining table, or 32-inch inflight entertainment screen. The spatial layout is carefully structured to create distinct zones for sleeping, dining and relaxation, reinforcing the feeling of a self-contained suite rather than a conventional aircraft seat.
The suites incorporate noise-reducing insulation, ambient mood lighting, and capacitive touchscreen controls operated via a handheld wireless tablet, allowing passengers to adjust lighting, seating positions, and request service seamlessly. With a dedicated wardrobe, generous storage, and restaurant-style dining presentation, the A380 Suites blur the boundary between aviation and hospitality, representing an innovative integration of space, privacy and technological refinement.
Qatar Airways QSuites
Boeing 777 / A350)
Qatar Airways QSuite is widely regarded as the benchmark for business-class innovation and was awarded first place for Best Business Class Airline Seat at the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Designed to integrate features traditionally associated with first class into a business class product, QSuite redefined expectations at the time of its launch. Its most notable innovation was the introduction of the industry’s first double bed in Business Class, enabling two adjacent center seats to transform into a shared sleeping space with privacy panels lowered.
Installed in a 1-2-1 configuration across much of the airline’s Boeing 777 and Airbus A350 fleets, the cabin features a distinctive combination of forward- and rear-facing seats that maximizes both privacy and flexibility. Window seats function as fully enclosed private suites with sliding doors and high partition panels, creating individual “mini-rooms” that offer a strong sense of seclusion. In contrast, the center section introduces a level of adaptability previously unseen in fixed premium seating products. Adjustable dividers and movable television monitors allow four adjoining seats to convert into a shared “meeting room” layout around a central table, enabling passengers to dine, collaborate, or socialize together in flight.
This group reconfigurability marked a significant departure from traditional premium cabin design, where isolation was typically prioritized above all else. With a 79-inch fully flat bed, ample personal storage, and the ability to alternate between complete privacy and shared space, QSuite delivers a highly customizable onboard environment. By successfully combining privacy, sociability, and spatial engineering, Qatar Airways established a new standard for innovation in modern aviation.
5 Of The World’s Widest Premium Economy Seats You Can Book Today
This list details the five top-ranking carriers according to their premium economy seats: Delta, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic, Japan and Emirates
Etihad — The Residence
Airbus A380
Etihad Airways | Simple Flying
The Residence by Etihad Airways offers what is effectively a private onboard apartment. Located on the left-hand side at the front of the upper deck of Etihad’s Airbus A380, this ultra-exclusive product occupies approximately 125 square feet and is physically separated from the airline’s First Class Apartments. Although located in the first class cabin, The Residence functions as a self-contained suite, delivering an experience far closer to private aviation than traditional commercial air travel.
Designed for one or two passengers, The Residence comprises three distinct rooms: a living area, a separate bedroom, and a private ensuite bathroom with a shower. The living room provides a comfortable space for dining or relaxation, enclosed by high walls and a door that shields it from the surrounding cabin. Beyond a short corridor lies the bedroom, fully enclosed by a full-height door, featuring a small double bed fitted with a custom-made mattress, natural-fiber bedding, luxury sleepwear, and a full turndown service. While the bed may feel compact for two adults, solo travelers benefit from an exceptional sense of space and exclusivity at cruising altitude.
The private bathroom further distinguishes The Residence from any other commercial first-class product. Equipped with a shower and heated floors, it allows passengers to refresh without leaving their suite. Privacy is paramount, although a discreet peephole in the bedroom door enables crew to verify seatbelt compliance during turbulence, ensuring safety without compromising seclusion.
Upgrade pricing from First Class varies by route. From Abu Dhabi to Paris or Singapore, the supplement has been approximately AED 5,840 (around $1,590 USD), rising to roughly AED 11,720 (around $3,191 USD) on longer routes such as Toronto.
The Residence represents a fundamentally different conception of air travel. It is not merely a seat, nor even a suite, but a spatial reimagining of what can be achieved within the constraints of a commercial widebody aircraft. At one stage, Etihad explored the possibility of introducing an even more ambitious two-storey suite concept on the A380. In the realm of ultra-premium aviation, the boundaries of innovation continue to be tested. One thing is certain — the future of cabin design is very interesting.
