The pinnacle of commercial aviation travel is international first class, the cabin where airlines offer passengers their largest seats with the best onboard catering and their most exclusive ground experience. Some airlines are removing first class to focus instead on business class, which has become almost as good in recent years, but the carriers that are committed have focused on offering the cabin as an exclusive luxury experience for the ultra-wealthy, with high price tags to match.

The Pacific separates Asia and Australia from North America. These three regions are large, wealthy areas with high business travel and no shortage of high-net-worth individuals seeking the most premium travel experience that one can buy short of flying private. While there remain some airlines that are firmly committed to offering first class, these tickets remain far from accessible, costing thousands of dollars. Of course, you can use miles, either with an airline’s frequent flyer program or through a partner, but first class tickets can still cost hundreds of thousands of miles.

Across The Pacific With Star Alliance Airlines

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Commercial aviation today is defined by partnerships, joint venture agreements, and alliances, with Star Alliance being the largest airline alliance today. There are currently three Star Alliance members offering first class on transpacific flights, which are Air China, All Nippon Airways(ANA), and Singapore Airlines, but Singapore Airlines only sells first class on a single route from Singapore to Los Angeles via Tokyo Narita. One-way first class prices on this route go for at least $11,000 when flying the full route, and over $9,000 if flying just between Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Air China serves New York-JFK, Los Angeles, Washington-Dulles, and San Francisco non-stop from its hub in Beijing Capital International Airport, along with Toronto and Vancouver in Canada. It uses the Boeing 747-8 and 777-300ER on its North American routes, and first class prices on its routes vary little. A typical one-way first class ticket to the US on Air China will typically cost upwards of $14,000 on the shorter route to Los Angeles, while a ticket to the US East Coast will climb to nearly $16,000.

ANA only offers first class on its Boeing 777-300ER fleet, the majority of which has been retrofitted with its most recent ‘The Suite‘ product. The 777-300ER is flown from Tokyo-Narita and Tokyo-Haneda to San Francisco and Chicago O’Hare, and also operates the route from Tokyo-Haneda to New York-JFK. Again, one-way first class prices are typically priced between $14,000 and $16,000, although these can sometimes be more expensive than round-trip tickets, which can be priced slightly over $9,000.

Flying Transpacific With SkyTeam

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The SkyTeam alliance members offering first class across the Pacific Ocean are Korean Air and China Eastern. China Eastern sells a first class cabin on its Boeing 777-300ERs, which it uses to serve New York-JFK, Toronto, San Francisco, and Los Angeles from Shanghai-Pudong. In addition, China Eastern operates the 777-300ER on its route to Los Angeles from Harbin, and on its fifth-freedom route from Shanghai to Buenos Aires via Auckland. Prices on these routes tend to range between $9,000 and $11,000 one-way, while round-trip prices hover close to $18,000.

Korean Air offers its ‘Kosmo Suites’ on its Airbus A380, Boeing 747-8i, and 777-300ER fleets, with the 747 and 777 featuring an updated ‘Kosmo Suites 2.0’. In the US, these aircraft fly to Los Angeles, Chicago-O’Hare, New York-JFK, Atlanta, and Washington-Dulles. Prices for one-way tickets vary from over $5,000 to over $16,000, while a round-trip fare is usually priced between $9,000 and $24,000. There is strikingly little variation by route or date, but the price differences instead are largely down to the origination airport.

Airlines often price tickets on the same city-pair differently depending on your city of origin. This applies for round trip tickets and one-way fares. Korean Air, for instance, offers significantly lower prices if you originate in Seoul, roughly $5,000 for one-ways and over $9,000 on round-trip tickets, while pricing trips that originate in the US closer to the $16,000 price for one-way tickets and the $24,000 mark for round-trips.

Examining The oneworld Airlines

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American Airlines is the last US carrier to offer an international first class, available on its routes from Dallas/Fort Worth to Tokyo-Haneda and from Los Angeles to Sydney, in addition to select routes to Europe and South America. Across the Pacific, first class is also offered by Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. Qantas only sells first class on its Airbus A380 fleet, which flies from Sydney to Los Angeles and Dallas/Fort Worth. First class fares on these vary from $14,000 to nearly $20,000, while round-trip tickets can exceed $30,000.

Cathay Pacific offers first class on its four-class 777-300ER fleet, which is used to serve Los Angeles and New York-JFK in the US. One-way fares typically vary from just over $12,000 to over $21,000, while round-trip tickets vary from $20,000 to roughly $36,000 on these two routes. While Cathay Pacific has a substantial North American presence, most of its routes are served by the Airbus A350. Meanwhile, the carrier’s routes to Vancouver and San Francisco are flown by its three-class 777s.

JAL sells international first class on its A350-1000 and 777-300ER fleets, which serve San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago-O’Hare, and New York-JFK. One-way fares for first class on these routes vary from $12,000 to over $20,000, while round-trip tickets are often priced between $19,000 and $37,000. Meanwhile, American Airlines often charges much lower prices on its Dallas/Fort Worth to Tokyo-Haneda route, while closely matching Qantas’s first class prices on its route from Los Angeles to Sydney.

The Non-Aligned Airlines Offering First Class

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Worldwide, first class is only available on a select number of large, established long-haul airlines, many of which are part of an airline alliance. Across the Pacific, the only non-aligned airline that offers first class is the new Taiwanese carrier, STARLUX Airlines. It only commenced operations in 2020, initially using the Airbus A321neo, but has since added the A330-900 as well as both variants of the A350. STARLUX offers first class on both A350 variants, and while it’s reportedly seeking oneworld membership, it remains an independent airline for now.

STARLUX currently deploys its A350s to Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ontario, and Phoenix. Although it is a new airline, its first class pricing remains high, with one-way fares ranging from $9,000 to over $10,000, while round-trip tickets are priced between $14,000 and $17,000 on these routes. Because STARLUX has limited partnership agreements, the only practical way to book an award ticket is with the carrier’s own loyalty program.

The carrier offers a luxurious ground experience for first class passengers, and its onboard service is also significantly upgraded from business class. However, the seats themselves are the same Collins Aerospace Elements seats that the carrier uses for business class, but with additional space, higher walls, larger screens, and an ottoman. There are only four seats, all located in one row, and there is no wall or curtain to separate first class from business class.

The Global Trend With First Class Prices

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Worldwide, many airlines have removed first class over the past few decades, while some have committed to retaining the cabin. Those who generally keep their cabins small, while investing in more innovative seats and offering an enhanced ground experience to further differentiate first class from business class. Business class is generally considered good enough for almost everyone, which has resulted in airlines positioning first class as an exclusive luxury experience.

The result, however, is that first class ticket prices are as expensive as ever. Demand as a whole is generally limited for these expensive experiences, and part of the appeal comes from the exclusivity. By restricting supply to just four or six seats per aircraft, this increases demand while also allowing airlines to charge more for each seat, which improves margins. However, first class can still be a difficult cabin financially because the seats take up significantly more floor space than a business class seat, and the onboard service/ground experience can be extremely costly.

But besides just attempting to make money with the cabin, airlines also benefit from using first class cabins as a halo product. A new, innovative, and spacious first class suite attracts a significant amount of attention to the airline as a whole, which, in turn, further drives interest in the rest of the carrier’s offerings. This elevates an airline’s brand, theoretically leading to higher fares and increased bookings. This is especially true with the presence of social media, which increases visibility.