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Originally Posted by Doug R
I have some background on this subject.
There is a large difference in seating on international versus domestic flights. In general International long haul flights typically have 4 seating configurations/options. Economy, Premium Economy, Business and First. Domestic configurations are usually configured with economy or first class. This applies to all the major airlines (U.S. airlines included).
The seating classes between International and domestic configurations are not comparable however…. For example - The international Premium economy Class is typically equivalent (or better) than domestic first class. In some cases, they are the same seat.
International Business Class and First class have seen movement to suites on some airlines to lure the wealthiest flyers and add to their luxury brand. Notable too competitors in this area are Emirates, Etihad, Singapore, Cathay and a few others.
A last item to note: seats have a large range of options and comfort levels within a class depending on airline and specific airplane. For example an international “business class seat” could be a row seat (sitting next to a neighbor) without full recline or could be a full suite (google Etihad Q-suite). Suggest you use “seat guru.com” or another research site if you are buying an international ticket.
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I've flown international business plenty of times and sometimes one of us on a trip may get popped up to first. It's definitely better.
That said, one of my most favorite things is when I fly domestic first class and we end up in an international configured plane. Usually they are just repositioning it to a different hub or something. It doesn't happen much, but wow, is that great! Specially if I got lucky and the flight was super cheap.
I've never had a "suite" on a wide body though. My favorite place is upper deck on a 747. On Asiana, which is where I flew many times business international, those seats were great and it's quiet up there.
Worst seats ever in Business was when Continental was experimenting with these $10,000 business seats that laid flat...at about a 20 degree angle. 10 hours into the flight, you had an atomic wedgie as you slid towards the floor. I gave up on those and just reclined a little. Worst seats ever.