International Business Class bookings in the first half of 2026 grew 19 per cent in the first half of 2026, compared to the same period last year, according to data from Corporate Traveller.
The growth comes as global airlines invest heavily in reworking premium cabins, with new seat designs, private suites and revised fare structures rolling out across routes to and from Australia.
Corporate Traveller asked corporate bookers in its latest Travel Manager Survey which airline provides the best long-haul Business Class experience out of Australia. Emirates ranked first, rated best by 72 per cent of travel managers, with Qatar Airways (67 per cent) and Singapore Airlines (62 per cent) taking second and third place, respectively.
“For travellers, flying Business Class is seen as a major productivity hack.” Corporate Traveller global managing director Tom Walley said. “The comfort and convenience buy you back the day you’d otherwise lose to jet lag, and many companies have worked out that’s cheaper than it looks on the invoice.”
Noteworthy cabin upgrades
Emirates is undertaking a multi-billion-dollar retrofit of its Boeing 777 fleet, moving from a 2-3-2 seat layout to a more spacious 1-2-1 configuration. The new cabin began flying to Beirut on 6 January 2026 and Beijing on 1 February 2026.
Emirates also completed its first conversion of a two-class A380 to a three-class configuration on 20 May 2026, adding 76 business seats on the Dubai-to-Birmingham route.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines’ newer business class seats, which include individual privacy doors, debuted on the airline’s A330neo aircraft to Melbourne in December 2024, and now operate across numerous daily services to both Sydney and Melbourne. The rollout has continued into 2026, with the aircraft introduced on Adelaide services in April and set to expand into Brisbane later this year.
Air New Zealand’s nose-to-tail 787-9 retrofit entered service on 19 May 2025, introducing its “Business Premier” and “Business Premier Luxe” cabins. Air New Zealand expects to reconfigure all 14 of its existing 787-9 aircraft by the end of 2026.
“Not every airline is moving at the same pace – it’s worth knowing that if you’re planning ahead,” Walley added.
