For many fliers, it’s an ultimate travel goal to book a business class seat that converts to fully flat beds, has privacy doors, and offers the chance of getting a good night’s sleep on a long-haul flight.
But now, with the latest business class trend, travelers can now take that dream a step farther. In recent years, airlines have begun offering a handful of ultra-premium seats at the very front of their business class cabins.
These seats are designed to take advantage of extra space at the start of the cabin, also known as the bulkhead area, and come with extra perks like roomier seats, privacy doors, larger entertainment screens, and even an extra seat for a travel companion to visit. The best part is that travelers can upgrade to these luxe seats, often for a fee of just a couple hundred dollars or less.
Here are six airlines that offer extra-large business class seats in the first row of the cabin, and how to score them for your next trip.
Air France
Seats in the first row of business class cabins on A350s and Boeing 777s are called “Business Suites” and offer more personal space for travelers, including a larger ottoman in the footwell of the lie-flat seat for more comfortable sleeping. Air France uses its A350s and Boeing 777s on most of its long-haul routes from Paris to the U.S., including flights to New York-JFK, Newark, Atlanta, Boston, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, and more. Passengers can choose a Business Suite during the seat selection process, usually for an extra fee of about $200.
Lufthansa
In its newest Allegris business class on board its Airbus A350-900 jets, Lufthansa offers four larger suites in each of the first bulkhead rows. These upgraded berths feature higher partitions, sliding doors, additional storage areas, and larger entertainment screens—all perks that the other seats in the business cabin lack. You’ll find the A350-900s on select long-haul flights from Munich to a few U.S. markets, including Chicago, New York-JFK, and San Francisco. The airline currently charges an extra booking fee from about $500 to $700 to nab a business suite on routes to the U.S., depending on whether you’re flying to the East Coast or West Coast.
United Airlines
Later in 2026, United Airlines will launch a brand new version of its popular Polaris business class. Larger seats called Polaris Studio Suites will debut as part of the carrier’s reimagined business class. All of the new suites will have privacy doors, but the Studio Suite will also come with 25% more space, 27-inch screens, and extra ottoman that transforms into a seat for travel companions, and caviar and wine service. Look for these extra-spacious suites on board the airline’s new Boeing 787-9 aircraft on routes from San Francisco to Singapore and London. There’s currently no launch date set for the new Polaris suites, so flights aren’t on sale, but the new cabin is expected to debut sometime in the first half of 2026.
JetBlue
On its Airbus A321 planes with Mint Suites business cabins, JetBlue offers two ultra-premium seats in the front row called “Mint Studio.” The studios have sliding doors just like the rest of suites, but have additional perks like even more storage, a mirrored vanity, a guest seat and table to hang out with travel companions, and a 22-inch entertainment screen—the largest on any U.S. airline. You can find the suites on JetBlue’s transatlantic routes to and from New York JFK and Boston, with the Mint Studios costing up to $300 extra to book.
American Airlines
In its new Flagship Suite business class cabins aboard its Boeing 787-9s planes, American Airlines offers an enhanced product called Flagship Suite Preferred, located across the bulkhead rows. The Preferred suites are offset with black doors and finishes (compared to the white and wood tones of the other seats). They also offer a larger footwell, more counter space, and additional storage, plus extra amenities including a Nest mattress pad, lumbar pillow, and pajamas. Starting in late March, the premium outfitted 787-9 planes are scheduled to fly to London Heathrow from Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and New York-JFK. Remarkably, these upgraded seats don’t yet come with an extra booking fee, so you’ll want to choose your seats early if you want to reserve one.
Virgin Atlantic
The “Retreat Suite” option aboard Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus A330neo planes was one of the first seats to launch in the ultra-premium business class category. In the front of its Upper Class cabin on the A330neo jets, there are two extra-large suites. These ultra-suites have privacy doors like the rest of the spots in the cabin, but they also have a larger 27-inch entertainment screen, additional space, and a roomy ottoman that doubles as a guest seat. That means up to four travelers can dine together in privacy, if you know the person flying in the neighboring Retreat Suite. For about $300, you can reserve the Retreat Suites on Virgin Atlantic’s flights from London Heathrow to select U.S. cities, including New York, Boston, Tampa, and Atlanta.
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