Business class-only flights are taking off

Hong Kong Airlines is joining the 'all premium' push – flights which are fitted tip to tail with business class – with the Chinese-owned carrier planning to debut the daily service between Hong Kong and London next year.

Its Airbus A330-200 planes will carry just 116 passengers, with wide lie-flat seats and high-end service on this competitive but lucrative route.

The specific seats haven't been announced, but parent Hainan Airlines uses these angled lie-flat seats in business class on its Airbus A330 flights.

While comfortable, these business class seats aren't the best in the world.
McLaren Shen

This is the latest development in a very positive trend for business travellers and frequent flyers. Which other airlines and routes play the all-premium game?

British Airways: London City to New York

British Airways' Club World London City flights run between New York's JFK and the tiny London City Airport, which is just 15 minutes from the Canary Wharf business and financial district.

At City, check in and arrive at the airport just 15 minutes before departure if you're travelling with carry-ons only, or 20 minutes if you have hold luggage.

The Airbus A318 on the route has only 32 business class seats in a 2-2 configuration, and can't quite carry enough fuel to make the westbound journey against the North Atlantic jetstream.

So it lands for 45 minutes at Shannon in Ireland to refuel, and takes advantage of a deeply useful US-Ireland arrangement where passengers can clear US customs on departure from Ireland.

The trans-Atlantic portion of the flight is then treated like a domestic US flight on arrival into JFK, which means no enormous customs queue -- a massive timesaver.

With the more convenient location and shorter check-in times at London City (especially when compared with Heathrow), no on-arrival immigation makes the flight a firm favourite among frequent US-UK business travellers.

Singapore Airlines: Singapore to New York & LA

Singapore Airlines takes the idea to a new extreme, with big long-haul Airbus A340-500 planes containing just 100 of the airline's popular ultra-wide business class seats on the longest scheduled passenger flight in the world.

That route runs from Singapore to Newark airport across the river from New York, and takes an astounding 19 hours. (Now you see why there's no economy class.)

The all-business planes also fly between Singapore and Los Angeles LAX airport.

Singapore also offers A380 flights where the entire upper deck is business class, which almost feels like an exclusive plane.

But that's not all...

You'll also find a Boeing 737 from All Nippon Airways (ANA) jetting between Mumbai and Tokyo. And charter operator Privatair has been flying all-business shuttles for Lufthansa, Swiss, KLM and Gulf Air for years.

We've yet to see any all-business class shuttles operating from Australia, but if there were: which airline should operate them, and where should the flights go? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and join the conversation on Twitter with @AusBT.

John Walton

Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.