Traveling from Melbourne to London & return starting May 2015 in business class.

Annie,

If you want to talk to your partner during the flight, I would say Qantas is best. 

However I think a more intimate option is if the middle set of seats on BA's 77W.

The BA option would probably be cheaper. You can also tag on a flight to a European city as part of the itinerary for next to nothing.

You would still need a QF flight  (MEL-SIN/HKG/DXB/LAX/SYD) BA dont fly to MEL on their own metal.

BA still codeshares with QF on the MEL/SYD sector i.e. BA can sell you a through booking from MEL to LHR via SYD.

For that matter you can connect from all Australian capital  cities to SYD on a BA booking.  On some routes BA will offer you a direct flight to Singapore on Qantas, a direct flight to HKG with QF or CX or a connecting flight to SYD on QF. All three options would connect you to a BA service to LHR. With the HKG option you get the option to fly on a BA A380.

I would fly via SYD for the higher mileage/ point accrual and better QF lounges in SYD (BA uses the QF lounges). Also the price tends to be lower if purchased early enough.

I was just trying to point out that its not as easy to get a BA 777 from MEL as from SYD.

My apologies. You are right.

I have flown with Etihad in Business on all of their widebodied aircraft and have found them fantastic. On one of my flights the Flight Attendants set up the first two J class seats for a couple so they could slept together. I have flown them to MEL ex AUH. The set is direct isle access too. I much prefer AUH of DXB.. I am 180cm tall and had plenty of room if thats any help. But you can really good wrong with the major carries that fly ex MEL. 

Totally agree that Etihad is a no-brainier. Sadly, the A380 begins flying between Sydney and Abu Dhabi for Etihad in June. However, you might get the A380 for the London leg (begins flying Dec this year). 

The 777s flying between Sydney and Abu Dhabi and now all current business class seats (beige, tan leather) - they are so comfortable. I'd even argue they are more comfortable to sleep on than Etihad's first class seats (but that's overcome with mattresses in first). The seats in business are 1-2-1, meaning you and hubby can sit together in the middle section. 

The A380 business product is meant to be akin to first class on most airlines. 

I also find Etihad to be very price competitive. 

Qantas. Without a doubt.

Have you considered Royal Brunei? They have really competitive prices and have recently improved their business class according to the article below on this very website. I have not flown with Royal Brunei or the other carriers you mentioned in Business Class, but at around $4800 return it is alot cheaper than the others and would be worth considering. Bare in mind they do not serve alcohol but apparently you can bring on spirits ( sealed ) within the fluid limits and they provide ice for and mixers if you wish to add alcohol.

Oh and they utilize the dreamliner from here to london 

http://www.ausbt.com.au/royal-brunei-kicks-off-melbourne-boeing-787-dreamliner-flights

It would be worth noting that that would be two-stop MEL-BWN-DXB-LHR. Not that its neccesarily a bad thing if time isn't a worry. Some family members have done this route backwards and it was pretty much only the stopover in BWN that made it longer than EK/QF however that was in economy.

Re: Royal Brunei - the AFL has just cancelled a sponsorship contract with them over their new draconian laws on gays: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-18/afl-europe-deal-with-royal-brunei-airlines-will-be-cancelled/5754098

We have flown with RBA 3 times and love them, used CX last time in PE, and regretted it. Will be using them next year.

No Booze, so no noise from drunks. A very civilised flight. 

I realize you only asked about Qantas, Etihad, Cathay or Qatar, but if you want to save a little money Brunei might be a worthwhile option for you. For example, a return flight with Etihad using a random outbound and inbound date in May returned prices around $5600 to $6000 in May 2015 on www.skyscanner.com.au. Qantas is consistently showing $6500-$7000 return, regardless of the dates I put in, as is Cathay and Qatar. If price isn't an issue for you then stick to the ones you initially asked about. But with Brunei you could potentially save over $1000 per person and use that money on your trip.

Having to stop twice between your origin and destination may not be to everyone's liking.

I must ask everyone to remain on-topic.

Users creating accounts merely to call other users "morons" anonymously will not be tolerated – this isn't primary school, folks...