Etihad Airways and Emirates have taken the top two places in a new ranking of the most extravagant experiences available to airline passengers. Etihad's The Residence, a three-room suite on its Airbus A380, scored 98 out of 100, and the Emirates A380 Shower Spa came second with 91 points1. The ranking was compiled by AirAdvisor, an air passenger rights company1. Aerospace Global News and Euronews reported it on 21 and 22 October23.

How AirAdvisor scored the entries

AirAdvisor rated individual experiences rather than airlines as a whole1. It only counted amenities that could be verified through airline or airport sources, using publicly available information from September 20261. Private aviation, discontinued amenities and concepts not yet open to paying passengers were left out13. So were standard offerings such as lounge access, amenity kits and conventional lie-flat seats3.

Each entry was scored out of 100 on five weighted criteria: extravagance (35%), rarity (25%), privacy and exclusivity (20%), access scarcity (10%) and the experience beyond the seat (10%)3. No airline could have more than two entries, and products limited to particular aircraft or routes scored higher for scarcity1. The top ten1:

1. Etihad Airways, The Residence: 98
2. Emirates, A380 Shower Spa: 91
3. Swiss, First Grand Suite: 88
4. Air France, La Première private airport suites: 85
5. Singapore Airlines, Suites: 82
6. Lufthansa, Allegris Suite Plus: 80
7. Japan Airlines, A350-1000 First Class: 78
8. Emirates, A380 Onboard Lounge: 76
9. Qatar Airways, Al Safwa First Lounge: 72
10. Virgin Atlantic, Retreat Suite: 68

The Residence: three rooms on Etihad's upper deck

The Residence accommodates up to two guests and has a private living room, a separate bedroom and an en suite bathroom with a private shower4. Etihad lists a double bed, a private chauffeur and a private lounge suite in Abu Dhabi among its features5. A dedicated team of Etihad cabin crew looks after Residence guests, with an à la carte menu that ranges from breakfast in bed to The Residence Signature High Tea and champagne with caviar6. AirAdvisor said The Residence achieved near-maximum marks for extravagance, rarity, privacy and the extent to which it goes beyond a conventional airline seat3.

The same upper deck houses nine First Apartments, 70 Business seats and The Lobby, a serviced lounge and bar between the First and Business cabins46. Etihad flies the A380 on selected services between Abu Dhabi and Bangkok, London, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo and Toronto5. When the type began daily flights to Tokyo Narita in June, Etihad said the route was returning its eighth A380 to the fleet4. A daily evening A380 service to Bangkok was scheduled from 25 October6.

Emirates: a shower and a bar at altitude

Emirates says it was the first airline to introduce showers in First Class, with two Shower Spas reserved for First Class customers on the A3807. Each has water temperature control, heated flooring, a vanity unit, a wash basin, a changing area and a toilet7. The A380 First Class cabin has 14 Private Suites on the upper deck in a 1-2-1 layout, each with an automatic door, and Emirates First Class crew provide a gloved service7.

The airline's second entry, in eighth place with 76 points, is the A380 Onboard Lounge1. It sits at the rear of the upper deck and is open to First and Business Class customers7. There is a fully stocked bar, booth seating and a 55-inch screen showing the aircraft's position and views from its external cameras7. Emirates says drinks and canapés there are served by a dedicated bartender8. Depending on the configuration, an Emirates A380 seats between 484 and 615 passengers9, and the airline says it flies the world's biggest A380 fleet7.

Why the aircraft type matters

Four of the ten entries are tied to the A380: The Residence, the Shower Spa, the Onboard Lounge and the Singapore Airlines Suites1. The Japan Airlines entry is specific to the A350-1000, with a bed up to 123cm wide and a 43-inch screen1. Two entries are on the ground rather than in the air: the Air France La Première suites at Paris Charles de Gaulle and the Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Lounge at Hamad International Airport in Doha1.

"Premium air travel has become an arms race. A lie-flat seat is no longer enough to stand out: airlines are now competing with bedrooms, showers, private lounges and spaces designed for couples or groups," said Anton Radchenko, founder and chief executive of AirAdvisor1. He added that many of these experiences remain scarce, "often limited to one aircraft type or only a handful of routes"1. "The same airline can offer a dramatically different premium experience depending on the aircraft and route," he said1.