The Best Business Class from Australia to New Zealand

A total of eight airlines fly between mainland Australia and New Zealand, including four airlines running fifth-freedom routes.

Seven of those airlines offer Business Class across the Tasman. If you choose your airline and aircraft carefully, you can even enjoy lie-flat Business Class seating from Australia to New Zealand!

In this guide, we’ve ranked at all the Business Class products currently flying between Australia and New Zealand from best to worst.

You can book Business Class seats on all of the airlines featured below using Qantas points, except for Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand. You could redeem Virgin Australia Velocity points to fly Virgin Australia, and use points with a Star Alliance airline – or Virgin Atlantic points – to book Air New Zealand flights.

When flying Business Class with any of these airlines, except Virgin Australia, you’ll also get lounge access prior to departure.

Emirates Airbus A380 Business Class

The best Business Class experience from Australia to New Zealand is onboard Emirates’ well-regarded Airbus A380. Emirates operates daily flights between Sydney and Christchurch.

Business Class on the Emirates A380 is in a 1-2-1 configuration, with direct aisle access for everyone. The seats lie-flat, and you’ll even get a small mini-bar at your seat!

You can expect a full meal service on board. You’ll also have access to the bar at the back of the upper deck during the three-hour trans-Tasman hop.

When flying from Sydney to Christchurch, you can access the excellent Emirates Lounge in Sydney prior to your flight.

China Airlines Airbus A350 Business Class

China Airlines’ A350 Business Class is a great product, with lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. The airline operates two fifth-freedom routes from Australia to New Zealand, with Brisbane-Auckland being year-round and Melbourne-Auckland operating from December to February.

The food, drinks and entertainment onboard are solid, keeping you occupied for the flight across the Tasman.

Qantas Boeing 787/Airbus A330 Business Class

Qantas operates Boeing 787s and Airbus A330s on selected flights from Sydney and Brisbane to Auckland. But you’ll need to book carefully, as these aircraft currently only operate the following Qantas trans-Tasman services:

• QF3 (Sydney-Auckland)
• QF4 (Auckland-Sydney)
• QF119 (Brisbane-Auckland)
• QF126 (Auckland-Brisbane)

The 787 and A330 both come with the great Qantas Business Class lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.

You won’t find any Qantas pyjamas on these shorter flights, but you can get a comfortable nap.

The food on board is fine, although the service might feel a bit rushed at times given the large cabin size and relatively short flying time available for a full international meal service. Our Qantas Business Class meals thread has some examples of what you might find on the menu.

Air New Zealand Boeing 787/777 Business Class

Air New Zealand offers Business Class on its Boeing 787s and 777s flying from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to Auckland.

The airline equips these planes with outdated herringbone seats that face away from the window, although each seat does have direct aisle access.

These seats come in a 1-2-1 configuration on the Boeing 777, and a 1-1-1 configuration on the 787. To get these seats laying flat, you’ll need a flight attendant to flip the seat and make up the bed for you. On a short trans-Tasman flight it might not be worth the hassle. Luckily, Air New Zealand will soon upgrade its Business Class seats.

Air New Zealand has high-quality airport lounges with good food and great design. On board, the service is also generally good, with premium food and New Zealand wines to match. But on shorter flights, like from Sydney or Brisbane to Auckland, the meal service often takes up most of the flight time.

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 Business Class seating

Cathay Pacific doesn’t fly from Australia to New Zealand. However, due to the downturn in travel through Hong Kong – and Air New Zealand’s aircraft shortage – it has leased some Boeing 777s to Air New Zealand.

Air New Zealand regularly schedules these planes on routes to and from Australia. This means you can fly in a Cathay Pacific Business Class seat from Australia to New Zealand!

Onboard, you’ll get a much better experience, with a modern lie-flat seat with direct aisle access. You can even select one of the First Class seats if booked in Business Class, for an extra fee.

Even if you’re flying on a Cathay Pacific Boeing 777, you’ll still get the full Air New Zealand service from the airline’s friendly Kiwi crew.

LATAM Boeing 787 Business Class

Chile’s LATAM Airlines flies six times per week between Sydney and Auckland with its Boeing 787-9s. These planes use a 2-2-2 configuration in Business Class, with each seat being lie-flat. However, not every seat has direct aisle access.

This makes a seat in the middle pair great for solo travellers, while the pairs on the windows are great for couples. You’ll also get a taste of South America onboard!

You can read a review of LATAM’s Boeing 787 Business Class here.

LATAM often offers well-priced Business Class fares on the Sydney-Auckland route, with return flights under $1200.

China Eastern Airbus A330 Business Class

China Eastern runs a “triangle” route, flying from Hangzhou directly to both Auckland and Sydney, and also flying between them.

The Chinese airline doesn’t have the most frequent trans-Tasman services, flying only twice per week in each direction on the Sydney-Auckland route. But it does have the best value Business Class from Australia to New Zealand. You can often book China Eastern Business Class from Sydney to Auckland for under $1,150 return.

China Eastern typically uses an A330-200 with lie-flat Business seats in a 2-2-2 layout, but sometimes runs a more modern version with 1-2-1 seating. You will get a full meal service on board.

Qantas Boeing 737 Business Class

Qantas uses the Boeing 737-800, the workhorse of its fleet, on the vast majority of flights from Australia to New Zealand. These planes feature 12 reclining seats in Business Class, in a 2-2 configuration.

While these seats are not as luxurious as the lie-flat seats featured above, I do find the service to be more prompt and the meal service quicker. This is simply due to the smaller cabin size.

Virgin Australia Boeing 737 Business Class

Rounding out our list is Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737 Business Class. This features similar recliner seats to Qantas, although only eight in total in a 2-2 configuration. Virgin Australia’s only New Zealand destination at the moment is Queenstown.

The food on board is good, and with one flight attendant looking after just eight passengers, the service is attentive. In-flight entertainment can be streamed to your own device. However, there’s no lounge access included.

It’s perfectly adequate for a short flight such as Melbourne-Queenstown, but just doesn’t compare as well to the other Business Class options between Australia and New Zealand.

Wilson McTaggart

Wilson's love of travel started from a young age, but his love for points developed after figuring out ways to travel on a gap year for less - leading naturally towards Australian Frequent Flyer! Wilson's hobbies include skiing, cricket and planning trips, both with and without points.

Wilson posts on the AFF forum as @WilsonM.