Me sporting ANA Business Class pajamas, which unfortunately you have to give back at the end of the flight. They are super comfy! – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com
Recently you’ve heard often from airlines that they are cutting first class products and services from their aircraft, but that still leaves many with a competitive business class cabin. When people say that ’œbusiness class is the new first class,” the statement is becoming more truthful each day. Lie-flat seats, designer amenity kits, and multi-course meals are now as common in business class as they are (or were) in first. But one small item is slowly making an emergence in business class, one that has always been thought of solely as a first class staple: airline pajamas.
Airline pajamas have, up until now, been given out to those flying first class on international airlines like Singapore, Lufthansa, Thai, or Emirates. They’re provided to the passenger so that they can relax while onboard without having to wrinkle their own clothes, or to allow them to get that full night’s sleep more comfortably.
But times are changing; as airlines roll back those first class cabins, passengers who fly in business class expect the same level of service and amenities. So airlines like Qatar Airways, Qantas, Virgin Atlantic, and All Nippon Airways (ANA) are now providing pajamas to passengers in the business class cabin. But are these pajamas as good as the first class offerings out there?
A Pair of Qatar Business Class Pajamas…so comfortable I use them all the time at home – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com
Qatar Airways gives all their passengers in business class a set of pajamas on long-haul flights. With a high amount of two-class aircraft (all their 777 & 787 aircraft are two-class only) it makes sense to provide an “almost first class” product in business.
The pajamas are a light grey material and extremely spacious. When you add in the comfortable socks (which have gripping pads on the bottom so you don’t slip around the cabin floor) and a nicely-padded eye mask, your time in the land of nod should be pretty well-settled.
A pair of Qantas Business Class Pajamas are hard to miss with the iconic kangaroo logo – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com
Qantas offers business class pajamas on all of their long-haul overnight flights, of which they offer quite a few. The Qantas business class pajamas are designed by Peter Morrissey, a famous Australian fashion designer, who has had a long relationship with Qantas – even designing their previous uniforms. After having spent two weeks in New Zealand with these PJs I have to say I like them more than their first class offerings. The color is a more subtle grey and the material is light and quite easy to move around in, perfect for onboard use (or after).
Why wear that suit & tie the whole flight? Change into a pair of the ANA pajamas and you will sleep so much better on your long-haul flight – Photo: Mal Muir | AirlineReporter.com
I was able to try some ANA pajamas first-hand earlier this year, but unfortunately you have to return them at the end of the flight. This was too bad, since I wanted to keep them, heck I would have even paid to keep them if it was an option – they were that comfortable.
The light fabric, in ANA’s iconic Inspiration of Japan blue, was truly comfortable and more akin to the kind that I would wear at home.
While testing out a pair of ANA’s first class pajamas (for a future review) I did prefer the business class offering, but that just puts more weight to the statement right? ANA does not offer first class on all flights, so being able to still get that tiny bit of first class while in business is pretty nice if you ask me.
As airlines blur the lines between first and business class, the expectations of passengers increase as well. Are the airlines who provide their passengers business class pajamas just trying to differentiate themselves from other carriers, or is this the beginning of a trend?
Do you know of any other airlines who offer pajamas to their business class passengers? Do you like what they provide? Tell us your thoughts.
Virgin Atlantic of course has no first class, but they do give out pj’s in their Upper Class – not all that comfy though compared e.g. to BA’s – one problem is instead of elastic in the waist, there’s a drawstring, which is just a little bit of a hassle if using the lav while semi-sleepwalking – Singapore’s are more stylish (at least the ones i got in 2009 were) but surprisingly heavy for a tropics-based carrier – much too hot for me to wear in bangkok even in a semi-airconditioned apartment – although i did fly Thai in F once on a redeye to tokyo, they did not hand out pajamas on that flight 🙁 !
I love my Qantas PJ’s and have had lots of use out of the pants, they are so comfortable!
Yep my QF J Pjs are way more comfortable than the first class pair I have. Sad isn’t it? You would think the F pair should be heaps better!
Virgin Australia gives pjs too in business class.
What about long haul flights on Lufthansa in Business Class PJ’s?