Which Airlines Still Offer First Class from Australia?

First Class has been in steady decline for the past decade. Many airlines are choosing not to install First Class on their new planes, instead opting for ultra-luxurious Business Class seats. Cathay Pacific joined this trend recently, replacing its Boeing 777 First Class cabins with new Aria Business Class seats.

The COVID-19 pandemic also sadly accelerated this decline. Many airlines retired their older, larger aircraft, such as Boeing 747s which were traditionally fitted with First Class cabins.

Of the airlines that had previously operated aircraft with First Class to Australia, only eight remain today.

That doesn’t leave many options for people who are prepared to spend good money (or points!) for an ultra-premium flying experience. But there are some exceptions to this trend!

Which airlines still sell First Class to Australia?

Airline	Routes involving Australia	Aircraft	Year-Round?
Emirates	All Australian routes except Adelaide to Dubai	A380/777-300ER	Yes
Singapore Airlines	Select Sydney and Melbourne to Singapore flights	A380/777-300ER	Yes
Qantas	Various A380 routes	A380	Yes
Qatar Airways	Sydney to Doha	A380	Yes
British Airways	Sydney to London (via Singapore)	777-300ER/787-9	Yes
Japan Airlines	Sydney to Tokyo-Haneda	777-300ER	Seasonal
American Airlines	Sydney to Los Angeles	777-300ER	Yes
Air India	Melbourne to Delhi	777-300ER	Yes, from 2026

The key player in this space is Emirates, which continues to offer First Class on most of its flights. Among its Australian destinations, only the Dubai-Adelaide route no longer features First Class. This is the result of an aircraft change to the Airbus A350-900, which doesn’t feature First Class.

Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, British Airways, Japan Airlines and American Airlines continue to offer First Class on selected routes out of Australia.

Air India is a notable future addition. From 1st July 2026, the airline plans to upgauge its Delhi-Melbourne route to a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with a First Class cabin.

There has been some speculation that Etihad could fly its Airbus A380, which has First Class seating, between Sydney and Abu Dhabi again in the future. However, since bringing its A380s out of storage, Etihad has so far only been using them on its routes to London, New York, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo and Toronto.

Qantas will also take delivery of its first A350-1000s to fly on “Project Sunrise” routes in late 2026, which are equipped with six First Class suites.

Some airlines offer “Business Plus” like seating on their aircraft, but this is not a true First Class product and is hence excluded from this list.

How to book First Class from Australia using points

Let’s take a closer look at exactly which international routes to and from Australia have First Class available in 2026 and beyond, and how you can book a seat using your frequent flyer points.

Emirates

Emirates continues to offer a mix of First Class products on its flights between Dubai and Australia (except Adelaide). The UAE-based carrier also sells First Class on its fifth-freedom route between Sydney and Christchurch.

Arguably the best Emirates First Class offering is the “Game Changer” suite. This product is only available on select Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Melbourne is currently the only Australian destination to feature this product (EK404/EK405 rotations). The “Game Changer” offers a fully enclosed private suite featuring floor-to-ceiling doors and a “zero-gravity” seat.

The First Class seats on Emirates’ Airbus A380s and other Boeing 777s are broadly similar. The Emirates A380 does, however, have a larger First cabin with more seats, as well as the famous Emirates shower and on-board bar!

Until recently, anyone could redeem Emirates First Class using Qantas points, Air Canada Aeroplan points or Emirates Skywards. In May 2025, Emirates added a new rule that restricted Emirates First Class redemptions to Emirates Skywards Silver members and above. At the same time, Emirates also restricted children under the age of nine from flying in its First Class cabin on a reward ticket.

Qantas Frequent Flyer followed suit in early 2026, with Emirates First Class redemptions now only bookable by Qantas Silver Members and above. The program will also increase the cost of Emirates First Class redemptions from 31st March 2026.

Beware of the high fuel surcharges when redeeming Qantas points or Skywards miles for Emirates flights. These can be over $1,000 for a one-way flight. Fuel surcharges are not charged on Aeroplan redemptions.

Emirates First Class reward seat availability is often quite good on the Sydney-Christchurch route. Reward availability on Emirates flights from Australia to Dubai can be limited. But in general, you may have the best chance of finding seats when booking either 11 months out or at the last minute.

Emirates often releases extra reward seats just a few days before departure, which can be useful if your travel plans are spontaneous!

The Qantas website often gives an error message when you try to search for Qantas Classic Flight Reward seats departing from Dubai. This is an ongoing bug with the Qantas website. To get around this, try conducting a one-way or return flight search (rather than using the multi-city tool) or call Qantas to make your booking.

If available, a one-way First Classic Reward from Melbourne to Dubai flying Emirates costs 195,400 Qantas points + $1,166 in taxes & carrier charges. (The points portion of this redemption will increase to 234,500 Qantas points from 31st March 2026.)

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines offers First Class on all of its Sydney-Singapore and Melbourne-Singapore flights that are operated by Airbus A380s or Boeing 777s. This currently includes three of the four daily flights on the Sydney-Singapore route, and two of the five daily Melbourne-Singapore services.

Singapore Airlines offers traditional First Class seats on its Boeing 777-300ER, and Suites on its Airbus A380.

All other Singapore Airlines flights to Australia are operated by other aircraft types like the Airbus A350-900, Boeing 787-10 or Boeing 737-8 which do not have First Class cabins.

The ability to redeem Velocity Frequent Flyer points for First Class on Singapore Airlines has not returned since the pandemic. Singapore Airlines also doesn’t make these seats available to other Star Alliance partner airlines. So, the only available option is to redeem Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles for a seat.

If you don’t have credit card reward points that you can transfer to KrisFlyer, you can also transfer points over from Velocity Frequent Flyer.

Singapore Airlines has made very few First Class seats to Australia available as KrisFlyer Saver redemptions lately. More flights have availability in the more expensive KrisFlyer Advantage and Access award categories.

If there is no award availability on your preferred flight, it is also possible to waitlist for a KrisFlyer award seat.

Onward connections via Singapore to/from cities across Europe, North America and Asia are also available in Singapore Airlines First Class. Again, Saver awards are hard to find, but you may have better luck finding Advantage award availability.

Qantas

The Airbus A380 is currently the only aircraft in the Qantas fleet with a First Class cabin. This aircraft is being used on the following routes.

• Sydney-Los Angeles
• Melbourne-Los Angeles
• Sydney-London (via Singapore)
• Sydney-Johannesburg
• Sydney-Dallas-Fort Worth

Qantas First Class reward availability is typically difficult to find. But you may be able to find a seat with Qantas points when Qantas releases extra Classic Flight Reward seats. If you’re a Qantas Platinum or Platinum One member, you may also be able to request the release of a First Class reward seat.

Qantas will install six First Class suites on its Airbus A350s, which it will use to fly non-stop from Australia to London and New York. These new jets are due to enter service for the airline in late 2026.

British Airways

British Airways flies daily from Sydney to London via Singapore, using either Boeing 777-300ERs or Boeing 787-9s. Both jets have four cabin classes, and house 8 First Class seats in the nose.

Unfortunately, British Airways First Class reward availability to and from Sydney is very limited. While British Airways reserves reward seats for its own Executive Club members in the other three cabins, this guarantee does not extend to First Class.

As a general rule, your best chances of booking a seat are booking either 355 days or less than a month before departure.

If there is availability, you could book a seat using Qantas points, British Airways Avios or any other Oneworld frequent flyer program.

Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways First Class is only available on the airline’s Airbus A380 flights from Sydney to Doha. The airline previously used to offer First Class on its Perth to Doha route, which had excellent availability. But that route has been downgauged to Boeing 777-300ER without First Class since Qatar Airways commenced a second daily wet-leasing operation for Virgin Australia.

If the Sydney-Doha route is available, you should be able to book a seat using Virgin Australia Velocity points or any Oneworld frequent flyer program except Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Japan Airlines

Japan Airlines flies its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on its daily Sydney-Tokyo (Haneda) service seasonally, usually during the Northern Winter period. This aircraft type has 8 First Class seats at the front, which you can book using Qantas points. It costs 155,200 Qantas points plus approximately AUD350 for a Japan Airlines First Class redemption.

American Airlines

American Airlines uses the Boeing 777-300ERs on its year-round Sydney-Los Angeles route, which features its Flagship First cabin.

Although American is an Oneworld partner airline of Qantas, it’s very rare to find an American Airlines First Class award seat available to book using Qantas points. Often, the best availability is found a few days or weeks prior to the flight.

American’s Flagship First is being phased out globally in favour of their new Business Suite product, making award space increasingly scarce. But if you have AAdvantage miles or want to buy a ticket, this is another First Class option out of Australia.

Air India

Air India has daily flights to both Sydney and Melbourne from Delhi. These are currently operated by the airline’s Boeing 787-8 aircraft, which don’t feature a First Class cabin. This will change from July 1st 2026, when Air India’s former Etihad Boeing 777s will start flying the Delhi-Melbourne route. These aircraft are equipped with eight First Class suites offering a significant upgrade on the in-flight experience.

Air India is a member of Star Alliance, meaning these flights are bookable using Air Canada Aeroplan points. A one-way redemption in First Class will cost 100,000 Aeroplan points and approximately CAD 153 in taxes.

A left-field option: Air New Zealand

Although Air New Zealand doesn’t offer First Class, it is currently flying a leased Boeing 777 jet on selected Melbourne-Auckland services that used to fly for Cathay Pacific. This aircraft still has the same seats used by Cathay Pacific, including the First Class seats. These are available to select as a paid upgrade by Business Class passengers.

Air New Zealand still offers the same Business Class service to passengers who’ve splurged on one of the ex-Cathay Pacific First Class seats. Passengers are essentially paying for the larger seat but not for an upgraded service experience.