For most of the past five years, the assumption among premium-cabin reviewers has been that Qatar Airways’ Qsuite ends the conversation: it won every Skytrax World’s Best Business Class award between 2018 and 2024, and the bar everyone else has been benchmarking against has effectively been the Qsuite cabin on the Boeing 777-300ER.

That assumption is now harder to defend. Emirates introduced its updated 777 business class in March 2025 — closing-door suites, 80-inch bed, the Wells fargo of seatback screens — and we’ve spent the past month flying both products on identical sectors to find out.

How we tested

We booked Doha-London Heathrow on Qatar Airways flight QR3 on March 9 (a Boeing 777-300ER, registration A7-BAJ) and Dubai-London Gatwick on Emirates flight EK15 on March 11 (Boeing 777-300ER, registration A6-EQR). Both flights were paid revenue tickets, both were daytime departures at the front of the cabin (Qatar seat 2A, Emirates seat 1A), and both were priced within USD 380 of each other one-way.

Each cabin was scored across 12 categories on a 0-10 scale.

Category-by-category

Lounge: Emirates wins. The Emirates Business Class Lounge at Concourse B in Dubai is 39,000 square feet across three floors and offers a hot dining room with à la carte ordering. Doha’s Al Mourjan is excellent — particularly the Garden — but the dining room felt rushed, and the new Platinum extension is closed to business class passengers. Emirates 9, Qatar 8.

Boarding and ground experience: Tie. Both at 8.

Seat hardware: Qatar wins. Qsuite’s quad configuration in rows 5 and 6 — convertible into a four-person suite or a two-person “double bed” — has no Emirates equivalent. We were sat alone, but the optionality matters. Qatar 9, Emirates 8.

Privacy: Qatar wins. The Qsuite door closes properly at the top; Emirates’ door has a 4 cm gap at the ceiling that is very visible on the first row. Qatar 9, Emirates 7.

Bed comfort: Emirates wins. Surprisingly. The Emirates mattress pad is firmer, the duvet is heavier (270 GSM vs Qatar’s 220), and the bed itself is 4 cm wider at shoulder height. Emirates 9, Qatar 8.

Food: Qatar wins. Five courses, including a properly seared sea bass and a cheese cart. Emirates’ beef short rib was overcooked, and dessert came with no sauce after we’d ordered the chocolate fondant. Qatar 9, Emirates 7.

Wine: Tie. Emirates pours 2014 Dom Pérignon to business class at the moment, which is unusual. Qatar offers Henriot. Both 9.

IFE catalogue: Emirates wins. ICE’s 6,500-channel catalogue still beats Oryx One’s 4,000 by a significant margin. Emirates 10, Qatar 8.

Wi-Fi: Qatar wins. Free unlimited for OneWorld Emerald, USD 25 flat for everyone else. Emirates is currently rolling out Starlink but the test aircraft did not have it. Qatar 9, Emirates 6.

Crew: Qatar wins. The Qatar service was warmer and more attentive — we were addressed by name nine times in seven hours. Emirates’ service was efficient but felt rote. Qatar 9, Emirates 7.

Amenity kit: Emirates wins. The Bulgari kit beats Qatar’s BRIC’s. Emirates 9, Qatar 7.

Arrival experience at LHR/LGW: Qatar wins. Heathrow Terminal 4 is faster through immigration and bags than Gatwick North.

Final score

Qatar 7 wins, Emirates 5 wins. Aggregate score: Qatar 100, Emirates 92.

If you can choose, fly Qatar. If the routing or the schedule pushes you to Emirates, you are not making a meaningful sacrifice.