More than 50 airlines fly the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, and nearly all of them top out at business class. Nothing about the aircraft itself forces that choice — the type works fine with or without a first cabin. It comes down to airline configuration, and the numbers show where the premium seats have actually gone.
British Airways is one of the few holdouts, fitting eight first seats in a 1-2-1 herringbone across just two rows — roughly half the size of its cabins on the 777 or A380. Etihad is an even stranger case: it runs four different 787-9 layouts and only one has first class, meaning passengers on the same route can get a first suite or nothing at all depending on which airframe turns up. Etihad's first-class 787-9s have typically served a handful of routes from Abu Dhabi, including London, Geneva, Washington and Casablanca.
The more telling statistic comes from Head for Points' comparison of premium seating across 787-9 operators. United Airlines leads with 99 premium seats — without selling first class at all. Its Elevated 787-9 packs 64 Polaris suites, including eight larger Polaris Studios with a 27-inch 4K screen, an extra ottoman seat and caviar service, sold for a fee on top of a business fare, plus 35 Premium Plus seats. Japan Airlines follows with 87, British Airways third at 85. United has essentially built a first-class product inside a business cabin and priced it accordingly.
British Airways' own A380 retrofit, announced for 2026, shows the same logic inside one aircraft. First drops from 14 seats to 12, business grows from 97 to 106, and premium economy balloons from 55 to 84, while economy shrinks by 88 seats. The result: 417 seats instead of 469, with a premium ratio of 48% — the highest of any A380 operator, ahead of Lufthansa at 26% and Etihad at 16%. Fewer passengers, higher average fares.
Why should a traveller care? Because the maths is reshaping what you can book. True first class is increasingly confined to the biggest aircraft on flagship routes, while the space it once occupied becomes better business suites and roomier premium economy. On a 787-9, your realistic upgrade ladder now runs economy, premium economy, business — with 'first-lite' products like United's Polaris Studios sitting above business rather than replacing it. If first class is the goal, check not just the airline but the specific aircraft and route: Etihad's example proves the same flight number can mean very different cabins.
