Which airlines and aircraft have onboard bars and lounges?

Where can you get a drink in the sky?

Having a social space on a plane means you can stretch your legs, and do something other than watch a movie or eat. They’re hugely underrated spaces as they add so much to a journey. My first experience of an on-board bar was a Virgin flight. The bar sat at the rear of the business class cabin and had just three seats, but for an hour it gave us something new and exciting to do.

What types of planes have lounges or bars on board?

Putting a bar or a lounge on a plane means some space has to be sacrificed. That’s why you’ll find the A380 listed many times in this article. It has a wealth of space, and when the plane was launched, airlines planned to turn them into mini villages. Most of the concepts for the A380 didn’t see the light of day. Virgin planned to add a casino, gym and a spa. That didn’t happen, indeed Virgin didn’t even buy an A380. Interestingly the one carrier that does manage to fit social space into a non-A380 is Virgin.

The 747 was initially designed to have a social space upstairs, and some airlines did utilise this floor as a small restaurant or bar. As time passed, this space needed to be used to generate revenue, which meant replacing the social area with seats. Most of the original 747s have been retired, although the newer 747-8 is used by some operators (Lufthansa, Korean Air, Air China). No one – as of yet – has utilised the extra space in the new variant of the “jumbo jet” for social space.

Air travel has changed a lot in the last fifty years. Here’s a great picture from Vine Pair of an American Airlines 747 lounge, complete with a piano. This lounge was accessible by all passengers, not just those in business or first.

Which airlines have onboard lounges or bars?

Here’s a list of airlines with onboard lounges or bars, along with the plane type and seat class required to access them. Click an airline below to jump further down the article for more information.

• Emirates (A380s, accessible by business or first-class passengers)
• Etihad (A380s, business, first class or residence)
• Korean Air (A380, business or first class)
• Qatar (A380, business or first)
• Qantas (A380, business or first)
• Virgin Atlantic (A330s, A350s and 787-900, business class)

Should you care about having an onboard bar?

This depends on several factors: why you are travelling (Business or leisure), how long the flight is, whether it’s daytime or overnight, and who you are travelling with. If you want to get some sleep on an overnight flight, the bar offers no value. If you’re heading off on holiday with a partner and it’s a daytime flight, an onboard bar is a welcome distraction.

Whenever we’ve been on a plane with a bar, we’ve jumped at the chance to use it. Even if that’s just for half an hour. We’re not even big drinkers – it’s a great way to get out of your seat, walk around and sit together.

Emirates A380 bar

It is one of the biggest and probably the most famous bar in the sky. It’s also the easiest to access, as it’s on all of Emirates A380s, and they operates 116 of those.

A business class or first class seat is all you need to wander to the back of the upper deck and enjoy the social space. As it’s at the rear of the plane and separated from the main cabin by curtains, it’s quite private.

It also has its own toilet, meaning you don’t need to wander into the main cabin if you need a bathroom break.

At the other end of the plane are the two bathrooms with showers that have also made Emirates famous, although you need a first-class ticket to use them.

What’s it like?

The best bar in the sky. There’s space to sit (2 x table areas) plus space to stand at the bar itself and around the edge of the cabin. Getting a seat isn’t difficult due to the size, although if it’s busy, you might need to hand around to secure a space at a table.

It’s bright, open and a little garish. There’s plenty of windows to look out of, too. It’s also well-staffed: some bars on planes require you to grab the attention of a crew member passing through in order to get a drink.

If you’re due to spend eight hours on a plane, then this bar makes the whole experience much better. Sit and relax with a drink for an hour, and that flight time will disappear quickly.

Etihad A380 bar

Etihad has a small fleet of A380s that fly from Abu Dhabi to London, New York, Mumbai, Paris, and Singapore. These planes house their stunning The Residence three-room suite and a small bar between the first- and business-class cabins.

What’s it like?

This is a smaller bar which can seat six; three on each side of a round table. Behind the seating is a self-service drinks area, so you can help yourself to wines or spirits. Other drinks can be ordered if you attract the attention of the cabin crew. This is less of a bar and more a social space. Still, on a long flight it’s a good way to stretch your legs and sit somewhere other than your seat.

Korean Air A380 Bar

Whats better than one bar on a plane? Two. And that’s what Korean Air deliver on their A380, although the service offering isn’t what it used to be, and these bars are more like social spaces.

At the front of the upper deck, there’s a small social space that can seat two people. It’s a self-service “bar,” which is more like a corridor. At the back is the bigger “celestial bar,” which includes seating for around ten people, a “mixologist station,” and backlit martini glasses. It’s the most unique-looking bar/lounge on any of the planes I’ve covered.

What’s it like?

This is a minimalist, unfussy lounge area that still looks futuristic despite it being over ten years old. Whereas the Emirates is gold and faux wood, the Korean Air bar is all white with blue cushioning. However, this also applies to the service, as it’s also a self-service bar.

If you’re looking to have a wander and sit somewhere else on the plane, then it’s perfectly satisfactory. If you’re looking to have a complex cocktail (or two) mixed for you, then this isn’t that space.

A little know fact is that Korean Air’s A380 used to have it’s own duty free shop. Called the SkyShop this was big enough to walk through, added the weight of thirteen passengers to the plane and required the airline to hold stock of all the items on display. The space still exists on the place, but it’s not unused.

Qatar A380 Bar

Qatar is known for its approachable luxury, but it doesn’t quite push the boundaries like Emirates. You might be surprised to read that none of its planes contain showers.

Despite their reputation they’re an airline that has mostly avoided First Class, preferring to make their Business Class the best in the skies. They only operate two plane types that have a First seat, one of which is a mini-fleet of ex-Cathay Pacific 777s that they’ve inherited. Their A380 also contains a first class product, and that’s where you’ll find their only plane with an on-board bar.

The Qatar onboard lounge is situated on the upper deck between two of the business class cabins. It’s separated from both cabins with curtains, helping reduce any noise, and it’s accessible from both aisles.

What’s it like?

This is the second biggest bar in the sky. It seats up to ten people, and it’s an attractive space that also offers a level of privacy for guests as the bar is split in two with a chest-height divider between the two seating areas.

There is an actual bar for drinks service, and each seat has a small table next to it, built into the seat itself. There’s also a charging station for your mobile phones. The cabin is flooded with light – assuming it’s daylight outside – as there’s windows across both walls of the bar. There’s also a bathroom you can access from the bar without having to walk through either of the cabins.

Qantas A380 Bar

Qantas made the decision to update their A380s, which made them one of the first airlines to do so after the pandemic. The new-look lounges replace the somewhat dated “sofas” that felt more like a waiting room. Gone are the red seats, and a wall that you stare at, and in are stylish booths with tables.

What’s it like?

In the league table of bars, this sits somewhere in the middle. It’s bigger, and dare I say it more attractive, than the Virgin bar, but without an actual bar (or barperson) it’s really a lounge to socialise in.

The recent refresh has made a big difference to the look and feel, and when you’re on one of Qantas’ ultra long range flights. The airline currently uses the jet on the Singapore, Johannesburg, Los Angeles and London. I recently reviewed the rather beautiful Qantas Lounge at Heathrow.

Virgin Atlantic Bars

VA are known for the onboard bars, and there are two different types depending on the plane you fly on. The older style bar, which I think is better, is an actual bar with four bar stools around it. The newer planes have The Loft (a four person sitting area located at the back of the cabin) or The Booth (a space with two seats at the front of the plane).

The complaints about the original bar were focused on its proximity to the other seats, which meant that on overnight flights you would struggle to sleep if the bar was busy.

The two plane types with the original bar are the A330-300 and the 787-900. The newer A330-900 has The Loft, whereas the A350-1000 has either The Loft of the smaller Booth, depending on configuration. VA has The Booth on the “leisure” configuration of their A350, which has a much smaller business class cabin and, therefore, a smaller lounge space.

What’s it like?

We got to try the full bar on our honeymoon, and it was a nice distraction during a long flight from Heathrow to Miami. At the time this was our first business class experience beyond BA, and the flight was more “fun” than our flights with British Airways.

The bar was staffed by cabin crew assigned to the business class cabin rather than having a dedicated bartender. That meant we sat there for a while before someone came over to take our drink order. The drinks were great, and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

As there were no seatbelts on the barstools, whenever we hit turbulence we had to go back to our seats. The new Loft and Booth have belts at every seat, meaning you can strap yourself in and stay there if it gets bumpy.

Which lounge on a plane is the best?

Without a doubt Emirates have the best lounge. It wins based on having the largest space, a full-time bar-tender, booths and a connected bathroom. It’s a touch garish for my liking, but you can look past that. Indeed, sit in one of the booths and watch the world go by outside the windows. It really is a wonderful experience.

However, if you’re on a plane with a bar (and you can access it), then any bar or lounge space is better than none. It’s the height of luxury to wander down the cabin and sit in another space, whether you have to get your own drink from a fridge or have one delivered to you on a tray.