Flying with frills – global airlines ranked by first class and premium seat numbers

British Airways CEO Sean Doyle has recently reiterated his airline's commitment to first class. He told The Telegraph last month that the UK airline would be "one of the few carriers to retain first [class] on the scale that we do".

Analysis of the CAPA - Centre for Aviation Fleet Database reveals that British Airways ranks second globally by the number of first class seats installed on its fleet.

Far ahead is Emirates Airline - partly a reflection of its larger size overall. Emirates is also the biggest operator of widebodies, where premium cabins are typically more important.

This report analyses data from the CAPA Fleet Database on the installed seat numbers of the world's 50 leading airlines. It includes rankings by total seats, premium seats and first class seats across their total fleets and on their widebody fleets.

Emirates has the highest number of First class seats, but Singapore Airlines has a higher proportion of its seats in premium cabins, and SWISS has a higher proportion of widebody seats in first class.