You won’t find any major international carrier without a proper business class. Business is so good that it essentially killed first class on all but few routes.
Ticket prices reflects this, with business class around 5x the cost of economy and premium economy splits them in the middle.
Most international flight businesses class experiences are just economy class with very slightly more legroom, earlier boarding, guaranteed use of overhead bins to avoid gate checking bags, and sometimes a really low-quality free alcoholic drink.
5 or 6 years ago it was different and business class had a separate section with much roomier seats with more storage, upgraded entertainment, meals and alcohol options, and for large enough flights sometimes even a separate entrance.
You are right that ticket prices can be 5x economy (probably more like 2x or 3x usually, 5x on crowded flights). But these higher prices are only for the “slightly more legroom and early bin access” tier. The quality has gone down while the prices keep shooting up.
I’ve also noticed that when I paid for business class flights before, if any delays or issues came up for the flight, I would get comprehensive and immediate customer assistance to rectify it, usually even free transfers to more expensive flights or very generous hotel and meal vouchers, no questions asked.
In the last two years I’ve had several issues with flight cancellations or delays and business class fares confer no advantage. No customer support, no free upgrades or transfers, and you have to set your dignity aside and act like a crazy angry person if you want even the smallest concession from the airline on hotel or meal vouchers - and this has been consistent across every major international airline.
> Most international flight businesses class experiences are just economy class with very slightly more legroom
That isn’t true at all. Not on any trans-pacific flight, and not on most trans-Atlantic ones. The only time I can think of business class as being kind of like Economy are on some cheap biz class seats to and from SE Asia (e.g. on HK Express, but even then we got lie flat seats). I’m sure discount international airlines like Norwegian do something similar as well.
This keeps being repeated in this thread, and yet the opposite is true - long haul business today is flat beds and single seats. It’s like first class was 25 years ago.
Would be interesting to hear where you saw business that was just bigger economy seats with better food. Is it simply old planes?
I think you’re conflating premium economy and business class. Business class on the majority of major airlines has displaced international first class, and in every major airline includes lay flat seating pods in a separate cabin for long haul flights. Delta One, United Polaris, etc are business class products, there is no first class on these airlines anymore.
Many airlines don't even have a business section anymore, and the business fare just confers an earlier boarding priority.