[MartinJ]

Easy.

Economy = Hell
Premium Economy (as in a separate cabin, not just seats with extra legroom) = bearable

With Lufthansa the fare difference is often just 100 or 200 Euro per leg – well worth the money as you also get a wider seat.

[CathayLoyalist2]

On my recent post re LH’s PEY I paid for a restricted PEY ticket SIN-FRA-SIN S$ 2,200 approx. EUR 1450 or GBP 1,050. BA economy LHR-SIN-LHR is more often than not more expensive than that

[SealinkBF]

If you take a look at Virgin’s offering, this is a step-change from what they offer in Y.

http://travelingpantiescom.c.presscdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/virgin-atlantic-premium-economy-review.jpg

I don’t see anything attractive about BAs Y+ offering.

http://www.britishairways.com/assets/images/information/travel-classes/premium-economy/world-traveller-plus/750×500-woman-sleeping-BAWTPN1028.jpg

[AMcWhirter]

But BA’s newer Y+ seating (as found on B787/A380 aircraft) differs to that shown in the above link.

[AlexFACT]

It really is a ‘No brainer’ – especially if you are 6ft 4″ tall!

1) Often PE sells for around fullfare economy class fares with airlines not offereing PE.
2) With my frame it it 90% about legroom! I am not comparing PE to an emergency exit economy class seat – but a conventional middle seat anywhere in the cabin – as this is the worst case: middle seat in the centre block in economy is hell for a 12h flight, whereas it is bearable in a similar seat in PE.
3) Forget about the slighlty increased width of seat, better food, additional frequent flyer miles, amenity kit, check-in line, boarding priority,….

For many year PE was the reason why I used BA out of CPT. Fortunately a few other airlines are now also offering PE – so that I can start giving BA a miss, ie voting with my feet to their arrogant attitude towards premium frequent flyers NOT based in the UK!

[andystock]

PE on BA 787 is a substantial upgrade to economy. Much wider seats!

[sparkyflier]

Economy on a BA 787 is a hellhole, most likely against some human rights law.

[dodger10]

I don’t think Premium Eco offers value with the price you pay with any of the airlines. However Premium Eco product does offer that little bit more compared to Eco.

My experience on CX, is that it does provide me with the wider seat, extra recline, and extra leg room. However, the extra recline does mean that other than the front row, the extra leg room goes out of the the window if the person in front reclines fully.
On one flight the passengers behind me were having a bit of an argument about this, as the guy in front of one passenger fully reclined, and this was upsetting and told the guy there was no need to go ‘fully’ recline.

There are also big differences in the Prem Eco product between the different airlines. On a trip from LHR to HKG via Moscow on Prem Eco, the BA leg from LHR to Moscow, the seat was very tight, and was worst than eco, as there was no option to remove the arm rest. Recline was fairly similar to regular eco. On the leg from Moscow to HKG on CX, there was significant difference in the seat width, and much better recline.

[rferguson]

An interesting review on SQ’s new Premium Economy:

http://www.ausbt.com.au/singapore-airlines-airbus-a380-premium-economy-sydney-singapore?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=flipper&utm_campaign=home-flipper

It details exactly what the differentials are between Economy and Premium.

I guess the simple equation is it must work for the airlines and there must be a reasonable demand – otherwise airlines simply wouldn’t fit their aircraft with a PE cabin.

There are definitely markets where it works better than others. For example the Middle East market is not very familiar with the product. Perhaps this could be linked in with the fact that none of the ME3 offer the product. Cathay decided to remove PE from their Hong Kong – ME routes because of this. Asia has also been slow to catch on. Cx/JL/NH and now SQ have come to the PE party a lot later than U.S/european airlines although I guess it shows that demand is there. There are still noticeable omissions such as TG/MH/KE etc.

If the price is right some people may be tempted to take advantage of an upgrade option to PE for the increased miles/tier points. In BA’s case this can be a significant difference. Between LHR and JFK a one way flight at a discounted economy fare will net 20 tier points. Whether you book a full fare ‘World Traveller Plus’ ticket or get a cheap upgrade deal close to the departure date you will gain the same 90 tier points. For some people that would be worth it in itself especially as it is not uncommon to be offered upgrades for c£129.

[superchris]

Value is all relative.

For me, If Y+ can be had for £200 or so per sector then I typically go for it. For me in Y, unless I can wangle a spare seat next to me, then I can neither sleep nor work so the flight is completely wasted for me and it impacts either my business or my first day back.

For me this is worth around £200. Any more and I tend to suck it up and just be grumpy in the back!

[Selbyjay]

I agree with Superchris – there’s definitly a price cap.

I dont travel by air on business so havent experienced business class (yet – 10th annivesary next year, QR or EK biz to BKK!) so usually only fly Y.

However, having experienced PE on VS – it is definitly worth the extra money – to a point. For flights under 9 hours, i’d say £150pp and £200pp for over 9 hours. The product on VS is excellent (although i’ve not experienced PE with any other carriers). I loved it so much, i’ve vowed not to do a red-eye in Y again (my next 2 VS trips are returning in PE). Day time flights, i’m happy in Y, but the extra space is welcome on a night flight. When you pro-rata the cost per hour of flight, you’ll feel whether the price is right.

It’s not business class though and you cant class PE as a watered down J; doing so will invariably lead to disappointment.

[Agamemnon]

One advantage I’ve found to PE too is that when they’re smaller cabins and on frequently overbooked routes, the IVU rate can be high. Twice I’ve been bumped to CW with BA from WTP and the same has happened with my parents.

[Henryp1]

I’ve not travelled in PE bar once as no club seats for a day flight, and agree it’s not a watered down club although I’m sure I’ve read someone post before that they prefer over club.

[Schaible]

To be honest I would not pay the additional money for premium economy. Simply not worth it, on no airline. Sitting in the “poor man’s business class” wouldn’t increase my ego and wouldn’t let me arrive considerably more relaxed. On long haul business trips I have the privilege to be in business class anyway and on my private trips I “suffer” the economy and spend the money for other retreats or upgrade with miles. Lots of airlines never implemented PE (like ME3) or even removing it again from their fleets, surely for a reason.

[Speedbird1994]

I would severely question your claim that lots of airlines are removing it. Cathay, Singapore and Lufthansa have all recently introduced the product. American and United are introducing a proper Pe product in the coming years. It is a product that is growing in popularity. And with good reason, I cannot think of anything worse than spending 12 hours cramped in economy with hundreds of other people. No one in my family will travel longhaul Eco now, just too uncomfortable. Some people are happy to rough it and save the money, I’m not and for my PE is worth the extra at any price point for the additional comfort. It makes a miserable journey into a pleasant one, and no it isn’t offering the luxury of business class, nor is it pretending to. As economy continues to get worse and worse (10 abreast 777s) and even aome airlines not bothering with IFE now in Eco (is it Tam who’ve got rid of IFE in economy on their A350s?) I think PE is a product that will continue to do well, and fits a fantastic niche for those of us who don’t want to suffer economy, but can’t afford £1000s on business class fares.

[Author]

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