Is premium economy worth the extra money?

[lackcreativity]

We are in our mid sixties, and consider ourselves "budget luxury" travelers. As such, we have flown international flights in economy, so we can put the extra money towards another future trip. However, as we are getting older, the flights are getting more difficult. We are not ready to consider business class, but is the upgrade to premium economy worth the cost? When they say extra recline, is it enough to make sleep possible? I appreciate any advice on the subject.

[Gardyloo]

Without knowing the route, the airline and the time of year, this is a very difficult question to answer. Obviously many people feel the "upgrade" is "worth it," otherwise the airlines wouldn't be offering it.  

 

Is the recline enough to make sleep possible?  Sure, but some people can sleep in a Ryanair seat with 27 inches of legroom sitting bolt upright.  Myself, I have trouble sleeping even in a business class "flat bed" on some airlines while others around me are sawing wood.  

 

I'm not trying to be cute or provocative here, but only you know how hard or easy it will be, based on your own preferences.  And it very much depends on the route.  On eastbound nighttime flights over the Atlantic from the east coast of North America, flight times are often so short that, after the takeoff, beverage and meal service, various announcements and duty-free schnorring, the actual "lights out" time is just a couple of hours, making PE or even business class hardly "worth it" to many people.  Different strokes and all that.

 

I will also say that sometimes the cheapest business class seats are sold while economy and/or PE seats are at their most expensive, as is often the case with midsummer travel to Europe from North America.  It's not uncommon to see business class round trips in the $2000 range, sometimes even less, at the same time that ordinary economy seats are going for $1000 - $1500.  This varies with airlines, weeks, and most importantly, the "city pairs" (where to where) so one can't generalize.  It's always worth checking.

Edited December 30, 2019 by Gardyloo

[All That Jazz]

It's very important to clarify what airlines you are considering. Be very careful of the terminology - the "premium" product varies across airlines, and across aircraft and itinerary. Here is a video of Delta's "Premium Select" from the airport serving Seoul to

Detroit.

 

Just google the specific flights you may be taking and there will be a ton of images and videos on youtube. Is it worth it? It is to the people who puchase those seats. Only you can determine your cost/benefit decision.

[FlyerTalker]

And to follow up....be VERY aware of what that terminology actually means, even within a particular airline.  There is NO standard nomenclature, so what one airline calls their premium economy product is very different than what another might call it.  Lots of trademarked branded naming.  Also, for some carriers, you only have options for additional legroom and a bit more recline.  For others, you have options for different wider seating, with greater recline and leg rests. And others offer both.  Finally, even within an airline, the seating on different models of aircraft can vary significantly.  So you need to be very careful about researching exactly what is being offered and how it compares to other options. 

 

All That Jazz really nailed it with the suggestion to search for actual photos and videos from travelers, so you can see directly what you might be buying.   Much more realistic than what you might find on the airline website, where often the seats are shown in a mock-up that isn't what you would find onboard.

 

And, since this is a cruise website, the "worth it" question can be analogized to "is a balcony cabin worth it?"

 

Good luck.  And if you have specific questions about an airline, aircraft and/or carrier, please feel free to ask and pick our collective brains.

 

 

 

 

[fbgd]

Nobody can answer this but you....read up and determine how much you'd be willing to pay for the benefits of premium economy for your specific airline, aircraft and route. If that's more than the airline is asking for it then yes, it is worth it to you. If it less then it isn't.

 

Personally, and from observation, it seems true premium economy costs have increased quite a lot in recent years and I find it's relatively poor value compared to business class which is a huge step up in every respect. 

[FlyerTalker]

12 minutes ago, fbgd said:

Personally, and from observation, it seems true premium economy costs have increased quite a lot in recent years and I find it's relatively poor value compared to business class which is a huge step up in every respect. 

 

Many folks think that premium economy is "business class lite".  Nope - not at all.  It's an enhanced coach product - better than standard, but still coach.

 

In the continuum of service, it's a lot closer to regular coach than it is to business.  By several multiples.

[lackcreativity]

35 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

In the continuum of service, it's a lot closer to regular coach than it is to business.  By several multiples.

Thanks, all. There was much useful information in these responses, but I think my answer is right here. I had looked at photos and videos, and it is rather easy to judge how much more comfortable a flight would be in any kind of lay flat seat on an overnight flight from the east coast to Europe. Even a few hours of sleep would make things so much easier.

 

It was harder to make any judgement about the premium economy from pictures. It sounds like, until we are willing to make the leap to business class, we will continue to struggle through flying coach. 

Edited December 30, 2019 by lackcreativity

[odblnt]

I'm over 70 years old and 6' tall. I'll only purchase premium economy for anything over 2 hours.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, odblnt said:

I'm over 70 years old and 6' tall. I'll only purchase premium economy for anything over 2 hours.

 

Isn't every flight outside the state more than 2 hours??  (HNL to OGG or ITO being short hops)

🙂

[wowzz]

We too are in our later years (!) and after travelling in economy for most  of our travels in the past,  we will now only travel PE on long haul flights. In our case we mean a proper PE cabin on VS or BA, with wider seats, more leg room and better food. 

No, the seats do not fully recline, but the overall experience is a significant improvement over economy. Given that our days of flying may be limited as we get older, we have decided that PE is most definitely worth it for us.

[FionaMG]

14 hours ago, lackcreativity said:

It was harder to make any judgement about the premium economy from pictures. It sounds like, until we are willing to make the leap to business class, we will continue to struggle through flying coach. 

 

If you are still physically able you could perhaps consider paying extra for exit row seats in economy. We did this recently when we flew LIS-MIA-LIS with TAP and it made a huge difference in terms of comfort. Even though I wasn't able to sleep (I never am when flying) it was so much better not to be crammed in with somebody else's seat back in my face. 

The upcharge on this particularly route/airline was only 70 euros per person each way, so it was definitely worth it to us.

You do have to bear in mind though that a last-minute equipment change could result in the seats not being available for you, so that's the downside.

 

 

[teacherman]

We also are getting "older" and have decided that our many years of being somewhat "conservative" with expenditures are over.  We figure we only have so many long trips left in us.  So for anything outside of the US we are flying business.  Any trip longer than 3 hours in the US is probably going to be first class.  We have used the cruise lines air programs so far and have had good luck.  I know the potential "problems" with using them, but so far it has been a good experience and less costly than booking air on our own.  My DW was always reluctant to spend the extra money, but after our first business class flight to Europe she said we are not going back to coach.  And then ordered another glass of chardonnay.😉😉😉

[CruiserBruce]

1 hour ago, teacherman said:

We also are getting "older" and have decided that our many years of being somewhat "conservative" with expenditures are over.  We figure we only have so many long trips left in us.  So for anything outside of the US we are flying business.  Any trip longer than 3 hours in the US is probably going to be first class.  

Our exact philosophy for the past 12 years we have been retired.

[Daisyloo]

We have booked PE on our last few flights and to us it was worth it.  My husband is 6"6" and the extra legroom was great. The priority boarding and priority luggage handling, included meal choices, alcohol, amenity kit etc were all appreciated.  

Our next flight is also in PE.

[3rdCoastFan]

Broadly speaking, and I'm just agreeing here with everyone else, business will likely always be the better value - but that doesn't necessarily make it affordable for everyone. It really does come down to the specific airline. I wouldn't necessarily bother with PE on United, for example, whereas I have found PE on SAS to be a great value (it even includes lounge access). 

[lackcreativity]

Thanks to all who have contributed. My early reaction was that maybe it wasn't a good idea, but while I was at work today, the additional responses have swayed me back to the idea that it may be worth a try.

 

We have only sailed with Viking, and we book the least expensive cabins (all have balconies), and will continue to do so to economize. To add another couple thousand to a trip that is 8 or 10 or 12 thousand dollars for the two of us  may not be that bad if it makes us more comfortable and less worn out when we get there. I know it's not the same as Business Class, but I am not ready to justify paying as much to get there as we do for the vacation! We fly either from Baltimore Washington International (British Airways) or Philadelphia ( American Airlines or BA), so we could always try it once and see. 

[odblnt]

18 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Isn't every flight outside the state more than 2 hours??  (HNL to OGG or ITO being short hops)

🙂

Yup. :-)

 

From time to time we do have flights that are from one place on the mainland to another, though, and 2 hours is our cutoff.

 

[Sunshine3601]

6 hours ago, 3rdCoastFan said:

I wouldn't necessarily bother with PE on United, for example, whereas I have found PE on SAS to be a great value (it even includes lounge access). 

I have a question for you.  I am currently booked for SAS plus from ewr to cph this august.  I see that delta comfort plus is currently $750 cheaper.  How would you rate comfort+ with delta on their 767-300 from jfk to cph compared to sas plus?

I have flown norwegian plus/premium for past trips and always enjoyed their Pe.

[Twickenham]

12 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I have a question for you.  I am currently booked for SAS plus from ewr to cph this august.  I see that delta comfort plus is currently $750 cheaper.  How would you rate comfort+ with delta on their 767-300 from jfk to cph compared to sas plus?

I have flown norwegian plus/premium for past trips and always enjoyed their Pe.

 

Here's where the earlier warning about terminology comes in.

 

Delta Comfort + is NOT premium economy - their recently-introduced PE is called Premium Select. Comfort + is simply economy with a bit more legroom and a bit more recline.

 

SAS plus, on the other hand, appears to be a proper PE product - thus wider seats, more recline, etc.  So by definition should be a superior product.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2019 by Twickenham

[Sunshine3601]

That is pretty much what I thought.  I'll stick with the sas plus seats we have booked.  Thank you and Happy New Year!

[3rdCoastFan]

15 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

That is pretty much what I thought.  I'll stick with the sas plus seats we have booked.  Thank you and Happy New Year!

Exactly what @Twickenham says above - the products aren't necessarily comparable at all. 

I really enjoyed my flights in SAS Plus before. As far as PE products go, I think theirs is one of the better ones. Lounge access and free wifi are uncommon benefits to PE that SAS offers. SAS also lets you bid on upgrades - if your fare class allows it, you may be able to get a business seat for a relative bargain. 

[iancal]

We do a combo of business and economy.  We usually fly to Europe in the fall, 8-10 hours for us, and Asia in the winter, a two hour, an eleven hour, and a six hour.   We are not tall or overweight so we do not find some of the upgraded economy seats of much benefit.  I suspect the airline descriptions are written with to the best possible description of the product.  We would rather do a lie down seat as we did last time to the Philippines.  Long, long flight.  One thing for certain...the various airline product offerings are by no means standard in our experience....either by airline or equipment.

 

Domestic for us is typically 3.5-4 hours.  We always do basic economy.   I suspect that we will continue with that but move to buisness class for the 8-10 hour flights.   We are also starting to break up flight with a stopover.   Did it this fall and last winter.  It made a huge difference for us.

Edited January 1, 2020 by iancal

[lackcreativity]

2 hours ago, iancal said:

Domestic for us is typically 3.5-4 hours.  We always do basic economy.   I suspect that we will continue with that but move to buisness class for the 8-10 hour flights.   We are also starting to break up flight with a stopover.   Did it this fall and last winter.  It made a huge difference for us.

The idea of a stopover is very appealing, or at least coming in early to allow time to adjust. However, I still work part time and my husband retired but now runs a busy ebay business, so we have to limit the time we are away. By the time we both retire for good, then we will have the time, but I wonder if we will feel comfortable spending the money for vacations like these? Not really complaining, as I am grateful that we have been able to do this at all. 

[Bo1953]

A related question I have is:

 

Has anyone recently traveled between EWR or PHL or YYZ to FCO lately and any input as to which airline to use for this level of service or other thoughts on this? Business class is a bit pricey for us, at the moment.

 

We are going to sail in October and such a long flight would make it a bit uncomfortable for coach, even with a stop.

 

TIA and bon voyage

 

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

A related question I have is:

 

Has anyone recently traveled between EWR or PHL or YYZ to FCO lately and any input as to which airline to use for this level of service or other thoughts on this? Business class is a bit pricey for us, at the moment.

 

We are going to sail in October and such a long flight would make it a bit uncomfortable for coach, even with a stop.

 

TIA and bon voyage

 

 

At the risk of sounding repetitive, I would definitely suggest you take a look at TAP out of EWR. You can connect in Lisbon, which is a really easy connection or, if time allows, take advantage of their free stopover programme to spend some time in the Portuguese capital, which is well worth a visit. I am seeing some very decent prices for October at the moment. TAP are members of Star Alliance, just in case you have any miles (e.g. United) that you could put towards the cost. https://www.flytap.com/en-us/