A 300-pound person and premium economy seat

[barante]

  Planning for a trans-Atlantic on the Sky Princess from Southampton to FLL, I am likely to have my first experience with Princess Air.

  The difference between the very reasonably priced premium economy and business convinces a traveler to try to justify the cheaper option. So could a 300-pounder squeeze into a premium seat (and wiggle out)?

 

   At this writing Air Portugal is selling very reasonably priced business seats but its flights involve a tight change of planes in Lisbon. No room for error. And flying in earlier is likely to present its own set of Covid testing problems.  So I am looking at various options from BWI/IAD to LHR.

Edited December 18, 2021 by barante

[pinotlover]

300 lbs at 6’6”” is entirely different than 300 lbs at 5’6”.  Hard to answer your words.

[FlyerTalker]

If you are talking about TAP, be aware that they do NOT have a premium economy product.

 

They have a section of economy with additional legroom and recline.

 

Not the same thing.

[waterbug123]

On 12/19/2021 at 2:09 PM, FlyerTalker said:

If you are talking about TAP, be aware that they do NOT have a premium economy product.

 

They have a section of economy with additional legroom and recline.

 

Not the same thing.

 

And this has long been an issue with the various economy "plus" products....the cruise lines don't have a way to differentiate between those and true premium economy, so they tend to refer to anything more than regular economy as "premium" economy whether it truly is or not.  It's hard to tell what you're buying when you book air through the cruiseline. 

[Bo1953]

14 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

And this has long been an issue with the various economy "plus" products....the cruise lines don't have a way to differentiate between those and true premium economy, so they tend to refer to anything more than regular economy as "premium" economy whether it truly is or not.  It's hard to tell what you're buying when you book air through the cruiseline. 

While true, it does not absolve any of us from doing "some" research before pulling the trigger and not just rely on the wording provided by either the airline or cruise line.

 

bon voyage

[MSUjohn]

a lot of "premium economy" seats are just coach with four or five extra inches of legroom. some airlines like delta airlines has two separate and distinct "premium economy"  products.

 

i am not trying to be mean, but being a plus size gentlemen width of the seat is what is really going to matter. not having the sides of the chair dig into you for 8 hours or, um spilling into your rowmates.

 

[GeezerCouple]

On 12/18/2021 at 4:33 PM, barante said:

  Planning for a trans-Atlantic on the Sky Princess from Southampton to FLL, I am likely to have my first experience with Princess Air.

  The difference between the very reasonably priced premium economy and business convinces a traveler to try to justify the cheaper option. So could a 300-pounder squeeze into a premium seat (and wiggle out)?

 

   At this writing Air Portugal is selling very reasonably priced business seats but its flights involve a tight change of planes in Lisbon. No room for error. And flying in earlier is likely to present its own set of Covid testing problems.  So I am looking at various options from BWI/IAD to LHR.

 

What about trying to purchase two adjacent coach seats, being careful to check that the armrest can be moved out of the way.  This usually requires a phone call so that both seats are reserved for one person (and it's clear no mistake was made).  Or perhaps choose two seats in an "extra leg room" section if that's a factor.

 

GC

[zdcatc12]

7 hours ago, MSUjohn said:

a lot of "premium economy" seats are just coach with four or five extra inches of legroom. some airlines like delta airlines has two separate and distinct "premium economy"  products.

Can you give any examples of airlines that market their "Prmeium Economy" as such? Another party may refer to it by that, but I don't know of any airlines that do.

 

 Also, FYI, Delta does NOT market Comfort + as a "premium economy" product.

[FlyerTalker]

Absolutely correct, ZDC.

 

The confusion about PE comes from the consumer end, including cruise lines - not from the airlines themselves, who very clearly distinguish between genuine PE and merely extra legroom offerings.

 

[FlyerTalker]

More than a week later and the OP is still AWOL.

[barante]

Yes, because the OP was on a Christmas cruise. No flying involved. Thanks all for input.

Edited December 26, 2021 by barante

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, barante said:

Yes, because the OP was on a Christmas cruise. No flying involved. Thanks all for input.

 

I hope that you enjoyed your Christmas cruise.  The ones on which I have sailed have always been memorable for me.  

[barante]

The suspense is over.

 

Just booked nonstop EZAIr business class tickets from IAD to LHR, the two of us totaling $2,035, an unbeatable fare. We got ticketed by codeshared American Airlines, which was a few dollars cheaper than British Airways, which operates the flight. Go figure! 

 

We are on a Sky Princess trans-Atlantic sailing from Southampton Oct. 29.

[barante]

Item: I would have preferred my hometown Baltimore's BWI, but those EZAir business class tickets for the same date were more than twice as expensive.

 

For that money, I'll gladly drive to Dulles.

Edited December 28, 2021 by barante

[rkacruiser]

3 hours ago, barante said:

Item: I would have preferred my hometown Baltimore's BWI, but those EZAir business class tickets for the same date were more than twice as expensive.

 

For that money, I'll gladly drive to Dulles.

 

It has interested me for many years as to why some airports are considered "gateway airports" and others aren't.  BWI must not be while Dulles must be.  

[MSUjohn]

On 12/24/2021 at 6:07 PM, zdcatc12 said:

Can you give any examples of airlines that market their "Prmeium Economy" as such? Another party may refer to it by that, but I don't know of any airlines that do.

 

 Also, FYI, Delta does NOT market Comfort + as a "premium economy" product.

delta: "comfort+" = coach with a few extra inches of pitch 

delta "premium select" = premium economy 

 

premium economy is a generic term thrown around by the public.

[zdcatc12]

On 12/24/2021 at 9:48 AM, MSUjohn said:

a lot of "premium economy" seats are just coach with four or five extra inches of legroom. some airlines like delta airlines has two separate and distinct "premium economy"  products.

 

22 hours ago, MSUjohn said:

delta: "comfort+" = coach with a few extra inches of pitch 

delta "premium select" = premium economy 

 

premium economy is a generic term thrown around by the public.

You are contradicting yourself. On your first post above you say that Delta has two separate and distinct "premium economy"  products, but then your latest post changes the narrative. Nowhere in Delta's description of Comfort + will you find anything about it being Premium Economy.

[MSUjohn]

22 hours ago, zdcatc12 said:

 

You are contradicting yourself. On your first post above you say that Delta has two separate and distinct "premium economy"  products, but then your latest post changes the narrative. Nowhere in Delta's description of Comfort + will you find anything about it being Premium Economy.

my on the spectrum friend, 

if you notice in my first post the term premium economy is in parentheses....think air quotes.

i did this as a shorthand to differentiate between coach and coach with extra legroom (comfort plus). i am very familiar with delta DTW is my home airport and i end up some sort of medallion status most years.

[wowzz]

On 12/28/2021 at 6:01 PM, barante said:

The suspense is over.

 

Just booked nonstop EZAIr business class tickets from IAD to LHR, the two of us totaling $2,035, an unbeatable fare. We got ticketed by codeshared American Airlines, which was a few dollars cheaper than British Airways, which operates the flight. Go figure! 

 

We are on a Sky Princess trans-Atlantic sailing from Southampton Oct. 29.

Just a thought, and I'm not sure how it works if you book through an AA code share, but you normally have  to pay a supplement if you want to select your seats in advance on the BA flight

Edited January 1, 2022 by wowzz

[pcur]

I previously had width issues with airplane seats.  I suggest, even though you've purchased your air tickets, that you check the airplane information, and seat reviews on seatguru.com.

 

I used to bring my own seat belt extenders that I purchased online.  That way I knew I would never be squished by the seat belt.

 

Men tend to be narrower through the hip area than women, so you may not have much of an issue with the fit side-to-side in the seat.  My husband was 6'1" and weighed about 280.  He never had a problem with the width of a seat.

 

Your issue will be the depth (pitch), and seatguru can help with that.  My son is 6'4" and usually tries for exit row seats. He's just plain long:  torso and legs both.

 

Worst case scenario: get up and walk and stretch if the leg room becomes an issue.

[Zach1213]

3 hours ago, pcur said:

I used to bring my own seat belt extenders that I purchased online.  That way I knew I would never be squished by the seat belt.

 

Genuinely intrigued as someone who works with FAA approvals (on the plane itself, not the interiors) - are the buy-it-yourself seatbelt extenders FAA approved? I never knew that was something you could buy yourself or that they would let you use. 

[pcur]

4 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Genuinely intrigued as someone who works with FAA approvals (on the plane itself, not the interiors) - are the buy-it-yourself seatbelt extenders FAA approved? I never knew that was something you could buy yourself or that they would let you use. 

The extender has a card included that says, "This item is safety tested and FAA Compliant", and has a serial number.

 

My Southwest extender is one that Southwest gave me because I had two connections, and the flight attendant said they never know how short some of the frayed ones are cut and resewn, so she gave me one.  

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, pcur said:

The extender has a card included that says, "This item is safety tested and FAA Compliant", and has a serial number.

 

 

Which doesn't mean its use is approved.

 

From the FAA itself:

 

https://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/info/all_infos/media/2012/info12012.pdf

 

I know that pcur has blocked me, so she won't see this.  Add this to the list of times where she has been a bit mistaken.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, pcur said:

My Southwest extender is one that Southwest gave me because I had two connections, and the flight attendant said they never know how short some of the frayed ones are cut and resewn, so she gave me one.  

 

And the flight attendant violated federal regs by giving it to you.  Safety equipment onboard the aircraft are regulated items.

[6rugrats]

5 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Genuinely intrigued as someone who works with FAA approvals (on the plane itself, not the interiors) - are the buy-it-yourself seatbelt extenders FAA approved? I never knew that was something you could buy yourself or that they would let you use it.

 

1 hour ago, pcur said:

The extender has a card included that says, "This item is safety tested and FAA Compliant", and has a serial number.

 

My Southwest extender is one that Southwest gave me because I had two connections, and the flight attendant said they never know how short some of the frayed ones are cut and resewn, so she gave me one.  

You may get away with it, but I don’t know any airline that allows you to use your own seatbelt extender.  I see a lot of “therapy dog” vests too.

Edited January 21, 2022 by 6rugrats