any experiences of the difference?

thank yooooooz x

On long haul Premium Economy gets you a wider seat and more legroom. Seat also reclines further and has a leg rest thing that pops up. Doesn’t go flat but you can get reasonably comfortable. I think the entertainment system is the same, but the screen may be a little bigger, can’t remember.

No idea on short haul.

Flew to Kenya out on premium economy, back in standard economy. Premium was definitely nicer. We got a free upgrade though. Not sure if I’d pay for it.

Assume this is for the aftermath of your impending nuptials!

A few thoughts;

Premium;
You can sit in a pair of seats, as opposed to bank of three/four. This is rather nice if travelling as a couple, and even more so if newlywed. There’s a bit more space overall, not just the extra leg room. Food and service are the same as in Economy, though.

Economy;
It’s good. More than good enough, especially for shorter trips. I’m off to the East Coast of the US shortly, and will be flying economy both ways. (West coast is Business/Club all the way, though)

One other nice, possible, long shot of an advantage – If you’re in PE and there’s even the most remote sliver of a chance of an upgrade, you’ll get put in to Club. From economy, an upgrade to PE ain’t all that…!

Depends on the aircraft but on some shorter flights you only get a wider seat.
They turn a row of 3 seats into 2 wider ones by removing and armrest and cranking a handle. Great if you are a lard arse but not much benefit if you are a long shanks.

On long haul if you can afford it then I would say yes. You get more leg room and the seats are a bit wider. They are (at least on the planes I’ve used) 2 x 4 x 2 compared to 3 x 3 x 3 in economy – this is nice if you’re travelling as a couple as it means there is no one else annoying or to annoy in close proximity if you choose a pair of the window seats. Also more worth it for over night flights where you’re hoping to sleep compared to day flights. I would compare them to a business class seat from 10 years ago before they went all flat bed etc.

Entertainment and food are, I think, the same as in economy.

As Alan Whicker said – Always sit as close to the front of a plane as you can afford…

excellent thank you for the info 😀

it is indeed honeymoon flights so looking for any justification to make it a little nicer, hoping to ring BA and book something tonight.

flight from lahndahn to las vegas then back from san Francisco 2 weeks later

For that trip, PE is the way, Phil.

I’m off to SF in a little while as well. It’s a fair old hike of a flight, so if you can afford the extra, go PE. If you’re on my flight, I’ll see if I can bring a glass of champagne back for you both! 😉

Isn’t Premium Economy an oxymoron?

we are planning on throwing “honeymoon” into every conversation possible 😈

i wonder if the cabin crew will appreciate me demanding to know if Captain Flashheart is flying today whilt i run about shouting “flashy?!” like i’m trying to call a run away pet back 😆

😆

whilt i run about shouting “flashy?!”

You going to wear your ‘matrix’ coat whilst doing that?

Flashy has a private Learjet permanently fueled and on standby at City airport Philly. To whisk him away on a whim, to whatever exotic destination takes his fancy

If only, Binners, if only! 🙂

Try Virgin Atlantic – in my experience on that route they are just as good & cheaper.

Go economy, but log on to pick your seats for £10 (or might be £20) and chose ones behind cabin dividers – absolutely loads of leg room there.

ohhh interesting option!

Is this a new way of taking the pith?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They’ve managed to divide economy into a sub-section?!

Less seats in the cabin width in Premium economy which is what gives you more room. Last flight I was on was 3-4-3 seat across in economy and 2-3-2 in PRemium. Seat is generally more comfy. No real difference on entertainment or food front, except that you get served before the prols in the back.

Defo nicer than Economy. Worth the extra? Not if I’m paying No.

Virgin PE is better than BA PE, in fact generally Virgin seems better in all classes. More space, better service, better entertainment system. Separate queue for PE etc

The only time I’ve ever flown anything that wasn’t economy it was Premium Economy on Virgin. A little more space all round, but it was increased to the point where it was comfortable, unlike economy which is just slightly less than enough. For example, instead of a plastic arm rest thing it was a upholstered arm-rest which was wide enough for both of you to put your elbow on it and not get in each others’ way. Little things…

Defo nicer than Economy. Worth the extra? Not if I’m paying No.

I thought the same about First over Club. 😉

For a honeymoon, make it a little special at least. PE is the way on BA.

You could pay approx £40 per person per flight for exit row seats, most of the benefits of premium economy without the price tag. Did this to and from Shanghai and had two seats together and more legroom than premium. Comparing this to the same flight last year in premium, I would go for exit row every time.

Depends on the aircraft but on some shorter flights you only get a wider seat.

You sure? That’s what they do in Club Europe, but WTP is totally different – it was the old Club Class seats before they went to flat beds. Different part of the cabin.

They’ve managed to divide economy into a sub-section?!

As above – good way of re-using the old old Club Class seats!

I’m not sure it’s vastly worthwhile, if it was a small premium I’d go for it, but generally World Traveller is pretty good unless you’re extremely tall/fat. I’ve done about half a dozen return trips to SFO in WT (plus one in WTP, 1 in club and 2 in First) and like I say I’d not pay a huge premium to upgrade.

The BA flights to Las Vegas always used to be 777s, which are set up 2-5-2 in WT anyway – so as a couple you can have window/aisle. Get the exit/bulkhead row and you’ve got plenty of leg room.

SFO-LHR will be a 744, so they’re 3-4-3, whilst WTP is 2-3-2 (IIRC), so there is the chance for more privacy.

On the other hand… it’s your honeymoon. Go mental.

what we save on flights goes towards nicer hotels on our road trip… so as much as i’d love to splash out on PE this whole reserving exit row seats is definitely an excellent alternative!

Virgin PE is better than BA PE

Totally agree. However, their website etc is an unbelievable cluster flunk. Having experienced the incredible frustration of it both with Virgin Mobile and with flights I promised myself I will never use Virgin again as long as I have breath in my body, simply not worth the angst.

virgin works out more expensive also when we was getting quotes the other night, think its gunna be BA in that respect

If you’re picking World Traveller Plus for legroom then it’s better but not amazing. You could take the risk and try and get bulkhead or emergency seats down the back, but no guarantee – airlines often keep bulkhead seats in case people turn up with babies that fit in the basinets on the bulkheads.

If you don’t go for the upgrade you might get offered it for a ‘reasonable’ fee when you go to checkin online, but again it’ll depend on how full the flight is.

It’s always worth at the gate smiling nicely at the checkin person and asking if there are any spare seats with a little more legroom (don’t ask for an upgrade….), maybe throw in the honeymoon angle.

Even if you don’t get pushed to the First Class cabin they might find you some decent seats or an empty row where you get all the seats for yourself.

For info, PE and econ get same entertainment and food, though you probably get first choice of beef or chicken in PE

virgin offer faster checkin with pe also seperate security checkin so no queue, went pe with virgin got bumped up to upper class now that was a nice flight to new york

andycs – Member
You could pay approx £40 per person per flight for exit row seats, most of the benefits of premium economy without the price tag.

That might have replaced what i suggested.

The “problem” in my experience with exit row seats in Economy is that that is where everyone wants / tries to stand when they are queueing for the lav……

I normally fly WTP out in lieu of Business (even when work are paying). Noticeably better than Economy. Get a window seat and there will only be the two of you, so some intimacy. If the cost difference is not huge, it will be a good investment for the 10 hours. For the return journey, you’ll want to sleep as much as possible. I’m afraid I’m no help there as I’m normally lying flat 😉 , but a good meal before getting on and Economy should see you fine.

phil are you road tripping ?

if so i recomend you go over the grapevine – through sequoia national park and then stay at the padre hotel in bakersfield for a night- its one of those hidden gems i found by chance and really want to go back to with the mrs !

bakersfield aint all that mind but the drive over the grape vine is awesome

Travel in World Traveller Plus and you will be doing your bit to ensure I get a bonus next year 😆

I have only travelled in it a few times and have pretty mixed feelings about it. The first time I didn’t even realise I was travelling in WTP, the second time may have been OK, but the third time was a middle seat of three on an overnight flight and I didn’t rate it at all. If I had paid good money for the last flight then I would have felt cheated.

But my reference point is different from the paying traveller

Chances of an upgrade to Club are greater if you have bought a WTP ticket although Gold Card holders and the like travelling in Economy would have a higher priority.

One thing to remember is that the cabin on has 30 seats so the chances of BA needing to upgrade are typically higher on busy flights. Also, remember that airlines sell against virtual capacity and several weeks out they may already be planning on upgrading people, of course the move now is to proactively get people to pay for this and not give it away for free on the day.

On the upgrade front, you can always ask, but from experience, the only likely way you’ll get one is to spend a very, very large amount of time (And therefore money!) in a BA or other airline higher end cabin and rack up the loyalty points.

As above,

Gold Card holders and the like travelling in Economy would have a higher priority.

Which is nice. 🙂

Just a point of order, the food in WT plus is now the same main meals as Club. If the flight is busy, and they are looking to upgrade people (Economy is normally the first cabin to fill, they will oversell it and bump people up a cabin) if you are in WTP, your bump would be into club!!

the food in WT plus is now the same main meals as Club

Not on my most recent trips in WT Plus it wasn’t.

Don’t plan on getting an upgrade, you’ll most likely be disappointed – economy if I’m paying, and whatever the best available if someone else is paying.

In 10 years of heavy flying (eventually got a BA Gold Card), the ‘only’ upgrade I ever got was from Business to First; London/Singapore/Sydney and return 🙂

What is this economy or plus things you speak of? I didn’t realise there even was a rear of the plane until this thread. Having said that we do have a very favourable agreement with BA being another ‘british’ company.

What is this economy or plus things you speak of? I didn’t realise there even was a rear of the plane until this thread. Having said that we do have a very favourable agreement with BA being another ‘british’ company.

That’s the spirit 😆

One of my colleagues sons broke down into tears once when his father took him down from the Club upper deck to show him what it was like in Economy. He was about 8 years old a the time

Economy;
It’s good. More than good enough, especially for shorter trips. I’m off to the East Coast of the US shortly, and will be flying economy both ways…….

😯