Premium Economy vs Economy

lalipule

Hi

I'm planning holidays in Japan and I'm thinking of flying with Virgin or Air France from Dublin to Tokyo.
I found good review for both airlines, Air France additionally has Airbus A380 in the fleet so it would be interesting to fly in that plane.
But at the moment I'm considering whether I should book Premium Economy or Economy. There were some review that I found here but they were from 3-5 years ago. I'm curious what do people thing of it now. I know there were some changes that both airlines done recently so it would be great to get fresh information.
Currently the flight from Dublin to Tokyo in economy class for 2 persons is around 2k where premium economy is approx. 3k.
The food seems to be almost the same in both classes just there is difference in seats, and this is what I'm mostly interested in.
- do you have leg rest or leg support or both in premium economy?
- how far you can recline in the chair (premium), is it the same as in economy class? I know this is no business class so I'm not expecting to be able to get a "bed position" but was curious what is the max that the chair will recline?

I'm trying to justify spending additional 1k on the trip knowing that the flight will last more than 10hours and it would be nice to be able to sleep a bit during it. I'm a light sleeper and can't sleep anywhere (I admire people who can) so the more comfortable conditions the better.

lalipule

samhail

I flew over to india with Air France on Economy (start of jan) and Premium Economy back (start of Mar).
The Premium Economy does have a built in recliner which can recline a good bit.
The Economy class recliner moves the entire chair.
There is a good bit of room on the arm rest between the seats in premium econ too.

I never sleep on slights either, but i did get alot more comfortable in Premium on the way back, then on the way over.

The biggest plus for me was the baggage allowance though. twice the weight on the Premium

mikedragon32

If you know the details of the flights you're planning, you can have a look on www.seatguru.com to see the likely aircraft types and seating configurations. It will allow you to see the type of seats and the legroom offered.

Savman

Premium Economy is a gimmick IMHO, couldn't see myself ever putting up the extra dollars for a few extra inches. It's not like you are getting business class level of service, it's all still cattle class at the end of the day.

If it was me I'd pocket the extra €1k and live with Economy which, if it's the A380, is no shabby way to travel.

cocoshovel

2k for 2 people? Only a month ago flights were €600 each(I booked with KLM flying out and Air France flying back through Ebookers if thats any help to you. ),
unfortunately they went up by 200 but something still sounds a bit expensive with 2k.
I considered the premium economy option but then I thought it would be a waste of money. Id say keep the extra cash you would have spent on it for spending and accomodation. After all it really only is a few extra inches of leg room and seat width.

Here is Virgin's Premium Economy on the aircraft they use for the Japan route.
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/4/9/8/1174894.jpg

Ill try post some economy/premium shots of virgin and air france later.

Also as said above, www.seatguru.com is your friend. Air france use Airbus A380 on the route and Virgin use the A340 afaik.

edit: Here is Air France A380 economy: http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/0/7/2/1620270.jpg

bazzachazza

Savman wrote: »

Premium Economy is a gimmick IMHO, couldn't see myself ever putting up the extra dollars for a few extra inches. It's not like you are getting business class level of service, it's all still cattle class at the end of the day.

If it was me I'd pocket the extra €1k and live with Economy which, if it's the A380, is no shabby way to travel.

This.

Waste of money unless you are very short. I flew BA Club to JFK and BA Premium back 5 years ago and NO comparison, Club is a 6ft fully reclined bed and Premium has 6 inches extra knee room(Virgin) and reclines a small read small bit more, it has a foot rest but unless you are short and your leg bends mid calf then this is impractical.

1K is a lot of money that could go towards upgrading very night of your stay to luxury rooms. Invest some in an iPad and some films and good noise cancelling ear phones and you might sleep but the flight will fly passed.

Note:

Actually just read the seatguru on Air France A380 and it says you get an extra 18in's over economy, I would pay for that.

steve-o

Air France premium economy seat is one of the best out there. It's wider than economy and has loads of legroom. The seatbacks are completely solid, so the person in front cannot recline into you. If you recline, the base of your seat actually slides forward, so you use your own legroom rather than imposing on the person behind.

Kaner2004

If someone said to you that you had to sit on a couch for a few hours they will give you a nice smile, but if you sit on a stool for a few hours they will pay you €1000. Would you sit on the stool or the couch?

Same thing as economy and first class to me. The markup is unbelievable and the people who fall for it are endless.
First class is great when someone else pays for it for me, but i wont pay for it

jhegarty

Kaner2004 wrote: »

If someone said to you that you had to sit on a couch for a few hours they will give you a nice smile, but if you sit on a stool for a few hours they will pay you €1000. Would you sit on the stool or the couch?

Same thing as economy and first class to me. The markup is unbelievable and the people who fall for it are endless.
First class is great when someone else pays for it for me, but i wont pay for it

I would do it , and then spend the money on a upgrade on my next flight

murphym7

I've flown Economy almost all the time with various airlines, most of the long haul experiences were pretty misery filled. Flew business with BA and AL - really enjoyed the experience with BA (upstairs on the 747). Flew Premium economy with BA too - much better than economy obviously, but no comparrison to Club World. And there is not supposed to be a comparrison either - its a totally different product. I would pay the 500 per person for a return long haul, needs to be 8 hours plus though. Thats my opinion though, if I can avoid economy I will. Even the little bit of extra comfort in PE makes it worth it for me.

I have a treat of first class with BA coming up in a few weeks - can't wait!

cyberspider

I have traveled hundreds of medium (7/8 hours) and long hall flights with work over the last number of years and can tell you that Premium vs standard economy can be very different depending on the airline.

Virgin Atlantic premium is a big step up from their economy product with much more leg room, recline and general space. At 500 return for two its definitely well worth it for a long trip like that. The food is crap but even Upper on Virgin is really poor in terms of the food. You can usually upgrade at checkin from economy to premium but they charge c. £199 per person each way.

As for Air France, I have avoided them to date as I am not a fan of CDG airport so cant give you feedback on their product.

cocoshovel

cyberspider wrote: »

As for Air France, I have avoided them to date as I am not a fan of CDG airport so cant give you feedback on their product.

I dont think there is a living soul on the planet that is