Thanks OzJuice - yes, appropriate to elaborate somewhat. That post was done while scoffing down breakfast and rushing off to work this morning.
Seats: The PE seats are a significant improvement on economy. You really appreciate the extra seat width and the additional 6 inches of leg room is very noticeable. Little things like a 6 inch wide armrest means that you don't play elbows with your fellow passenger. For resting, there is both an adjustable footrest and a calf rest so your legs are very well supported. We were in the last row of PE in a row of four (the 777 has 2-4-2 layout), the benefit of this row is that we felt ok to recline our seats fully at any time without disturbing the passenger behind. We even ate our food with seats reclined fully.
The result of this seat is that we got off a 12 hour flight in a very refreshed state. Our legs did not have cramps and we felt very spritely - straight into some German beers.
IFE: The high-def 13.3 screeen makes a huge difference. I think we are all used to 48"+ HiDef screens at home and the fidelity of video that comes with that. So, we all got right into consuming the video that makes the flight whizz past. A great selection of movies and TV on that flight.
Food: I used book-the-cook to get a beef brisket and a roast chicken. Both were very good quality for airline food. My fellow passengers are both vegetarians and I would have liked for the book-the-cook to have included vegetarian options. However, the feedback from my fam was that the vegetarian dishes that they were served were far superior to the economy version. Finally, champagne is a food, apparently. We were given some very nice champoo on our flight - it is often the little things that lift our existence.
Service: The staff were superb on this flight, from champers on takeoff to much care through the entire flight. I really meant to take note of the steward's name so I could lodge a compliment to SQ - the service was that good. Very attentive service and that response that nothing is a trouble when you asked for something.
Price: I was rather late in booking our flights, so Y was $1800 AUD with PE $2700 so my rough calculation is that is 1.5 times. After getting off the flight in such high spirits, there was never a thought for the cost. As we walked up the gangway we all said "let's book PE EVERY time - it is so good!". Having grown up poor, I'm a tight cough and thought about how many bottles of wine I could have bought with the difference, but I continually learn that experiences are more valuable so consider this a very good investment.
Summary: If you have the means then you should ALWAYS book PE on SQ. The marginal difference in price (if you can get the 1.5 multiplier - even 1.8) will provide a very high return on your investment.
