Is premium economy worth it?

[yo yo ma]

"The key is to understand that it's an economy plus product, not a 'business class minus' product."

Is premium economy worth it?

 

[ashleyn]

Absolutely.

 

[harvyk]

Depends, but in general yes...
Personally I do consider it lesser J than greater Y, as the food is much better than Y, the seats are more like Dom J, and if your lucky you'll nab a flight which is doing Y+ in J cabin...

 

[TonyHancock]

Personally I do consider it lesser J than greater Y, as the food is much better than Y, the seats are more like Dom J, and if your lucky you'll nab a flight which is doing Y+ in J cabin...

I would agree with you if we are discussing QF's Y+ offering.....not so much if we are discussing BA Y+ offering.

 

[Alanslegal]

My comments are like a broken record but I would never pay for Y+ , thus to me Y+ is not worth it. That extra width, leg room and recline is not going to sway my decision as it's either a flat seat or Y.

 

[Saji]

I would say its good value on Air New Zealand as seats are fantastic and service/food is better than Y.It is halfway to J. However i would not say the same for QF..tends to be a slightly better version of Y and a very poor J.

 

[MELso]

Like everything in life... it depends.

For me, there are several factors that should be weighed up:
1. Is it a daytime flight? Premium economy is fine on daytime flights because I'd be doing some light napping rather than sleeping. For night flights, I'd want a flat bed.
2. Is it a long flight? A 90 minute flight is going to be fine in economy. A 12 hour long haul less so.
3. How big are the price differentials? A 30-50% price premium for premium economy is not unreasonable given the upgraded comfort. Three times the price (as Qantas' premium economy is compared to economy at times) is, however, taking the piss.
4. Are other carriers offering business class for similar prices? This is what holds premium economy back for me. You can usually fly J on another carrier for only a small increase over premium economy on the carriers that offer it (and it can be cheaper too).
5. Paying or points? The extra few hundred dollars for premium economy can pay for an extra night's accommodation (to recover from a long Y flight) with change left over. With points, it's an easier decision.

 

[Taezar]

I did Y+ to HKG recently on a 747 - and there were only 8 of us in the cabin (seated 32 I think from memory). Conversely when I got opuped from Y+ to J coming back on the A380, the Y+ cabin was packed.
Personally, unless I got an aisle seat by the windows, I wouldn't want to travel on a packed 747 Y+ as it is 5 across in the middle. Yuck.
Best thing about Y+ on a 747 though is that you don't have to get up to the self service bar - Lindor Balls and drinkies perma delivered - w only 8 people to look after, 6 of which were asleep, I think I got uber service.

 

[trooper]

Another NZ flyer here...

..and another "yes"...

It is a lot better than Y... and what many would no doubt agree with (but which hasn't beeen emphasised on this thread... yet) is the easier/cheaper upgrades from Y+>J!!

 

[harvyk]

I wouldn't want to travel on a packed 747 Y+ as it is 5 across in the middle. Yuck.

5 across in the middle? On QF it is 2-4-2 seating, I've only come across a couple of airlines with 2-5-2, and they where all Y on 777's (and in an L1011 )...

 

[Bundy Bear]

Depends on where you are paying for it from,

PE ex Australia to the UK and back no, way to expensive.

PE ex London to Australia and return, decent price.

And to make it worse if you live in Brisbane then BNE-SIN-BNE is Y.

 

[Taezar]

5 across in the middle? On QF it is 2-4-2 seating, I've only come across a couple of airlines with 2-5-2, and they where all Y on 777's (and in an L1011 )...

you are right - just checked a photo of myself showing all the empty seats - 4 across - seemed more than that - probably cause they were all empty.

 

[juddles]

I think the QF pricing reflects reality pretty well. Y+ costs heaps more but is such a nicer experience. J is yet another level and prices reflect that.

But labels are a bit non-standard. QF Y+ pisses over AA ¨first¨ on their domestic routes. Except for the SC

 

[harvyk]

But labels are a bit non-standard.

Agreed, and they don't even have a hard and fast meaning within the one airline either. Just look at the vastly different J products between a QF B734 and an A380... Absolute chalk and cheese, and yet both use the name "Business Class", and both where used on international routes concurrently, so even the divider of international and domestic J doesn't really work either.

 

[k3nnis]

I actually quite liked VS Y+ product. I was in PE SYD-HKG, day flight and HKG-SYD (overnight) in Upper Class J. I think a good combination. The width of the PE seat was 21" which I thought was very genourous.

 

[eastwest101]

I agree with others - if Y+ is priced 20-30% above Y then it is worthwhile, if its 100%-200% price difference then that is simply taking the piss.

 

[k3nnis]

When I last looked QF's Y+ was priced like J for say MH.

 

[Paddy55]

Agree with pricing comments.
Y+ is better than whY... But about 20% better in my book

 

[eastwest101]

Yep - I used the 20-30% figure off the top of my head because with the decreased seat density of Y+ then that is the normal available Y revenue and floor space that they are sacrificing by offering Y+. Similarly a fully lie flat J or F seat has a foot print of about 2 to 4 Y seats (?) so that is why J is often 2-4 times the cost of Y (with the caveat that the business class service and food is obviously better as well so a bit different).

 

[Katie]

And to make it worse if you live in Brisbane then BNE-SIN-BNE is Y.

Except for those seasons when BNE-SIN-BNE is on a 3-class 747 rather than 2-class A33wahetever. Almost did it last year, then upgraded to J tix. Quite novel flying SIN-BNE in a 747.