Premium economy to London

[RooFlyer]

Some rellies of mine are planning a very rare overseas trip; they would normally be economy travellers but want to go Premium Economy this time; can't afford Business (but I will search for a cheap Biz sale ... Finnair?? and give them the option )

As I've not done PE, I'd appreciate any advice on what might be the best comfort/price combination, preferably ex MEL. They aren't flying until May next year, so plenty of time to watch prices and wait for a good sale.

As a start, I've told them to sign up for sale alerts from QF and CX, but what other airlines offer PE to London, and what ones should they really try to bag?

Finnair I see unfortunately isn't introducing their PE until later next year, else that would be ideal.

 

[love_the_life]

Definitely worth investing in some pressure socks for flying. $20 from the chemist can save a decent amount of discomfort at your destination.
Compression socks are also really worthwhile if you have to stand a lot for work. I wish someone had suggested them to me twenty years ago, they are hot depending on your workplace, but you get home without that heavy leg feeling many women would be familiar with.

Compression socks are good but I find as a female with ahem chubby calves and small feet that the knee high stockings by say Jobst are a pain. I have to get large to fit legs but end up with about 10cm of excess foot length. Also I have found they can cut into the thigh below knee and if you are prone to surface clots there, it can exacerbate them.

 

[suze2000]

I think there's one company that will make them to size to order. Jobst are my favourites but I have found the ones I linked to above much more comfortable for everyday wear because they are a much lighter fabric and they are also half the price so it's less devastating if they develop a ladder or pull (has happened to me a few times).
And yeah, some brands are annoying with the foot length. I have wondered if they can be altered by a good seamstress...so what do you wear?

 

[love_the_life]

I think there's one company that will make them to size to order. Jobst are my favourites but I have found the ones I linked to above much more comfortable for everyday wear because they are a much lighter fabric and they are also half the price so it's less devastating if they develop a ladder or pull (has happened to me a few times).
And yeah, some brands are annoying with the foot length. I have wondered if they can be altered by a good seamstress...so what do you wear?

Yes there is a company though I think orders go through a dr or physio. I have Jobst mainly.

 

[Denali]

Compression socks are good but I find as a female with ahem chubby calves and small feet that the knee high stockings by say Jobst are a pain. I have to get large to fit legs but end up with about 10cm of excess foot length. Also I have found they can cut into the thigh below knee and if you are prone to surface clots there, it can exacerbate them.

I love Mediven and they have wide calf sizes (ignore the men bit): Mediven for Men Select 15-20 mmHg - Wide Calf

Very happy with buying from Brightlife - bought some for hubby as well (he has skinny legs)

 

[moffat39]

Another recoomendation for China Airlines. Writing this post from Canmore Canada. Since 2012 our international trips have mostly been J redemptions on SQ but wanted to save our points we have left so had to pay for the return flight to Canada for this trip.

Decided on PE with CI and booked early December 2018. The return flight in PE Brisbane to Vancouver was around $1750 each and when i went to book could upgrade from PE to J for $1210 for the flight there or the flight back. Upgraded for the flight back so final cost for PE to Vancouver and J back is $2960 each.

Found the PE on the trip to Vancouver excellent. I am 187cm and on the plus size and plenty of room for me. Seats are 7 across on the 350 being 2/3/2. PE uses the J toilets which is a plus.

Service and food also very good.

The 17 hour stopover was a plus for us as we were able to do a private tour of Taipei

 

[infrequent_jim]

This 75 yr old man of average size flies overseas maybe once a year to visit a son in New York, and for the last 2 trips got RTW tickets in PE in Lufthansa from my friendly travel agent. The various legs are on Air NZ, Lufhansa and Qantas. The price and time is not much more than economy ($5k last time) and includes a stopover in interesting places.

I find economy just a bit too squeezy ... never get comfortable enough to sleep. I'm not precious about airline food or service. I cant afford business, but premium is a decent upgrade for me. Still dont sleep, but at least I can wriggle around more.

Another option to look at might be business on a LCC such as Scoot.

At present I'm in France on an impulse purchaced trip when chesp economy flights on Qarar came up. The 14 hr flight to Doha was nightmare (midnight departure after being awake all day, only a short doze or two even though I had 68D with no seat in front. I bought acces to the lounge there (nice as I dont get lounge access with the cheap seats). The stars aligned for the flight Doha to Paris as I got bumped up to business - Qatar's QSuire is wonderful ... what a treat.

Anyway, the point of this old man's ramble is just that - it's about long distance flying from an old persons perspective.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

For around $4600 you can have full business class to New York on China Airlines. Stopover possible in TPE only, but you could use the $400 to fly to several asian destinations on a round trip exTPE (for example Taipei-Tokyo-Shanghai-Hong Kong- Taipei before continuing on).

 

[infrequent_jim]

Hi MEL - i must have lost my train of thought - the $5K included flight across USA, some fiddling in UK and Europe. I think the base was $3800.

 

[gecko24]

Chipping in a bit late, but we have flown PE with SQ a few times and more recently CX all on long haul flights to Europe. As previously Economy class users (i.e. why I follow but don't post much on this site unlike most FF members) we think PE is worth every cent extra. SQ is a tad better but for 70 somethings PE in either SQ or CX is a cut above economy. In both cases, just being able to sit two together is a major advantage. When the seat in front is tilted fully back you don't feel like it is in your face. With the extra recline we can both sleep without our heads falling forward all the time, never truly fixed with a neck pillow. For me being short, the calf rest and foot rest makes a significant difference to my comfort although the calf rest was missing on the CX A330? shorter leg but I still had a foot rest. The wider seat is just much more comfortable than squished in economy especially in the new planes - when we did note PE was also tighter than the older planes - but economy was even worse. I usually nab the window seat, my husband the aisle. I can curl my feet up sideways if I wish and sleep leaning against the window for an alternate position. I can get past him to use the loo without him having to put the seat up or get out first. None of this is possible in Economy (apart from leaning against a window).

I think all airline food is meh and would never choose a class over another solely based on this. It is nice having proper cutlery not plastic in PE. Food is slightly better on both airlines than our experience in economy in both previously but not brilliant. We also like being able to have priority check in (our own line), priority boarding (ditto-and in Schiphol shorter and much faster than the Business class line) and being near the front of the plane makes for quicker exits.

For all of the above, to me and my hubby, choosing PE for us let alone parents is now a no-brainer.

 

[mad_atta]

I've flown a fair bit of PE, on various carriers, and IMHO the better products are most definitely worth spending extra on... though pricing varies so wildly that whether or not it's "worth it" depends very much on the specific case.

Of those I've tried, my rankings would be:
1: AirNZ - Of their 3 classes, this is the sweet spot. Consistently comfortable; business-lite service and food. Was even better when they also served the wine from J - sadly no longer.
2: Qantas - Also has that distinctly business-lite feel, but a bit more variability in quality in terms of seat quality / space / design and of course aircraft age
3: Virgin Australia - Great soft product but the seat design itself doesn't live up to the rest of the product (or make best use of the huge seat pitch on offer)
4= Singapore Airlines and China Airlines - A rung below the top three but still a good product with nice service and a comfortable seat (though overall room is notably tighter than the top 3).

Of the remainder, I reckon JAL's the frontrunner (that seat looks great) but I've never tried it. I did try TK's Comfort Class back when it still existed, and the wide seats and 45" pitch were impressive but I'd still choose NZ's overall product - the TK seat wasted a load of space. ANA and EVA look decent too.

Then there's a huge number of pretty undistinguished looking products that have been very carefully calibrated not to be *too* good - like CX, BA, VS, LH, SK etc etc. You really wouldn't want to be paying too much extra for those, but they do often give you the ability to upgrade from there relatively easily.

 

[odysseus]

It'll be interesting when Emirates new PE comes in. I think that will shake things up.

 

[kelvedon]

It'll be interesting when Emirates new PE comes in. I think that will shake things up.

They’ve been suggesting that for years. Any realistic chance anytime soon ?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

They’ve been suggesting that for years. Any realistic chance anytime soon ?

Yes. Next year. Already announced!

 

[infrequent_jim]

A bit off topic - I'm sitting in a TVG to Lyon in France in Classe 1, and I wish PE seats were as comfy as these. The pitch and width are about the same, but the seat is well upholstered as are the armrests. The hard armrests in most PE seats are literally a pain after a few hours.

 

[Daver6]

Isn't EK introducing Y+ in the near future? If this is done in time, might be an option.

 

[p--and--t]

Lufthansa

Flew Y+ on Lufthansa SIN-FRA return on A380 in 2017. as they had a special fare on at the time.

Would definitely not fly with them in Y+ again.

Hard Product

• There was actually less room than in Singapore Airlines Y,
• The hard high armrest with fold out entertainment unit made the seat uncomfortable/ less versatile
• When the passenger in front reclined there was no room at all, couldn't use the tray table - felt claustrophobic and couldn't exit the seat to the loos without climbing on the seat alongside

Soft Product

• Meals ordinary
• Staff surly & unhelpful

 

[jsoprano]

I've flown PE on QF, SQ, CX and JL in the last 12 months. All to be recommended, but each have their strengths and weaknesses:

QF - overall the best choice, with the soft product being almost C standard. Seatwise okay, the 789 seat is better but legroom is too tight in my opinion. I do prefer the 380.

JL - Close second to QF, especially thanks to the lounge access. More legroom than the other three, and I did not mind the shell-seat at all. Service was also very good as to be expected from a Japanese carrier, but the food was mainly Y options with a few additional items. Did the MEL-NRT-HEL-CDG trip and return the same route from FRA, with the European legs in Finnair Y, and connections at both NRT and HEL were easy and quick.

SQ - A solid product in my view. Service and food very good and somewhere in between Y and C, space was also good. I did not like the leather seat covers though, on longhaul I much prefer cloth.

CX - Also a good product, not as good as the other three though, in my books. Service and food is Y standard, so you get more space and a better seat. Especially on the A350 it is a solid product, with a newer seat and a bit more space than on the 77W or 330.

 

[Forg]

Very interesting to see the ratings given the various airlines!

Here's a slightly different spin on it; my better-half might be attending a meeting in Tokyo later this year, and I may be able to join her for a short trip afterwards.
Looking at airfares, Y+ on most airlines is about the same cost as what Jetstar calls J, and Jetstar flies direct.
Is there a reason not to J on JQ for same $ as Y+ on others?

 

[p--and--t]

Very interesting to see the ratings given the various airlines!

Here's a slightly different spin on it; my better-half might be attending a meeting in Tokyo later this year, and I may be able to join her for a short trip afterwards.
Looking at airfares, Y+ on most airlines is about the same cost as what Jetstar calls J, and Jetstar flies direct.
Is there a reason not to J on JQ for same $ as Y+ on others?

A few years back now but I flew OneStar Syd-Sgn in "J".

It was about the same hardware wise as J domestic (on QF), possibly a little more room, not cleaned properly before flight (dirty tray table etc).

Meal was inedible (but that can be a once off) and staff so so.

Summary: Don't have expectations too high for soft product and hard product quite a bit superior to Y+

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Is there a reason not to J on JQ for same $ as Y+ on others?

Yes! Jetstar cancellations!

Look at JQ’s facebook page, or the thread here on AFF... they seem to be a plane short EVEN WITH the Japanese plane back in service. At least one major destination gets a cancelled flight each week... rotated between Bali, Thailand and Singapore (and I guess Japan too, but I haven’t flown there with them, so haven’t checked).

Service recovery can be a flight two or three days later.

Seriously, it’s not worth the worry. Scoot isn’t much better by the look of it.

I’d stay with the legacy carriers.