Premium Economy. Why?

[Davidjseidel]

Interesting to read all the different view points, (physical size/work pays for flight etc) of the members.

I have just booked QF PE syd/lax/syd using classic award points, so looking forward to my own experience in PE. As a "I pay for all my flights" Y has always been my choice and the cheaper the better, more money to spend at the destination, and as I can usually sleep 6-8 hours in Y the $ for upgrade have never crossed my mind.

Not sure if I am up to speed on this but I was in PE from sydney to Singapore in September and the seat was a flat bed - is that possible for PE depending on which plane it was? Or was i seated in Business without knowing it? Pardon my ignorance but my ticket said PE and I just went to the seat they allotted me so i am just sharing the experience! I tried to buy PE through to LHR but could only get first sector which if typical was well worth it,
2nd sector in Y though was another story ....

 

[drsmithy]

So does this mean its not the dependant on legroom but personal space?

Depends on how long your legs are.

 

[KitKat]

Not sure if I am up to speed on this but I was in PE from sydney to Singapore in September and the seat was a flat bed - is that possible for PE depending on which plane it was? Or was i seated in Business without knowing it? Pardon my ignorance but my ticket said PE and I just went to the seat they allotted me so i am just sharing the experience! I tried to buy PE through to LHR but could only get first sector which if typical was well worth it,
2nd sector in Y though was another story ....

Yep, if it was a flat bed, you were seated in business.

 

[serfty]

Yep, if it was a flat bed, you were seated in business.

Some 744 flights the redefine the seat configuration and some PE PAX get Business (Skybed) seating with PE service. (Al,so some Y get PE seats and some J get F seats.)

DO you remember your seat number.

 

[markh]

We have booked PE Sydney to Hong Kong next year with Qantas.

We live in Cairns, so flying south to Sydney then having to fly north to Hong Kong really sucks when you have a direct CX option. (We did QF CNS-BNE-HKG return a few years ago.)

Why?

• To fly on the A380
• Premium Economy Sale
• Likely upgrade to Business Class both being WP
• Double status credits offer

For me, it will be one of those things to tick off the list as having done, the A380 and also PE (hopefully in J with ODU.) The inconvenience of having to travel via Sydney to fly PE outweighs a Y direct flight option.

Cheers
Mark

 

[Davidjseidel]

SOme 744 flights the redifine the seat configuration and some PE PAX get Business (Skybed) seating with PE service. (Al,so some Y get PE seats and some J get F seats.)

DO you remember your seat number.

It was qf5 and seat was 25E

 

[dfcatch]

We have booked PE Sydney to Hong Kong next year with Qantas.

We live in Cairns, so flying south to Sydney then having to fly north to Hong Kong really sucks when you have a direct CX option. (We did QF CNS-BNE-HKG return a few years ago.)

Why?

• To fly on the A380
• Premium Economy Sale
• Likely upgrade to Business Class both being WP
• Double status credits offer

For me, it will be one of those things to tick off the list as having done, the A380 and also PE (hopefully in J with ODU.) The inconvenience of having to travel via Sydney to fly PE outweighs a Y direct flight option.

Cheers
Mark

I'd be more thinking the SYD F lounge outweighs the connection inconvenience

When flying internationally - I always take QF 921 so that I maximize F lounge time!

 

[markis10]

We have booked PE Sydney to Hong Kong next year with Qantas.

We live in Cairns, so flying south to Sydney then having to fly north to Hong Kong really sucks when you have a direct CX option. (We did QF CNS-BNE-HKG return a few years ago.)

Why?

• To fly on the A380
• Premium Economy Sale
• Likely upgrade to Business Class both being WP
• Double status credits offer

For me, it will be one of those things to tick off the list as having done, the A380 and also PE (hopefully in J with ODU.) The inconvenience of having to travel via Sydney to fly PE outweighs a Y direct flight option.

Cheers
Mark

I am shocked, no mention of the extra points or SCs (for going backwards rather than the double offer) on the "why" list !

 

[serfty]

It was qf5 and seat was 25E

Almost certainly an upgrade then.

 

[serfty]

Why Fly PE?

When I have booked PE Qantas I have never actually flown in PE - always upgraded to Business.

A PE PAX generally has a higher priority than those in Economy.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Almost certainly an upgrade then.

Easily determined by things such as the menu... which would have been very large and said 'business class'

 

[Allan R]

I fly to Shanghai several times a year and alway fly economy because the Business fare is just too expensive. I normally buy a sale fare ticket outbound, and Red-E (upgradable) on the return leg, in the hope of getting an upgrade to Business using points or luck, which I have managed 4 times. The flight there is not too bad but the return is a red eye, so comfort is a must. Can you book 1 seat on outbound leg and 2 seats for the return leg online, or do you need to book through an agent?

 

[Favfern]

In 2008 my wife and I flew Business Class to Europe with Etihad to attend the Anzac Dawn Service at Villers Bretonneux at approximate cost of $6500 each. Because of a damaged knee my wife sleeps with one knee drawn up. On the skinny lie flat Etihad bed, she slept not one wink to Europe and back! I on the other hand, can sleep on an Indian bed of nails, so had a most comfortable trip. We returned to Europe in September 2011, and when I jokingly suggested that I should fly Business and she should fly Economy because she can't sleep on planes anyway --- this was NOT well received! We compromised on Premium Economy with BA at a cost of about $3950 each BNE/SYD/LHR/SIN/SYD/BNE. My wife slept better in PE than she did in J, and I as usual snored contentedly away. The food was average, but there was definitely more space and legroom. No lie flat bed, but when the lie flats are as narrow as those on Etihad, they are a mixed blessing for some travellers anyway. I would certainly consider PE again for a long haul flight, provided you shop around for a good price, but don't expect "cordon bleu dining" or much of anything else other than a bit more space.

 

[markis10]

. Can you book 1 seat on outbound leg and 2 seats for the return leg online, or do you need to book through an agent?

You need to call QF and possibly a TA can also do it but QF need to know, they have a dedupe process that checks bookings for duplicates and cancels them when found, I had an instance where I was holding two SIN-SYD booking on the same day on different flights and I was told one needed to be changed or it would be cancelled, which was quite annoying! You dont earn extra SCs for the seat:

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[TD="class: textcell"][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica]Can I purchase an extra seat for personal comfort?[/FONT][/TD]
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[TD="class: textcell"][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica]Yes. Call your local[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Helvetica]Qantas office[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Helvetica]for more information about purchasing additional seats for personal comfort. Seat belt extensions can also be requested if required.[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Helvetica]You can earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points for the extra seat subject to current Frequent Flyer terms and conditions.[/FONT]
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[drsmithy]

[...] but don't expect "cordon bleu dining" or much of anything else other than a bit more space.

Which pretty much describes all you get in the non-Y classes to a 'T', IMHO. Even in J (I admit to having never travelled F so cannot speak from actual experience) the food is only marginally better than one of those "gourmet" microwave meals (so based on the scales of relative improvement, I'm guessing in F you're looking at something about on par with a meal at Sizzler, albeit with a better wine list).

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

I still remember fondly the pancakes on VA PE back from LA in 2009.

For 2K return it was money well spent.

These days the price of PE to LA return is probably not worth it.

Having said that, last year when I can back in VA Y i really noticed the difference in service, food quality, and general level of comfort, so PE is prob worth it if you don't have a spare seat next to you.

 

[fjc]

I think it does make a difference if you are sitting behind someone else in PE. If you have a space in front at least you can prop your legs up a bit with bags and pillows and it isn't a game of what I call "body tetris" where you try to twist and turn to get out of your seat if someone is reclined in front of you.

I had experienced "body tetris" recently when I flew PE on QF12 and was seated in 39D. One of the worst seats I've ever been in, and I paid PE for the privilege. There is a fixture in place on the LHS of the seat (supposedly to protect the pax from the toilet noise), the seat in front was fully reclined almost the whole trip, and I had to really battle to get out of the seat (and I'm small). With the seat in front fully reclined, I couldn't reach the bag I had my feet propped up on - had to battle to get into the aisle, then reach the bag.

Unfortunately, the QF booking engine doesn't let you see what seats are available before making the booking, unlike AA where you can see availability.

 

[serfty]

...

Unfortunately, the QF booking engine doesn't let you see what seats are available before making the booking, unlike AA where you can see availability.

That's where even a short term subscription to E/F or KVS comes in handy.

I plan my long haul routings based on issues such as available seating.

 

[djfuzz]

That's where even a short term subscription to E/F or KVS comes in handy.

I plan my long haul routings based on issues such as available seating.

But then Q-blocked seats can make even that difficult.

Booked PE tickets for my folks MEL-LAX on a 380 early last year, about four months out from departure - only seats available for them to preallocate were 39DEF (and I'd done a wee bit a research to know that this was not good for the reasons described above). According to E/F, 38DEF and most of row 34 were Q-blocked. Made a call to QF, but they couldn't help at all. Put in for a points upgrade to J, unsuccessful. Got to the airport early, but they still couldn't do anything. It wasn't until they were on board and had taken off that an FA permitted them to move to the (still) empty row 38.

As a consequence, this year I booked them on one of the final flights through SFO on a 744 - as PS at the time, my mum was able to preselect a J seat on the way up and back, though an equipment swap on the return had them back in a PE seat. Ironically, the better seat selection and forward placement of the cabin meant that they enjoyed PE on the 744 far more than the 380.

 

[ema]

If travelling alone, the personal space is a definite plus. Love the boarding drinks and after dinner liquer The personalised customer service makes the long trip so much more pleasant.

After my end year trip this year I'll only be travelling PE with my kids as teenage boys are just too big!