To UK in PE - is it worth it?

[smckay]

I'm new here so work with me

I'm looking to go to UK for 3 weeks in Sept/Oct 2010. I'd like to go PE, simply because I'm a long streak of duck s**t and my legs tend to get aggro in Economy seats. Don't care about food, drink or pretty hosty, but I'd take it if it was on offer

My dilemma is that PE is $7,000 (on Virgin Atlantic) or $8,700 on QF. Economy is half that.

Should I spend the dollars on more leg room for a measly 40-odd hours, or chuck it into nice rooms in UK (I'm told some are pretty dodgy so need to go middle range).

I'd take the exit row option but having no flying miles I have to wait until 7 days before to try to get one on QF. Bummer if you miss out.

What do people think?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I'm new here so work with me



What do people think?

I suggest you also have look at the discount J offerings that our about on some of the other Airlines..

 

[smckay]

No can do.

Missus has strict rules re type of airline, so QF is prolly only one that is approved. Emirates and Singapore might get the nod but.

Just do as I do, nod your head and say "Yes dear"

 

[docjames]

We optend for Y+ in May/June. High $4ks pp on QF. We had side trip to CDG so ended up slightly over $5k pp.

Have a look at VAustralia via LAX - they seem to have good pricing for their Y+ product.

Virgin atlantic were stupidly expensive. BA was competitive on price with QF, but their product isnt as good......

+1 to seeing if you caqn wangle J on MH, TG or EK for that costing (maybe you could show dummy bookings in Y+ (or even book it if it's fully flexible) then ask to book the J for the same / pay a supplementary extra to go J??)

 

[lovetravellingoz]

No can do.

Missus has strict rules re type of airline, so QF is prolly only one that is approved. Emirates and Singapore might get the nod but.

Just do as I do, nod your head and say "Yes dear"

Though maybe if you say we can go Business Class for the same or less???
A few pics of the seats and cabins may assist...plus access to Business Class Lounges.

 

[MelUser]

Have flown PE to US and back.

It was in business class seating so can't speak for proper seats.

If I was in PE proper I would want to be on the A380 as have your own toilets without needing to share with economy class passengers.

Food and service is good - drinks are equivalent to business class as is the mid flight baguette snacky thing.

I'm not sure if you get lounge access as we had lounge access due to Plat status - others will know.

I guess it depends what you are seeking on the plane - it certainly looks a lot less dreary than economy class and on a full flight people are less sardined in.

If saving money is an issue then economy class to europe can be broken up by 2 or 3 days stay in Asia - my favourite is Hong Kong. This is still cheaper than premium and business but means that you lose time in europe.

 

[RB]

I certainly thought QF Y+ was worthwhile in 2009 but the prices were much different then!
Suggest you highlight the current Virgin Y+ specials available if your times are flexible.

 

[drewbles]

Have flown Y+ several times now (thanks to free upgrades and cabin re-shuffles).

Y+ is a good product, but not worth the cash IMHO. The leg room is superior, the seat superior and the drinks are the same as J (usually). Food is OK, but not the same as J.

As others have mentioned, you'd be better off finding another airline that has discount J to Europe. Y+ is over-priced on QF, and plenty of the opposition will fly you in J for less and give you the lounge access (There is no lounge access whilst flying Y+ nor do you receive priority luggage handling).

 

[kamchatsky]

I just tried PE on VS SYD-HKG in January and have posted my comments in FT (see below).
With the high prices you better off flying discount Js to London. Maybe you can even look at NZ Y+/J if possible. NZ J is fantastic (so is SQ J but SQ is never cheap).
Given my experience mentioned below on VS (which I was very much so surprised), I would stay away from VS if possible.

_______________________________________________________
VS SYD-HKG Premium Economy - FlyerTalk Forums

"Well I have finally tried for the first time Virgin Atlantic SYD-HKG on PE. Here are my comments:

Checkin: Relatively QUICK as we have dedicated PE line but then we were a bit late and Economy line was quite short anyway.

Seats: GOOD size with good leg room. I managed to get my legs straightened during the flight which was great. For points redemption I think it is great value.

Service: POOR. This is probably the worst service I have had for a non-LCC airline for a long time. FAs seemed disinterested whatsoever in term of service. When I tried to get water by pressing the call button, the FA came and took my cup. Then forgot about it completely. I waited 15 minutes before pressing call button again to get my water. This happened TWICE to me on the same flight, and both times it was not busy time either (ie serving meals etc).

Also, they had the WORST EVER Chinese (Cantonese) instruction reader ever. After reading instruction in English, their attempt to interpret in Chinese was so poor (pauses of like 15 seconds when they could not figure out the right word) I wondered if they know Chinese at all (even though most FAs are Chinese).

FOOD: POOR. Normally I eat all if not most of the food provided. My wife's vegetarian food look so disgusting it was not funny. She hardly ate any food on board. My chicken thigh dish was better but still did not finish all the food, and was not impressed by their supposedly "fine dining" in their ads

IFE: OK, but dated. Several times they had to restart the system because it hunged or have "segmentation fault". Also it took some time to figure out how to use the system itself. I didn't say bad because I know a lot of airlines don't even have IFEs at all.

Other points: when we were in PE, there was a family of 8 with 2 kids and 2 Fillipino helpers. The 2 kids were crying, and blocking the aisle most of the time. I could not sleep properly. The parents and helpers did not do anything to get them to sit down quietly. It really is a shame because in a way they ruined the experience for everyone else. Luckily it was not a night flight.

In conclusion, I think Virgin is falling behind against CX and QF (on Y) on services for SYD-HKG route. Whilst I can accept older IFE systems, their services and food is much to be desired. I can get better service on CX/QF Y than VS PE, and that says something, given that I tried to avoid QF at all costs these days. The plus is the Premium Economy seating which is spacious at relatively few miles to redeem, and that VS is cheaper for flight redemptions compared with CX and QF. But they need to get some decent FAs to change their attitudes very quickly, and I hope it is not the "new VS culture".

I came back to Sydney on SQ J and it was great (admittedly it was J rather than PE). "

 

[Bundy Bear]

To get a good deal you need to be creative.

My suggestion.

Qantas Australia to Hong Kong or Singapore; in economy. short 8 hour flight generally from ports in Australia, pick your stop over city, flying economy.

go to either www.qantas.com.sg or Qantas - flights to Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Asia. Book airfares at qantas.com. to book from your stop over city to London.

Singapore to London and select Premium economy
Singapore dam expensive about $6495 SGD ($5,196 AUD)

Hong Kong to London and select Premium economy
Hong Kong not so bad $11060 HKD ($1,580 AUD)

Hong Kong is my suggestion.

The flight from Hong Kong to London is day flight so what you could do is book to Hong Kong; then overnight; then 8:00am departure Hong Kong to London. There is a hotel about 10 minute free bus shuttle. Book a hotel online with Accor Hotels ?

The 10 hour break in flights gives you a little leeway in case of any delay and 2 day flights means you will arrive in London not so tired; and you then have time to get to your hotel and check in while its still light.

Yes I have done it, but I flew VS to Hong Kong because I had some points.

 

[smckay]

Not easy is it? With my $8,000 budget for 2 pax I might be struggling. but the US route sounds OK. Cheap flight to SFO/NYK and then United to UK.

Least its a few months away and I have a large download limit on internet :mrgreen:

 

[wandering_fred]

It seems I have converted Bundy :shock::mrgreen:

I agree wholeheartedly but will add an additional piece of info. There appears to be a bug on booking Y+ via SIN. The first page will show you the W (flex) fare even if there are R (restricted) class seats available. Also British Airways is offering (BA) code shares on QF planes in Y+ at what would seem to be the proper levels. And as Y+/WT+ are considered full economy earnings, it wouldn't matter from a SC earning point of view which airline tickets. Note: there is a difference in the seats/service.

You don't indicate where you are located or your Oz point of departure. Getting cheap(er) fares to SIN/HKG or other reasonable points in SEAsia is rather dependent on that info. And remember two one way tickets on these routes may be substantially cheaper than round trip.

Edit: Why Y+

The extra leg room and recline - not enormous but useful
The lack of dueling elbows when eating
With status: the extra opportunity for upgrades from a small cabin
The possible opportunity for a J seat with Y service. translation: better sleep

YMMV
End edit

Happy wandering

Fred

 

[MAX_1]

Also check out the Emirates Mixed Fare.
Business from Aust to Dubai and then Economy to London. At least the long part of the flight will be comfortable. Select departure at night so arrive Dubai early morning and catch a daylight flight to London.

 

[smckay]

Whoops.

Leaving from Sydney.

So If I bought a BA Y+ ticket and worked it to be a QF plane would that be a good idea?
Missus also does not like the idea of changing/waiting planes more than needed.

 

[VirginiaF]

maybe i don't have the facts right, but on the jetabroad website, there are vs w fares at aud3,500 return single, as well as a sk/qf bundle at about the same price but not direct flight, and ba at aud3,600 which all should meet the budget criteria.

 

[smckay]

I seen the Virgin Atlantic (VS??) fare but a few bad comments have me worried about their service.
Would be happy to pay it but just unsure exactly what sort of flight it would be.

 

[Natt]

I might be way off - but might you be able to lure your partner onto Air New Zealand from Hong Kong to London?

If you got the fare at the right time you may be able to squeeze in their Business Premier

possibly

just a thought out of left field - its one of the options we were looking at

 

[ChrisBNE]

I wouldnt have any problem flying with VS. I looked at a October fare today in PE for aroudn $3500pp incl taxes on VS. QF around $5.5k, BA $4k.

as far as products go QF > VS > BA.

 

[NYCguy]

I can find an AU$6100 Biz fare SYD-LHR-SYD in JL in Sep/Oct.

That's a great deal!

If your wife turns her nose up at JAL, I suggest you get a new wife.

MH also has a keen fare from $6550 in Biz. Ditto advice re new wife if she isn't keen on MH J.

 

[Bang4Buck]

I can find an AU$6100 Biz fare SYD-LHR-SYD in JL in Sep/Oct.

That's a great deal!

If your wife turns her nose up at JAL, I suggest you get a new wife.

MH also has a keen fare from $6550 in Biz. Ditto advice re new wife if she isn't keen on MH J.

Budget is $8,000AUD for two.