Experience flying in Premium Economy Seats vs Main Cabin

We upgraded to premium economy after Covid. One of the main reasons was most planes have the 2-4-2 configuration and we like to book the 2 seater. If you book the first row, you’ll have plenty of room to stretch out. We’ve flown PE on Air France, delta, and BA. All 3 were great - more leg room and roomier seats. We didn’t feel packed into our seats at all. We’ll be taking Delta PE to Amsterdam in May. For us, there is no going back, no matter what the price.

Is the first row in PE an exit row? Also were you able to store directly above you since no storage in front of you?

My experience is not large, but the one time I upgraded to the equivalent on Delta, I was pretty disappointed in the very small difference and won’t do it again.

On American, there IS a difference, but how much to pay for that difference remains the question. I was very happy about my choice the first time. And satisfied this week on my way home from London. However it was going to be $1,000 extra to BOOK PE originally so I did not - but was offered a $125 upgrade at check in for the flight home, which I was willing to pay (I was also able to access the lounges in LHR and DFW because of it). That being said, the economy section was maybe 1/4 full and people there were getting 3-4 seats each. And the arm rests in PE don’t raise, so even though I had 2 seats to myself, it wasn’t easy to stretch out.

All depends on price point for me. And which airline and which route makes a difference. You might also compare the cost of just paying for a seat selection with more legroom in economy for your long flights.

We find the slight uptick in costs well worth the value for PE seating, as flights from California to Europe generally mean sitting for a minimum of eleven hours. We're low maintenance and don't need the pampering (and robber baron costs) of First Class or Business Class; but having comfortable leg-room and extra seat recline is a great compromise, for a few dollars more, to get there better rested. We've flown Air France 'Premium Economy', KLM 'Economy Comfort', and Delta 'Comfort Plus' -- each their respective airlines' PE equivalents. They're all about the same, and in our experience make for a better trip.

I've not flown Delta international only domestic but isn't Comfort Plus just extra legroom seats? I think Premium Select is the Delta product that is equivalent to PE in other airlines.

I flew PE Air France to DC a couple of weeks ago. The seats definitely had more room. Our four-row section was closed off by curtains, separating the section from both business and economy. We had two toilets for the 32-seat section. Earlier boarding, available bin space. Food didn't impress, definitely an economy meal. I had a business meal on the way back to France, very different.

In another (married) life I flew premium fairly frequently. I never thought it was worth it. The increased space depending on airline is negligible to fairly "okay" but the cost isn't a slight uptick from how I fly. It's at least $1000 and $1000 for 2" for 10 hours doesn't work in my world. For that same $1000 I can take another trip to Europe in Basic Economy. But if you have the wealth, like my ex does now, and you enjoy it, no shame it it.

I've chosen and enjoyed American's PE a few times when the price difference wasn't too steep. The price difference has increased quite a bit, so the 2024 flights I have purchased are Economy only.

Syd is correct - Delta's Premium Select is distinctly different from their Comfort+.

The primary benefit for me and my partner is the 2-4-2 or the 2-2-2 configuration where we can sit by ourselves in the 2-seat section. It's a relief not trudging over strangers for restroom visits or being trudged over by strangers. We tend to be on the same schedule so we don't wake each other either. We don't mind getting up for each other and trade seats when one wants a long nap. There's also a few extra inches more legroom in PS than Comfort+ and the seats in front of you can recline into your space without being too intrusive. The trays are in the arms so they aren't disturbed when a seat reclines. The seats are a tad bit wider but the armrests are wider to accommodate trays so the width is narrower than it could be. I never feel the seats in front of us are intrusive but I still have to be careful not to grab those seats when standing up.

If you get the 2-2-2 configuration you won't even have to bother your travel partner to get up.

We like having the dedicated overhead space although that's not guaranteed of course. The footrests are not terribly helpful. I think the food options and treatment are somewhat better than Comfort+ but I haven't flown in Comfort+ in a long while. I suppose early boarding is a benefit provided they actually adhere to their stated order.

Another benefit to me is that I seldom get engaged in unwanted conversations. I've had nightmare people beside me in the past and I'm glad to avoid those situations.

Considering that it's the only way my tall partner will travel it's a necessary expense now. We have no children to enrich on our passing and while it sounds harsh no other relatives really deserve our largesse (for reasons best discussed elsewhere) so it will be spent on ourselves.

PE is my minimum now for long flights.

Is the first row in PE an exit row? Also were you able to store directly above you since no storage in front of you?

Whether or not the first row is an exit row will vary by airline and aircraft. If not exit, the front rows of PE will, at least be bulkheads—requiring overhead storage, which can get tight. There are some plance where just one side is an exit row, with loads of legroom, and the other has a bulkhead (with still good legroom.)

Some false expectations can lead to disappointments:
-The extra room has its limits: reclining seats in front will still feel encroaching, and the aisle person will have to stand for the inner seatmate to get up.
-The difference in food etc, can vary by airline. Some really turn it up, while others serve the same meals as economy, maybe just with a different presentation.

For long flights, the extra leg room is worth it.

I fly premium economy on transatlantics between Seattle and Europe because I value the extra legroom and space. I generally sit one row behind bulkhead on the theory that the person in front is less likely to recline back into my face, but that theory was disproved last month ( ___ jerk) so I may look for bulkhead in the future. Bulkhead means no under-seat storage though.

Airlines vary in the specifics of these seats. Most of my recent experience is with British, pretty good. I think the food is the same as in economy, but that's OK with me. I can't imagine paying thousands more for first or business, it's hundreds an hour when I do the math. Maybe I'll upgrade when I get really decrepit, or really rich. (Guess which is likelier.)

I have flown PE in AA for several years now and I very much appreciate the extra legroom. I’m an average size person who is 5’ 9.5” and it’s a noticeable difference to me. I think I must carry more length in my legs because my knees are right up to the seat in front of me in economy seating. Those 9-10 hours plus flights from DFW are really bad for me. The seats in PE give you several more inches and are wider and more cushioned too. I usually take the aisle seat in the 2 seat section in the last row. I like having no one behind me and you can still recline. My husband is 6’ 2.5” and the times he travels with me, whether it’s to AK where we have grandkids or to Europe it’s definitely PE for us. There is dedicated luggage space and early boarding too. I’ve never had to use a bin that wasn’t over my seat. I like the security of knowing my carry on bag has a place.

However the price has really gone up in the last few years and justifying 1,000 more is hard for my middle class (cheap) soul. Sometimes it is almost double the main cabin price. My next flight in April is round trip to London so I’m doing what is called Main Cabin extra which means normal seat but with extra legroom. I’m going to be in the bulkhead row so I’ll have great legroom but no underseat storage. I’ll be doing carryon so we’ll see how it goes. I did have to pay about $135 for the seat each way so that is almost $300 over the economy ticket. If I get the offer to upgrade on the return like TexasTravelMom for $125 I’m sure I’ll do it.

I flew the Delta version of PE in 2016 to Italy and definitely thought it was worth it. But I’m not sure it is the same, now that there seems to be 2 levels of PE between economy and business class?

We only have experience with Delta flights, but I agree with Barbara --- the reason we upgraded was because we wanted a 2-4-2 seating option vs. 3 across.

Earlier this year, we tried all 3 of the Delta upgraded seating options --- Comfort+, Premium Select, and Delta One lay flat seats. We kind of rated them afterwards to decide what we thought was worth the price.

The Comfort+ seats were in the bulkhead, directly behind the last row of Premium Select. The couple who had those seats on the 10 hour flight to AMS thought they were a great improvement over the Main cabin seats because one of them is short enough to stand up and stretch her bad hip. They especially liked having the row to themselves rather than 3 across.

On the return flight, that same couple flew Premium select, last row. So just one row in front of their first flight. They felt that the recliner and extra wide seat was an upgrade, but would make do with the bulkhead Comfort+ in the future if necessary for cost difference. They have no interest in going back to sitting 3 across with one of them stuck in the middle seat for a 10 hour flight.

We flew Premium Select, last row on the way over and Delta One Pods on the return flight. Both were great.

Delta puts a very high premium on their upgraded seats and it is hard to imagine for many of us frugal folks that it's worth it. But if you arrive refreshed both going and coming back as we did, you will consider it money well spent. A compromise is to do as we did and purchase a lower priced seat (but still upgraded) on one leg of the trip.

I've recently done PE on Delta, Virgin, Austrian and Lufthansa and I won't travel any other way. Just for the seat, forget the amenities and perhaps upgraded food. Just for the seat. In fact there's now an airline called Zipair which is a subsidiary of JAL that has a front of cabin where you get only the big seat, and everything else is a la carte. That could be a wave of the future.

HOWEVER ... not only does PE vary between airlines, it varies ON the same airline depending on the equipment. So you may or may not get the PE experience you expect and deserve. Another oddity I've noticed is that because the seats are bigger, they don't "line up" correctly with the floor attachment spaces and often there will be an IFE box filling much of the space where you planned to put your feet and carryon. So your carryon will often have to spend the whole flight above your head, but at least you have a guaranteed space there and with the extra room it's easy enough to access it.

You might also get to board slightly sooner and at least on Lufthansa if you're in PE you will be able to bid for upgrades to business (beware the prices vary wildly right up and including checkin).

We switched to Premium Economy, or whatever the specific airline calls it just before covid hit. We like the extra legroom as I am tall and the 2 seat configuration, usually quieter cabin and sometimes better food. For us it is worth the splurge and still much cheaper than business class. Can't recline flat but we can't sleep much anyways.
Have flown on the following airlines PE :

Air New Zealand...super good service, comfy seats, excellent meal outbound from LA ,return flight service excellent but forgot to load our vegetarian meal, so they gave us a bland vegan Economy meal...terrible

Swiss... to Europe from SFO...good service, decent food,seats comfy except wouldn't recline in the last row of the cabin.

Lufthansa... from Europe to SFO...
Fair service,good seat,terrible food and not much of it. Generally our worst experience

United... 3 flights
All flights,seats good,flight attendants very good ,food ... issues

1. From Munich to SFO excellent vegetarian choice from regular menu,lots of snacks etc

2,3.. San Francisco to London route RT.Ran out of vegetarian choice almost immediately on both occasions. Substitute Economy entree,not very good at all . They advertise no need to order vegetarian as they have a vegetarian regular choice. This happened both ways even though we were in the second row of the section. On the return flight I politely let the flight attendant know my frustration without blaming her . Much to her credit when it came time for the pre landing meal she served us first to assure we would get a PE vegetarian meal Now that is what I would say is good service.

Our next trip will likely be this spring to London again. I expect to fly Virgin Atlantic. One nice feature is you can pre-order your meal in P E

Lyndash, on a long flight I would always be willing to pay $300 to travel in PE in both directions. It's what I refer to as an "affordable luxury". Since I travel carryon-only, I really like being able to board when I can easily find space for my (correctly-sized)bag. We think Virgin has the best PE. On one recent flight, their Airbus had enough leg room that my husband could get past me without my getting out of my seat!

I’ve flown United Premium Economy. Note that United Also has Economy Plus.

United Premium Economy (PE) is a larger seat. It has a lot more leg room and the seat is also wider. There is a footrest. If you look at the PE cabin, there is one less seat across. I was on a 767. PE had a 2-2-2 configuration. Economy is a 2-3-2 configuration. PE also includes a better meal (although still not very good) served on nicer plates. I was in the middle of the cabin and they ran out of one of the meal choices before they even got to me. There is an amenity kit and better pillow and blanket. Toilet is in the economy section; there is not a dedicated toilet for PE.

United also had Economy Plus (E+). This is same seat as the rest of Economy but has a couple more inches of legroom.

If you search on youtube, you can see what the seats are like on various carriers.

Cala, I agree $300 is affordable luxury, but $800-$1000 makes me pause. That was the difference in my trip to London coming up next April. It’s a tipping point that will be different for everyone I’m sure and depending on lots of factors.

Where we live is primarily served by regional airports, which in turn are primarily served by Delta. Our daughter moved to NYC last year, so we are all flying a few times a year to visit. Hubby and I are 55 and 67, and for domestic flights we are in main cabin exit rows, for flights lasting 3 hours or so. Depending on price and length of flight, we may do comfort +.
Due to several factors, for long haul flights to Europe, we are in Delta Premium Select. We flew Delta One lie flat seats in 2022 to Milan before prices and travel exploded, and while it is definitely my preference, I cannot make the math work; so premium select for us. The dimensions of the seats, configuration, etc. for premium select will vary from plane to plane; based on age and model.

When Comfort + and/or premium economy has the extra recline, does it cause WWIII to use it? For the last few years, we've only flown Delta (or its codeshares) in "economy plus" seats. When possible, we choose planes with the 2-4-2 configuration. Yep, its steerage, but I think along the lines of Mister E. Because I'm shortish, I like to recline a couple inches. For whatever reason, it's easier on my back. Never during meals or beverage service. I will also tend to recline when the person in front of me does. So I'm just curious, when your seat does have the extra recline, is it acceptable to use it?

We fly Jet Blue using their “even more space” seats since my hip began bothering me several years ago. On American we flew first class domestically as a splurge last summer and it was amazing. Can’t afford to do that every time, but it’s wonderful. Bigger seats, better food, better service, large armrests so we can both use them.

But it’s a king’s ransom to us to travel first class overseas. We don’t have enough miles to use points. So I don’t know if it’s the same type of experience as their service here.

However, we are splurging next April on Delta’s Premium Select seats. I like to think it will be worth it. But we did four trips overseas using the cheap seats and I could never get any rest, and our aging bodies will appreciate the seat design of Premium select (I hope). Hoping this time I can rest and help decrease jet lag. Also it’s husband’s 70th birthday celebration so we deserve a little pampering.

Supposedly, we have designated overhead compartment space for our small backpacks(we travel carry-on only and ultralight).

Last summer I was delightfully surprised to receive a free upgrade to Premium Economy on my flight on American Airlines back from London. These things never happen to me! I like the fewer people in the row, the smaller cabin and the more comfortable seats. How much would I pay for this? I would probably go up to $300 more, but don't let them know in case I'm in line for another upgrade:)

I just booked my flight from Athens to Seattle for next October with KLM/Delta with a connection in Amsterdam. I used miles. It was very easy and cheap to upgrade to comfort + on the Athens to Amsterdam flight. I hoped for something similar on Delta only to see an upgrade at this date would cost $1200 to Premium Economy. Er.... no, thanks. Maybe the price will go down prior to next October, but I realized that as much as I like Premium Economy I wasn't willing to pay $120 an hour to sit there.

Switched to Premium Economy on Virgin Airlines over a decade ago. I fly overnight LAX to LHR. Arrive well rested. I appreciate the fact Premium Economy boards right after Upper Class. I usually head to the same seat. Right side of the plane row 23. Plane is usually an airbus.

So I'm just curious, when your seat does have the extra recline, is it
acceptable to use it?

Jules m, New plane, new seat; kinda suspect it was built that way to serve a purpose. Put it all the way down and relax. Unlike you, I am every bit of 6 feet tall and in no cheap economy seat have my knees come within 2 or 3 inches of the seat in front no matter if that seat were straight up or in full recline.

I do try and self-upgrade to PWT Preimum (an aside seat with an empty center seat next to it) or PWT Business (a completely empty row so I can stretch out across 3 or 4 seats and sleep).

By some act of God, I achieved Delta Silver status. My DIL already told me that I will rarely be upgraded. However, I usually follow the seat maps and put us in the back of the plane to hopefully get some extra seats. Wondering if I do ever get upgraded, and we do have empty seats around us in economy, is it worth moving up to premium economy for the extra leg room but not have any empty seats? I'm especially thinking of 3-4-3 planes where if we get upgraded we'll be in a row with someone else.

Regarding empty seats, the most comfortable flight I ever had was when I had the entire row of 5 seats to myself on a US Air flight to London. I would much prefer that to the coffin-sized beds in Business Class.

We did both premium and comfort plus on delta. Premium was great.Comfort plus was still better than main cabin. Imho, we will be upgrading to at least comfort plus on any transatlantic flights. Especially since I can't take the stress of finding the bulk head seats.lol.
We are at the stage of life where we are spending on upgrades and things that make the trip easier and economizing on other things. Grateful to be able to do it

I really like Delta Comfort+ for both domestic and overseas flights. I tried Delta Premium Select for my trip to France this Fall, but was VERY disappointed. The upgrade cost was very expensive, the additional recline and the footrest incline was very minimal. I won't spend $$ on that again.

I’ve done premium on two airlines

Delta - complete and total rip off. Coach services, slightly more recline but since they crammed the seats in there worse leg room than anyplace else on the plane

Virgin Atlantic. Much better all the way around. Nice seat and legroom good service