Get ready for premium economy

Yes, I noticed this. I have a Delta flight in mid-November to Amsterdam. When I looked up the seating chart I was surprised to see Delta One, Delta Premium Select, Comfort Plus, and Main, which also includes Basic Economy. A mind-boggling array of seating and classes.

Oddly enough, not sure if people are just confused about what Premium Select is, but Delta One is over half booked, Comfort Plus about half booked, Main is lightly filled...but Basic Economy has not been assigned seats yet; and Premium Select is basically empty.

Delta does not upgrade into Delta One (except maybe Diamond), I guess I will see if they do to Premium Select. To purchase an upgrade was not too bad, maybe $300-$400, but I am fine with the upgrade to Comfort Plus.

There are more "classes" than you can shake a stick at now, and lots of different names for them. I generally fly premium economy, or whatever they call it, on long hauls. Mostly it's about the legroom, I could care less about screen size and I haven't noticed any difference in food (or much food at all lately). I agree with phred's advice to check Seatguru to see what you're getting for those extra dollars.

Congress has been unable to require the FAA to set standards for seat dimensions, so it's the the airlines' Wild West for creative titles and symbols, meaning whatever they want them to. Not to mention extra charges for seat selection, checked bags, and whatever else they can think of.

The Points Guy just ran an article on Premium Economy. It was focused on award travel options, but does give a rundown on what the various airline offerings are:

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/premium-economy-awards/

Just comparing seating, on a Delta A350, seating is a 3-3-3 arrangement mostly, in Premium Select it is 2-4-2, so splitting a standard width seat among 8 seats roughly, so maybe a couple inches wider seats.

I'm flying Premium Economy on Air France next month from DTW to CDG. More than anything the smaller cabin with less chaos is what is appealing. Unfortunately my flight back from FRA to DTW was cancelled so no Premium on the flight to ATL.

If I can be a little more comfortable and enjoy a more intimate cabin, I may be a convert.

I’m hoping to fly Delta Premium Select from ATL to CDG next May, but no Premium Select seats are currently offered on that route. Seems strange since Atlanta and Paris are major hubs for Delta. Any ideas?

Congress has been unable to require the FAA to set standards for seat
dimensions

And thats a bad thing? More variety, more choices to fit your need and budget. I happen to like Turkish Air's lack of identifier, just pay a few bucks more on which ever leg you want for a better seat.

Pre pandemic we used to take a lot of the Asian cheap airlines (Air Asia and similar)- they tend to fly jets which are 3-4-3 seating (one class). You can pay extra for extra row seats - but the seats are narrower because the tray table goes in the arm and sometimes they don't recline. They then started giving us offfers to buy the 3rd seat- that was a game changer - so much more comfortable.

I'm eyeing up Hawaiian Airlines comfort class seats - which have more leg room - for an 8 hour flight to HNL out of NZ next year.

Another consideration is that Delta's "Premium Select" tickets are seldom refundable while "Comfort +" can be made refundable.

Do you have a source for this?

Eric, disregard my deleted post.
I've actually discovered that I can indeed purchase refundable premium select at varying degrees of affordability. There's a blurb at https://upgradedpoints.com/travel/airlines/delta-premium-select-vs-delta-one/ that says:

Cancellation and Refunds

Most Delta Premium Select seats will be non-refundable. Only the most expensive Delta Premium Select tickets will be refundable, and the ticket terms are stated when you purchase the ticket, either on the phone or on Delta.com.

It doesn't appear to be true now aside from the "most expensive" description.

Yeah! Air France has put new, cushy reclining seats in the A350 Premium Economy. They also have leg rests like a reclining chair, just the way business class used to have. Daytime flights west are fine in PE.
Per our Delta receipt, PE also has priority check in, 2 checked suitcases, lounge access, priority luggage, but we won't get to take advantage of any of that because we are checking in at a regional airport and have tight connections in both France and the US. At least there will be champagne to drink

The premium select seats on Delta's A350 have become nearly essential for me and my partner. We can often get the 2 seat section but even the less private 4 seat portion is fine if we can get D-E together or F-G together. (E and F together mean probably bothering a stranger to get up). Being able to raise legs really helps circulation and I appreciate the less claustrophobic space. There's so much to recommend this section - the dedicated overhead, early boarding, etc. The only real drawback is the loss of under-the-seat storage but that's necessary for the leg rest.

We were lucky to get a promotional price on premium select seats when they were first offered on the A350 flagship to Amsterdam several years ago. Unfortunately the price has since risen as people have become more willing to spend for the better experience but it's still worthwhile for us. We were miserable the last time we were forced into the main bulkhead seats.

I was glad to learn that Delta purchased 2 more A350's. It's our favorite plane.

In September I booked Rt flights from MSP to BCN, through AMS for late April, 2022 on Delta. At that time, the equipment was an A330-300.

Looking at my flight info today (they had already changed departure times last month, a difference of 10 minutes change in schedules), they are 'now' flying an A330-900neo. My carefully chosen seats in Delta Comfort+ are now less desirable. I've got refundable tickets, though I'd like to now upgrade to Premium Select... Unless this all changes again.

Last time I had chosen Delta Premium Select (an A350 that time) was for my Portugal trip in 2020 that never happened, of course.

@dplaunderville: Not certain what your experience with United was. I flew BRU->IAH in "United Premium Plus" Sept 2019. Wide seat/recliner comparable to domestic 1st. Amenities kit, real food on china, glassware, metal flatware and cloth napkin.

Silas, can you please comment on the lack of underseat storage with Delta premium economy? I assume this means during takeoff and landing even a small backpack must be stored in the overhead bin? What about during the flight: if you don't use your footrest, is there room to place a small backpack on the floor in front of your seat?

Unless you're in the bulkhead row, Delta's Premium Select seats do have storage available under the seats in front of you.

Elizabeth, it's hard to describe. The A350's "premium select" section of 48 seats are described as "no under seat storage" when you select seats at Delta's site. There's a leg and foot rest that completely encloses the space under your seat. We were able to put small personal bags sort of under the seat in front of us but it can make it difficult for someone to get by you. Scroll down in this article for a picture that looks down at the floor in front of you: https://thepointsguy.com/reviews/delta-premium-select-is-it-worth-it/ The person in the photo has very short legs. Of course the bulkhead row looks different and has a smaller screen since it pulls out of the seat.

Seat Guru (http://www.seatguru.com) is your friend. You can enter an airline, flight number and date and it will show you the layout and give you specific seat reviews. E.g., window misaligned, seat restricted recline, close to galley/toilets, etc.

Airlines switch out equipment on routes all the time, and not all planes have the same layout. When I booked my (sadly cancelled) flights to Italy last December the SFO/FRA legs were on a United 777-300ER with (true) Polaris Business and Premium Economy, Economy Plus (extra legroom), and Standard Economy seats. I had picked seats in Polaris Business (1-2-1 across). Early spring the plane was swapped to a 787-9 with the old layout, business seats were the old style (narrower 2-2-2 across) and no Premium Economy. Mid-summer it switched back to the 777-300ER as demand improved. (United claims its remaining old layout 787-9s will be re-configured by this summer).

Unfortunately if they switch the plane they may re-map your seat selection but you may not get what you thought you had when you originally booked. As others have noted above with Delta, this is not limited to United. When the equipment was switched out, my seats moved, seemingly at random. The only thing you can do is check your booking every week-- most airlines post their flight changes on Saturday, so check every Sunday or Monday morning. If you paid for a Premium seat the the equipement change eliminated that class you should be due a refund for the fare difference.

Is the legroom in the first row of Delta Premium Select the same as the rest of Premium Select?
And does the last row of Premium Select have the same recline as the others?
I have looked at Seat Guru but it is not up to date.