Not affluent enough to afford a $10,000 plus business ticket for your next long-haul flight but don?t want to be stuck in cattle class? There is another option!
What can you expect to get in premium economy? That?s really up to the airlines. Some go all out providing you with far larger seats, much greater legroom, speedier check-ins and a higher quality of food and service in-flight (Virgin Atlantic, Qantas, V-Australia for example). Others will just give you a seat with more legroom that is no wider than normal economy and has no extra benefits (United Airlines). Before you shell out the extra cash for a premium seat, make sure to check exactly what you are paying for. It may be better value to purchase an economy fare and try to request a seat near an exit row.
PopSci has travelled on United Airlines in premium economy from Los Angeles to Sydney. It?s the most basic of premium economies, but even though, it was worth the few hundred US dollar premium for the extra inches of legroom on the 14-hour flight. People in the middle of a four-seat row stand half a chance of being able to get out when they need to stretch their legs.
The best way of thinking about your average premium economy seat is that it?s the business class of ten years ago, when seats didn?t lie flat. For the luxury, you will find yourself paying anything for a few hundred dollars more than the economy fare to triple the economy fare depending on the season and the carrier.
If you?re keen on flying premium economy on your next trip, the following carriers offer the service flying in and out of Australian cities. Not all options may be listed. So far the best levels of comfort seem to come from the Qantas premium economy on the A380.
Air New Zealand (New Zealand)
British Airways (Singapore, London)
Eva Air (Taipei)
JAL offer it but not on flights in and out of Australia
JetStar (Star Class is closer to premium economy than business. Flies to Bangkok, Honolulu, Osaka, Denpasar, Phuket, Tokyo)
Qantas (Singapore, Bangkok, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco and other selected 747 and all A380 routes)
Thai Airways (Bangkok and London)
V Australia (Los Angeles and soon Johannesburg)
Virgin Atlantic (Hong Kong and London)
Virgin Blue (Australian domestic travel)
United Airlines (San Francisco and Los Angeles)
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