A handful of international airlines operating out of India offer premium economy class. Domestically, it is only Vistara and internationally, these include Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. I read somewhere that Emirates is looking to introduce this class in 2020. While actual prices can vary, Premium economy is priced ~50% higher than an economy seat and is still about 50-55% of a business class seat. Is premium economy worth the cost? Read on.
What is different about premium economy when compared to economy?
–The seating configuration is normally 2-4-2.
–The seat pitch is ~38 inches (as against 30-32inches in economy)
–The seats recline an additional 10-15 degrees
–Bigger personal entertainment screen
–Better meals with larger trays
–Personal kit, blanket and pillows
–More storage and personal space
–More free checked in luggage (normally 2 bags of 23 kgs).
Overall, the cabin looks more spacious. There is no automatic lounge access though. Also, no separate toilets normally, you have to use the ones meant for economy class.
There is no doubt that premium economy offers far greater comfort than economy. For a longish day journey (say 7-8 hours), premium economy would be certainly preferable to economy. However the seats in premium economy do not recline as much and on an overnight flight, and if the seats are a bit hard as is the case with atleast one airline that I know of, it would still be a bit of a struggle to sleep, though you can stretch your legs.
There is no doubt that business class with its fully flat seats is still more comfortable for overnight flights.
Should you pay more for more comfort? Yes!!
The big question is – should you pay 50% higher for a premium economy seat? For a return ticket from Bengaluru to Paris/Frankfurt, it could mean atleast INR 30-35k extra per person. The key argument against and a very valid one, is that airline journey lasts only a few hours, the experience is not the same as the experiences from other travel related activities. After all, I too do not recollect how comfortable or uncomfortable an airline journey was, but I vividly recollect how much I enjoyed watching the Niagara Falls or Mount Kanchenjunga from the balcony of a luxury hotel room or spending on a helicopter ride over Grand Canyon.
So better not to splurge on an airline ticket?
I guess it will eventually boil down to what you are willing to spend on a holiday. If spending more on an airline ticket means cutting down on other travel related expenses, by all means, minimize the ticket cost.
Unfortunately, the gap between premium economy and business is still fairly large. So for those who don’t want to spend big for business class seats, premium economy is surely a good option.
To me, airline travel (even if it does not stick) is as much part of the holiday experience as staying in good hotels. So I would always look for deals in business or premium economy class for longer haul flights. And try to avoid overnight flights when the flying time is 4-5 hours.
I have not talked of first class here because if you can afford first class fares, then the above post is irrelevant for you!