£600 for prem economy

[stopitandtidyupp]

Looking at flights for the summer holidays approximately an 8 hour flight.

There is my daughter, partner and me. The difference between economy and premium for one way is £600. I can't decide whether to pay this or not. My partner says its a waste as £600 would be a great amount of spending money when we are there. I hate being hemmed in though but could manage as its only 8 hours.
I wouldn't book a cheap scruffy hotel room as I wouldn't enjoy it but this is just a seat.

I can't decide. Would you pay £600 for a few more inches?

Not worth it.

Just expect the flight to be something you endure, not a fun part of the holiday. Get on. Chill out. Watch a movie (or three). Take your own snacks as the food will probably be crap.

Nope, flew London to NZ in economy, was fine, would rather spend the money on holiday :-D

Why does it have to be a better hotel though ? I’m sure the one you have is fine . Keep the money to spend when you get there.

Have a look on here and see what difference it would make www.seatguru.com/charts/premium_economy.php

Go economy then pay roughly £70 pp per journey for extra legroom. Much cheaper but still get extra room.

This is interesting.

Compared to booking standard Economy for flights over the Atlantic Ocean (i.e. USA - Europe):

If you book in advance, Premium Economy is generally 85% more expensive than your standard Economy fare.

If you book closer to your departure date, Premium Economy is generally only 35% more expensive than your standard Economy fare.

The extra cost can be as low as just 10% more, so remember to ask about Premium Economy if you have a last minute Economy booking.

What airline? I fly somewhere every few weeks and Premium Economy can be anything - on some airlines, it's luxury with comfy seats and all kinds of extras, on some it's exactly as you sai, just a couple of extra inches.

If you have to ask then you can’t afford it. I don't think that's the case.

For most people the £1200 cost of PE is probably the equivalent of the whole holiday budget!

We've done it a few times on the overnight return from the Caribbean with BA. But I think it was about £150 pp extra.
The leg room is much better, the cabin is smaller but I'm not sure there was much difference in the food.
£600 extra spending money on holiday would buy lots of boat trips/ fancy dinners etc. Depends how tight your budget is.

Depends how big / tall you are and whether you will really appreciate the extra space as the additional little perks aren't amazing.

£600 extra to essentially rent a seat is never going to be value for money .

If it was ultra long haul I would say go business. That is worth the money! You arrive feeling so much better after the flight.

I’ve never done PE so I can’t really comment.

Why does it have to be a better hotel though ? I’m sure the one you have is fine . Keep the money to spend when you get there.

I have not decided on the hotel yet. It doesn't have to be either or. I just meant I am not someone who says a hotel is just somewhere to sleep as the hotel makes the holiday for me. I am not sure the flight does though.

Go economy then pay roughly £70 pp per journey for extra legroom. Much cheaper but still get extra room.

Can I do that with a minor? I know some airlines don't let children sit it the exit rows.

I flew Premium Economy and Economy with Virgin and found the premium well worth the money. I hate those little cramped seats.

You could always arrive early at the airport and head to the ticket desk to see what upgrades are available? You can sometime get a last minute upgrade for much less this way.

It's not too bad at £200 each, but if it's somewhere that Thomas Cook fly to, PE only cost £90 last time I used them in December 2017

I was surprised at just how good they were, with recent aircraft, excellent crew and priority everything (except security on the return leg, which TBF they can't control) Even the food was halfway decent!!

If you are flying with United then I would say not worth the extra.

stopitandtidyupp I'm sure as long as she isn't directly next to the door it's ok, but you could always contact the airline first. I sat there when I was 14 years old, the air hostess just asked if i was confident that I could pull the handle etc

Thanks Nessie

We got upgraded from economy to premium economy on the way back from the Caribbean with BA. I would have been unhappy had I paid more as there were very fat fixed armrests which meant I couldn't lie down or turn sideways and put my feet up on DP.

Having just flown to Australia, I would say book extra leg room (emergency row) in economy. It’s was £240 extra in total and worth every penny. The £1500 for premier economy is not worth it. Less leg room and they basically got a glass of champagne and slightly different meal. I was directly behind so watching like a hawk!!!

We did it 11 years ago coming back from Florida. Wasn’t worth it at all. Seats were 2+2 which meant DH had to sit behind us (there’s 3 of us). Still couldn’t sleep more than an hour or two despite extra legroom. Food was no better than Economy and they forgot dd’s child meal so she had to have the Captain’s meal ?

Next morning the breakfast choice was egg and ham or egg and cheese mcmuffin thing. Dd and I are allergic to egg which we had told the airline. Cabin Crew flummoxed by this so dd was given a banana and I got a Natures Finest crunchy bar.

We’d paid an extra £600 back then and had a better experience in Economy on the outward flight.

Unless things have improved drastically in the meantime, I wouldn’t bother.

It’s difficult to say unless you’re going to share which airline.

Old style Air New Zealand totally worth it, Cathay Pacific worth it, Air France sort of worth it... British Airways...definitely not, I’m not even sure the BA pilots get comfy seats 🤣🤣

Personally I don’t think premium is at all worth it. Usually we fly business or first class when there’s a sale and we manage to get a decent fare. If not then we go economy and pay for extra leg room if we can. The main frustration about premium being that you usually can’t move the arm rests which isn’t ideal when travelling with a baby/toddler. I think this might depend on the airline though, I’ve heard good things about Virgin but because of where we live versus our where our family live we’re stuck with American Airlines (who don’t really do premium, only extra leg room rows in economy) or BA (which given their premium economy ‘experience’ I’m now convinced stands for Bloody Awful).