Short haul I am not bothered about premium economy. Long haul I want to travel with some comfort so would pay for a premium economy seat.

Would pay a reassonable amount for comfort after spending long hours crammed in economy
travel on most airlines

Premium economy can be worth it - but it depends on the airline, the route, and your budget. If paying extra for premium economy is going to make you not be able to do what you want at your destination then you probably shouldn’t be considering it.

An example of when it is a good idea is on BMI’s A330s from Manchester use their previous business class seats for the premium economy cabin - a major upgrade from the regular economy seats.

Another time it can be worth it is you are planning on upgrading to business class with miles or other certificates. To upgrade to business class on British Airways, you need to be booked in premium economy. Otherwise your upgrade would just move you from economy to premium economy.

Thai Airways premium economy on their non-stop LAX-BKK service is usually not that much more expensive but you get enough extra space to usually justify it.

But then there are so-called premium economy services like United’s Economy Plus. The only difference if you pay more for that is 3-6″ of extra legroom. Otherwise it is the same seat and the same service as everyone else in the back of the plane. But United gives it away to their frequent flyers so many people don’t have to pay extra for it.

If, like me, you need to use a CPAP in flight during a long haul flight, sometimes premium economy is the cheapest way to get a power point. That’s worth more than all the champagne you can drink and all the caviar you can scoff!

I flew Premier Ecomny from Sydney to Singapore with British Airways recently and found the extra legroom was worth it for me as I have a bad back and did not want to arrive stiff and sore at mny holiday destination. While the seats were not as comfortable as business class we had a separate cabin and staff and were served before economy. We also had priority check-in on the return flight.

Premium Economy seating is the bare minimum for claustrophobic fliers that can’t afford business class. I’ll pay as much as double for the 1″ wider seat and 7″ increase in leg room. It’s worth every penny to me to know that the fully reclined person in front of me for the 9+ hour flight is a little further away from my face. I’m 5′8″, 160. I won’t get on a plane without one of these seats - and I’m willing to pay for it.

To me, it depends on the journey and how much it costs. For example, I flew this year to the Bahamas via Miami and that was such a horrendous journey (US immigration queues) that I wish I’d paid the extra for premium economy to make up for it.

On most short haul flights premium economy isn’t an option (though I might be wrong on that?) and it’s not usually worth paying for business. BA for example have some planes which are mainly kitted out with business seats but at the weekends move the curtains back so if you sit towards the front of economy you’d get a business class seat.

On long haul, business is too expensive for me but premium economy is often affordable. I’m happy to pay for it.

In fact, I think premium economy is so good that at work, we offer premium economy upgrades to our customers with minimal, often no mark up. We don’t necessarily tell them that, but we just offer them the option of doing it at a certain price and I’m really pleased when people take it up - we want them to have the best holiday experience possible and if they arrive refreshed, the holiday starts off on the best foot.

Darren

Yes, I agree to some extent. The economy flight experience has certainly changed a lot over the years.

However, it’s a market economy and if people want to fly as much as they do and for it to be as ‘affordable’ as possible in economy, then something’s got to give. They can’t have it all. Some airlines have tried and some are successful in differentiating with passenger comfort and/or service, however, sadly airline seats seem to be regarded by the many people as a commodity which they should get at the cheapest price possible.

Have you ever read the book ‘Moments of Truth’? It was written by someone who ran SAS and it was a general business book about customer experience. It’s probably a bit dated now but it’s probably still a good read.