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BA points out that members of its Executive Club loyalty programme earn generous tier points in World Traveller Plus, so it is a good cabin to book if you want to move up from Bronze status to Silver or Gold. On a return flight from London to New York JFK, the lowest premium economy ticket earns you 140 more tier points than the lowest economy ticket.
Qantas’ is raising the bar on its new Airbus A350 jets, which will soon start flying the 20 hours non-stop from London and New York to Sydney and Melbourne. The 40-inch pitch (the measure of leg room) is two inches more than Qantas’s current premium economy and the same offered by Emirates, currently the class leader. There’s more privacy, too. “We’re redesigning the head rest to create a more pronounced wingback chair to give more visual seclusion, which is great if you’re travelling alone,” says Qantas’s designer David Caon. Caon is also refining “a new special pillow that integrates with the headrest and becomes part of the seat.”
The new seat will aid sleep. “You get a better recline, less because the seat back goes back more, and more because the bottom of the seat tracks forward and juts up, that gives you more of a ‘slung’ position. Combined with the footrest, it’s more like the old cradle seats that airlines used to have in business class,” Caon says.
ANA, meanwhile, is the only airline to offer premium economy passengers lounge access and drinks from the business class menu on board.
Singapore Airlines’ passengers can use its popular ‘Book the Cook’ service to pre-order meals, but be careful: if you pre-order a meal, it’s hard to swap seats if you spot a better one that is free, since your meal is allocated to your seat. On its Airbus A350 jets from the Lion City to New York, it also offers six coveted single window seats at the rear of the plane. There is a new Out of the Woods amenity kit on flights longer than seven hours. (It is not clear why it has this name).
Lufthansa’s premium-economy seats are in the same cabin as economy, which betrays a complete misunderstanding of the class system at 39,000ft. All the cabins on the major American carriers have leather seats – but somehow manage to look cheap.
What’s the bottom line? Premium economy is not as good value as business class since, pound for pound, you get more space and more perks in business over premium economy than you do in premium economy over economy. But choose the right carrier for your needs and snag the best seats and it can be money very well spent indeed.
Premium perks
Virgin Atlantic: best for hungry fliers
Generous service complemented by the best pantry full of snacks and drinks that you can raid at any time. You can also use the fast-track security when leaving New York’s JFK.
British Airways: best for night flights
A generous eight-inch seat recline makes BA a good bet for night flights. Book the A380 and you’ll be sitting upstairs so you can, in effect, look down on economy passengers. (It’s the little things…)
Emirates: closest to business class
The closest you’ll get to business class with a plush cabin, three bathrooms, class-leading food and wine. I recommend the Thai pepper beef with jasmine rice, with a glass or two of the Château d’Aiguilhe, Côtes de Castillon 2012, St Emilion.
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