Tempted by premium economy

[Tiggery]

Due to book my fight tomorrow with virgin and im sooo tempted to spoil ourselves to premium economy. My question is
1. Is it worth the additional cost?
2. What extras do you get?

I would be grateful for any input.

 

[daywalker]

1. Yes
2. 38" seat pitch as opposed to 31".
Wider Seat
Bigger recline
Priority boarding & disembarking
Priority on your baggage, your bags will be one of the first on
the luggage belts
No long queue to check in as you have your own Prem Ec. check
in desk.
Supposedly better food but I was not so sure!!!
Less people in the cabin so the crew can serve you better, your
trays will cleared up quickly once you have eaten, easier to get
drinks

 

[Tiggery]

Thanks for the quick reply daywalker it sounds like you really enjoyed the extras

 

[daywalker]

Oh yes, worth every penny, be warned though, you really won't want to go back to economy!

 

[steve_rob]

As far as I was aware (given that it's AGES since I flew PE) you got the same menu as Economy. The only difference was that you got served first, so you were guaranteed to get what choice you wanted from the menu.

Many a time I've been seated at the back of the plane and ended up with the one choice out of two or three that I didn't like!!!

 

[daywalker]

You're probably right Steve, it was one detail I was a bit fuzzy on but to be honest, the bit is a minor point for me on a flight. It rarely tastes nice & if it does you don't get enough to fill you

 

[kazzie]

Hi,

There are two very recent threads on this subject,they are still on this page,take a look

The food is the same as economy,but at least the service is better For the extra money I'm sure they could afford to reflect that in the food somehow.

You do get Bucks Fizz when you first get on the 'plane before take off. An air stewerdess told me they used to have fresh fruit but it was stopped due to cost cutting

 

[#1MMFan]

Be aware that we booked Premium Economy in 2000 and at check-in, because of the change in the aircraft we were asked to downgrade and were assured we would be refunded the entire upgrade both ways. We agreed and ended up with an awful flight on a substitute plane and we were still charged half the cost. My advice would be to refuse to downgrade no matter how nice the virgin representative appears.

I would go with PE if you can get a good price: we tend to go BA and an upgrade on it is way more than the difference in Virgin (albeit the difference in the upgrade is huge also).

John

 

[daywalker]

Originally posted by #1MMFan
Be aware that we booked Premium Economy in 2000 and at check-in, because of the change in the aircraft we were asked to downgrade and were assured we would be refunded the entire upgrade both ways. We agreed and ended up with an awful flight on a substitute plane and we were still charged half the cost. My advice would be to refuse to downgrade no matter how nice the virgin representative appears.

I would go with PE if you can get a good price: we tend to go BA and an upgrade on it is way more than the difference in Virgin (albeit the difference in the upgrade is huge also).

John

Too right, I would have made a fuss to ensure I was UPGRADED again free of charge, I would never accept a downgrade, they can do better than that. You paid for your upgrade it should surely be down to them to ensure you get it.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Originally posted by #1MMFan
Be aware that we booked Premium Economy in 2000 and at check-in, because of the change in the aircraft we were asked to downgrade
John

We booked Premium Economy in October 2001 and an aircraft change moved PE upstairs. As I am disabled and cannot climb stairs, they gave us free upgrades to Upper Class. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!!!

Andrew

 

[daywalker]

Originally posted by Andrew Bichard
We booked Premium Economy in October 2001 and an aircraft change moved PE upstairs. As I am disabled and cannot climb stairs, they gave us free upgrades to Upper Class. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!!!

Andrew

That's more like it & what I would expect from an airline Nice one Andrew.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

To give an alternative view I have to say that I don't think it is worth the extra cost. In my opinion I think you pay a lot extra for relatively small improvement in the quality of the flight. I would rather use the extra money to upgrade my hotel, my theme parks tickets to annual passes, etc.

Upgrading to Upper Class would be a different story, but this would involve lots of £££s

Regards

Rob

 

[daywalker]

I think it depends how much you pay to upgrade though Rob? I have paid £250 return per person for the upgrade, that worked out at around £15.62 per hour for 2 x 8 hour flights & the extra comfort was well worth it IMHO
I take your point, it's a good one but to me the flight is a major thing for me, it's long & I find it too uncomfortable in economy & it makes me feel bad if I have had a poor flight. A poor uncomfortable flight makes me feel groggy on arrival so can set me back a bit and then returning home?? that is even more important to me as I need to recover to get back into the sad working grove in the UK

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

This is all personal choice, so there's no right or wrong answer. We always treat the flights as something to get over with as quickly as possible, rather than as an enjoyable part of the holiday. We accept that it will be a mildly unpleasant experience. For us the 14 days in between the two flights are far more important.

For £250 per person (aren't PE upgrades a bit more than this usually?) you can:

Upgrade from a 5-day Hopper Plus ticket at WDW to a Premium Annual Pass, AND
Upgrade from a 5-day Universal Bonus pass to a full Annual Pass, AND
Have £50 left over to spend on a blow out meal.

Of course, once you have annual passes you are eligible for saving lots of money at both WDW and Universal, including up to 40% on the cost of on-site accommodation. All of this depends on your budgets and priorities. If you have a fixed budget I think there are better ways of acheiving value for money than the upgrade tp PE.

Regards

Rob

 

[Pauly-b]

Hi

Rob, I think you are right about this being personal choice.

Up to now we've always treated the flight as something to get out of the way - but we decided to see if we can enjoy it as much as possible and go PE in May.

I'll have to admit going over there I don't really care as I'm off on my hols but I've always found the flight home to be horrendous with too little room..

Proofs in the pudding come May I guess

I am looking forward to getting my luggage quickly though I'll have to admit - it allows me to be nice and pompous when we get the car.... "Oh dear Darling the rabble haven't got their luggage yet."

 

[The_Banking_Scot]

Hi,

I usually book the discounted Premium Economy fares ( I got a flight to SFO for £550 last year- similar prices this year)-Orlanto tend to be slightly more expensive than that.

Last year at LGW the ticket desk was offering PE passengers access to the Clubhouse for £20 per person.

The clubhouse is excellent with internet access, showers, continental breakfast, hot food ( they do a very nice bacon roll) a vtouch salon, drinks and an excellent place to relax before the VS flight.

Regards

TBS ( VS frequent flyer)