United Airlines Economy plus - is it worth it?

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Has anyone paid the extra to upgrade to economy plus. We are flying from Belfast to Orlando in August. There are 6 in our party - all adults and all over 5ft 8. It would add a lot to our budget to do this but i'm not sure if it will be worth it. The website says you get anything up to 5" extra legroom. The " UP TO" bit concerns me. I guess it is subject to type and size of plane. If we paid extra money and got only a few inches i would be gutted. The money could be put to better use.

 

[london75]

We did it in October and it felt like it was worth what we paid at the time (I can't really remember what that was but seem to recall around £500 for upgrades for 4 for both trans-atlantic legs but not internal flights which it turned out we were just given anyway!

The space is really all you get full stop, there are no other perks but it was a fairly significant increase in space, I'd say around the same leg room as Virgin PE but importantly definitely not as wide so be prepared to feel "close" to whoever you sit next to. As our flights were 3+3 'plane configuration, I was the odd one out and I got some right so and so's with personal space issues which is surprising as I'm a 6'5" skinhead so normally people don't want to get too close to me even though I'm a softy.

So final verdict, it was nice to have the leg room but it's a long shot from Virgin PE. We're doing a budget flight this August on American Airlines and I've decided the economy plus offerings aren't worth it so we're going cramped!

 

[rpbert1]

We flew United a couple of years ago, never booked the upgrade, or seats, and we got the extra legroom free when we checked in both going and coming home, and think it was about £20 each then, and it would have been worth it, and if you can get the exit seats as well, would be even better

 

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thank you both for your replies. I will price it up properly

 

[ilenekm]

I always take Economy Plus on long flights. It makes a huge difference. As I often work on airplanes, the extra space allows me the room to use a laptop on the tray table even when the person in front is reclining. There is no way to do this in the back of the plane as I have a big old laptop.

 

[fizz13]

another one that got economy plus for free, happened to be on our boarding passes when we printed them off, lovely suprise. only difference I could see was a footrest with a bit of extra leg space, a nicer pillow and priority with the food. would I pay extra? I would seriously consider it but probably wouldn't pay hundreds and it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. btw, I love flying with united, have done so on two trips and would much rather fly with them than Virgin, their service is a definite step up in my opinion