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Is flying Premium Economy worth it?

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Since joining HfP four years ago, I’ve managed to try a number of different premium economy products on a variety of airlines – most recently United Airlines to San Francisco.

First introduced in 1992, premium economy has become one of the most profitable cabins for airlines, generating more profit per square metre than even First or Business Class. But is it value for money?

Is Premium Economy worth it?
United Airlines Premium Plus

A brief history of premium economy

Before we start, I want to take a quick look at the history of premium economy – aviation’s newest cabin.

The first premium economy cabins were introduced in 1992. Both Virgin Atlantic and Taiwanese carrier EVA Air launched these hybrid cabins to bridge the comfort-canyon between economy and business class.

(This was before the era of lie-flat seats in business class, of course, so the gap between economy and business was smaller. British Airways first introduced lie-flat seats in First in 1995, followed by its first generation Club World seat in 2000. Other airlines slowly followed.)

Premium Economy’ wasn’t called that at the time. Virgin Atlantic called it ‘Mid Class’ whilst EVA called it ‘Economy Deluxe’. When it launched, Virgin Atlantic explained its reasons for launching the new product for businesses that could no longer justify business class:

“Over the past year or so many businesses have reviewed their travel policies and some have found it necessary to downgrade from business class to economy. Following an extensive and in-depth research project carried out by Virgin Atlantic and IATA it has been shown that the main requirements for business travellers are improved comfort, segregation, priority check-in and service.”

Premium economy is now more economy-plus than business-minus

At the time, premium economy was a true hybrid product, using upright seats very similar to those in business class but with less leg room and a smaller recline.

Since its introduction, premium economy has remained relatively unchanged whilst business class cabins have evolved substantially. Innovations such as lie-flat seats and all-aisle access in business mean that premium economy now feels decidedly economy-plus than business-minus.

Economy seats have grown ever tighter as airlines densify cabins to compete in a price war on flight comparison websites. This differentiates premium economy even further and makes it a natural upgrade for anyone who wants a little more space but cannot justify the price tag of business class.

Virgin Atlantic Premium venison stew
Virgin Atlantic Premium

The majority of airlines now offer premium economy cabins, although some stragglers still remain. This includes Qatar Airways, which argues that its economy product is competitive with premium economy at other airlines.

It should take a note from a Middle Eastern competitor. Emirates was one of the last remaining holdouts until it introduced the cabin in 2021, with CEO Tim Clarke saying they were shocked with the demand for the seat. (He shouldn’t have been, of course. Airlines have been crowing about the success of premium economy cabins for years.)

What is premium economy?

Premium economy is as popular with passengers as it is with airline accountants. It comes with a number of benefits and depending on the airline you’ll get:

  • Priority check-in and boarding (behind business class, ahead of economy)
  • Checked luggage
  • A larger seat, with a few extra inches of width and substantially more legroom and recline
  • A larger in-flight entertainment screen
  • An upgraded meal and drinks service – often a business class main course with economy starter and desert – with a welcome drink on boarding (but no champagne)
  • Better pillows, blankets and an amenity kit
  • Additional miles and tier points
British Airways World Traveller Plus A380 amenity kit
British Airways World Traveller Plus

How much more expensive is premium economy?

Using the British Airways Low Fare Finder tool, I compared the lowest economy and premium economy fares to some popular destinations from London. I’ve also included some price comparisons with Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines.

New York

  • British Airways economy: £333 (hand baggage only)
  • British Airways premium economy: £637
  • Virgin Atlantic economy: £355 (hand baggage only)
  • Virgin Atlantic premium economy: £585

Los Angeles

  • British Airways economy: £412 (hand baggage only)
  • British Airways premium economy: £933
  • Virgin Atlantic economy: £405 (hand baggage only)
  • Virgin Atlantic premium economy: £870

Singapore

  • British Airways economy: £601
  • British Airways premium economy £1,508
  • Singapore Airlines economy: £713
  • Singapore airlines premium economy: £1,857

As you can see, premium economy is generally twice as expensive as a basic economy ticket, although Premium on Virgin Atlantic to New York can be under £300 extra at times. This is arguably a bargain when you factor in the luggage allowance, increased mileage and tier points and the better experience overall.

The price gap can be smaller on individual flights, making the upgrade to premium economy cheaper than it may first appear.

Virgin Atlantic Premium seat
Virgin Atlantic Premium

Is premium economy worth it?

As always, it comes down to what you are comfortable with.

Taking baggage?

It’s worth remembering that the economy fare comparisons above are hand baggage only fares. If you plan to take a checked bag, you can add between £110 and £130 (round trip) to your costs, depending on the airline:

  • British Airways charges £55 one-way
  • Virgin Atlantic charges £65 one-way

Extra air miles

It’s also worth factoring in the increased air miles and tier points you’ll earn on each airline if you fly premium economy. The difference between the cheapest economy and premium economy tickets can be substantial.

Let’s take a look at Virgin Atlantic, for example, between London and New York (return). You earn:

  • 1,728 Virgin Points in Economy Light
  • 6,914 Virgin Points in Premium

That’s a difference of 400%. If you value a Virgin Point at 1p (which we do, if used for premium cabin redemptions) then you’ll earn an extra £50+ of rewards.

We can’t do the same comparison for British Airways because of the switch to revenue based Avios earning next month.

Extra tier points towards status

In terms of tier points, you’ll earn double on Virgin Atlantic: between 25 and 50 in economy and 50 and 100 in Premium, each way. On BA you’ll earn even more – heavily discounted World Traveller earns 20 tier points on most routes vs 90 in World Traveller Plus, each way.

Two Premium returns in a year on Virgin Atlantic would get you Silver status, whilst two World Traveller Plus returns in a year on British Airways would get you Bronze status. Three World Traveller Plus returns on BA on routes such as New York would get you very close to Silver status which triggers free seat selection and lounge access.

Seat selection

Virgin Atlantic gives you free seat selection in Premium (not for all seats, but for some rows) at the time of booking. You now need to pay for seat selection in economy unless you have status.

British Airways charges for seat selection in World Traveller Plus and World Traveller so there is no difference here.

Other amenities

How much you value the additional space, amenities and service in premium is down to you. As a tall person with broad shoulders, the extra legroom and width of premium economy seats are a life saver and the difference between a getting some sleep and none at all. But someone shorter might not be so impressed!

If you are travelling as a couple, the ability to have a row of two seats to yourself (the typical layout is 2-4-2 vs 3-4-3 in economy) may have value.

Conclusion

At the right price – especially if checking bags – it would be silly not to think about upgrading to premium economy. In our example to New York, the price to upgrade to Premium from economy on Virgin Atlantic was occasionally only £200 – well worth it, in my opinion. You can offset part of this cost purely with the extra Virgin Points.

On the other hand, you’d be stretched to see the value on a Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore, where the difference is more than £1,100. You should be able to get an indirect flight to Singapore in business class for close to that price.

There are other options for upgrading, including the Barclaycard Upgrade Voucher which let you upgrade reward flights using Avios, or the Virgin Atlantic credit card voucher. On some flights, you’ll find airlines make attractive upgrade offers at check-in – it’s always worth asking.

If you want to compare premium economy between airlines, we’ve written a number of reviews:

We’ve also written an in-depth comparison of premium economy on British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Norse Atlantic. Norse, perhaps surprisingly, is the clear winner in terms of seat size.

Comments (96)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Opus says:

    I would say right now I only really fly BA and 100% of my long haul travel is done on PE, it’s also a great way to get to silver status. If you think about it 3 PE trips a year and you’re already at 540. My residual work trips to Europe get me over the line. Most of my long haul flying is US east coast and Lagos. So really most of the year PE caps out at around 1K unless you’re going to Lagos during the Christmas season, then PE can be about 2,500 but then again economy is around 2100 so you might as well.

    So for me personally, a large comfortable seat, better food, (being silver I get 2 and 32) and lounge access? PE works absolutely brilliantly for me

    • Dev says:

      The only real benefit on BA is the 90 Tier points per sector, 2 x 23kgs bags and the chance of getting an OpUp into J.

      You then have to put a value on that and calculate whether the premium over economy is worth it?

      • SamG says:

        You don’t place any value on the product itself? I don’t really care about the food (I think WTP food has gone downhill ) but the space vs a 3-4-3 777 is quite a difference especially as you can almost always get into a bulkhead seat at T-72

        • Dev says:

          I don’t to be honest. A little bit more legroom but the seat and product itself is a marketing dream. Fool people into paying for what Economy was close to 20+ years ago.

          My view is tempered by the fact that it does. It allow sleep/better rest like J for work trips and for personal trips with 2 young kids, it’s a complete waste of money.

          • Scott says:

            I’ve flown both BA and AA in PE recently and:

            Price and TPs work for me. £688 in PE Vs. £2k+ for business.
            Food, I don’t really care too much about as I eat in the lounges.
            Alcohol, barely bother with on board, and soft drink wise, AA beats BA’s boring selection of Coke and Coke.

            The only thing that really bothers me with PE, especially BA, is the seat reclining in front of you that makes it very difficult to get out of a window seat.

            Upgrade wise, not had anything for years from BA and never from AA (who just tend to fill the cabin)
            Handy if using Avios to upgrade to CW with BA though.

  • alittlegreenman says:

    Premium economy on airnz before they introduced the spaceseat was great. So I guess about 15 years ago. Upstairs on a 747, f+b was the same as business and a nice wide seat with a good recline.

  • Henry Young says:

    I think the most significant issue is whether or not you feel comfortable in an economy seat. Personally I usually find economy more comfortable than premium. Indeed the Virgin PE of a few years ago was worse for me due to the slick fake-leather chair making it impossible to stop sliding forward and down when reclined, making the recline useless. I used to take a rubber place setting mat with me specifically to engage better friction. Onlt then was the seat comfortable. Having tested out BA and Cathay PE products also, on balance I find it simply not worth the bother to pay more / upgrade. Get on, sit, got off – it’s just a bus trip, especially if under 8 hours.

    • NorthernLass says:

      I found the Virgin PE seat not at all comfortable on an overnight flight, mainly due to the sliding effect! I’d give it another go on a reasonable length day time flight like MAN-JFK though.

  • pigeon says:

    Cost cutting has come to VS premium economy – no amenity kits on day flights (when I asked the crew handed me an individual tooth brush), wine in tin cans (described by the crew as NICE…indeed that’s what it says on the tin), and a tiny number of seats available for free pre-selection.

    Also the A350 premium seats are narrow – probably as the same width as economy on the A330.

    It’s definitely miles better than economy, but if they just spent an extra £5 per passenger it could be properly premium and a stand out experience.

  • signol says:

    I’ve only flown Premium Economy once, and that was when one half of the Y return was actually cheaper in Y+ (was BA from JNB). The few extra inches of legroom were nice but I doubt the other “enhancements” would be worth a 100% uplift in fare.

  • jjoohhnn says:

    Nice article, thanks. Could just use the pricing comparison if you are booking with miles / vouchers instead of cash too!

  • Pockets says:

    The current Premium Economy experience is now the 80s regular economy experience.
    Also worth mentioning if it has not been mentioned yet, a great perk with Premium Economy is that since BA only allows upgrades to the next cabin class, then you still have that opportunity to snag Business class at the last minute.

    • Pockets says:

      Ah, I see in the last three pages of comments it has been mentioned extensively! haha

  • ChasP says:

    why only half comparison ? what is the BUS fare ?
    Clearly its between EC and BUS so the question is what is the price difference
    No-one would pay £600 for PE as opposed to £300 for EC if BUS was £700. But If BUS is £2000 then PE looks a decent choice – esp on your own money!

    • Scott says:

      Not sure if company policies are at play here, but I’ve seen, specially on AA a number of times, PE at say $3k and J at $1700.

    • Lady London says:

      …And this is where we find ourselves. At least, if on BA and if buying in the UK.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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