What is going on with AF

[NoiseBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Badger I, for one, find nothing premium about premium economy. I'm 5'8'' so don't need leg room. I had a PE seat before and the guy next to me had a two ticket ass. Half of him was in my seat from DUB to JFK.

Perhaps we are referring to different economy upgrades. Premium economy on Lufthansa and LOT buys you a seat with two fixed arm rests of your own. A large person next to you could still cramp your space a bit, but no way is he or she encroaching on your seating space. Premium economy includes:

-- a wider seat
-- up to 8" of additional leg room
-- a seat that lays back further than in cattle country
-- the aforementioned separate arm rests
-- bigger video monitors
-- meals served on china with silverware
-- priority boarding and baggage handling
-- two checked bags
-- On LOT I get meals and drinks on short connecting flights!

I am 6' 3" so I can't even move my legs in economy if the person in front of me puts their seat back. Economy Plus or Comfort Plus typically only buys you extra legroom. It's enough to make a transatlantic flight tolerable for me, but I enjoy premium economy class. However, not when it nears $2,000 for a round trip ticket to Europe.

My worry about not buying a premium economy ticket up front is that I would pay for a non-refundable economy ticket and then discover that all of the upgrades and aisle seats were sold out. If there was a way to guard against that, I would change my shopping behavior.

[Luvdogs]

We are going from the east coast to Barcelona in June and then back from London--both nonstop 787 Dreamliner on Norwegian Air. Cost around $1600 for both of us. But we have the "bells and whistles"--checked bags, food and confirmed seat which is about $90 pp each way--so would have been around 1200-1300 for two of us if we had gone cheap.

And I did that in 2015. Daughter was studying abroad and I met her there. Took one carry-one (free), took some food from the airport and sat wherever they put me--didn't need to sit next to anyone. It was not nonstop but it was the inaugural flight to Copenhagen so they had cupcakes at the gate and the captain, etc were there for photos. That was also a 787 Dreamliner.

[Breedlove]

Out of New York / New Jersey. Some good prices
https://escape.flights/category/bookable-flight-deals/




LA to Rome for 457.00

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Badger I, for one, find nothing premium about premium economy. I'm 5'8'' so don't need leg room. I had a PE seat before and the guy next to me had a two ticket ass. Half of him was in my seat from DUB to JFK.

Some airlines, like Lufthansa and Air Canada Rouge actually give you a significantly winder seat with two armrests between seats. Alas, USA airlines still give us the same seat width, just a single armrest, and only a few more inches of legroom. Not so good.

That said, if you don't need the legroom, why in the world pay for Premium Economy whose only major benefit is a few more inches of legroom?

[gayl]

I am also 5'8" and my legs don't fit in a regular economy seat. There's no way I'm flying for 14 hours abroad with my legs scrunched up. I don't need the width and always keep my arm rest down claiming 1/2. The other passenger's weight is not my issue

The interesting thing about my economy plus on Air France was that instead of it being a 3-5-3 arrangement in each row it was a 2-3-2 arrangement in each row so economy plus is not the same on all flights. Air Nipon was 3-4-3 but upstairs so not as crowded

Thanks for the info on Lufthansa I'll look them up to see if my flight out to Budapest would be better on them

[tmm99]

Has anybody tried Delta's Comfort Plus? It's not a full-fledged Premium Economy and the increase in space is not as big, but the price isn't either. I was wondering if you could even feel the difference from the regular economy, I don't know, so I thought I'd ask.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

[Red Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Some airlines, like Lufthansa and Air Canada Rouge actually give you a significantly winder seat with two armrests between seats. Alas, USA airlines still give us the same seat width, just a single armrest, and only a few more inches of legroom. Not so good. That said, if you don't need the legroom, why in the world pay for Premium Economy whose only major benefit is a few more inches of legroom?

I'll have to look at other carriers amenities - that flight was Delta. To other poster, I had armrest down, and lardass' blubber was over the armrest and in my space.

[brett]

We have found international airfares to be extremely competitive over the past eight months. We are currently on a trip in SE Asia. The air was by far the lowest in five years. We booked a trip to China for this May. Again...incredible pricing. We are watching for a good Europe fare for Sept/Oct. travel.

[38Chevy454]

Maybe because you are paying in US $ is part of the reason? The strong dollar might be helping make more competitive?

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Has anybody tried Delta's Comfort Plus? It's not a full-fledged Premium Economy and the increase in space is not as big, but the price isn't either. I was wondering if you could even feel the difference from the regular economy, I don't know, so I thought I'd ask. Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

Yes we got the bulkhead seats on a MSP_LGW and the legroom was unbelievable. I couldn't touch the divider going to first with my leg fully extended and my toe pointed I'm 5 7

[gayl]

Another good thing about Delta is that they're going to make it very hard for pets to travel on the plane. They're going to have to actually be service pets, capable of behaving themselves, and I assume leaving the other passengers alone. I really hate it when the dog next to me gets in my space and poops underneath my feet. And I feel very sorry for the stewardesses who have to clean up after it. This is a dog, it's not a child. I understand when children get unruly on planes. And there's really not a lot that you can do about that. But they are humans. I don't get dogs, or pigs, or snakes, or other animals. If someone needs a comfort animal so so that they can get on an airplane, then don't get on

[SecondCor521]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 38Chevy454 Maybe because you are paying in US $ is part of the reason? The strong dollar might be helping make more competitive?

The USD is at it's lowest since around December 2014, so I don't think this is it.

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan Yes we got the bulkhead seats on a MSP_LGW and the legroom was unbelievable. I couldn't touch the divider going to first with my leg fully extended and my toe pointed I'm 5 7

Thank you for your comment. If I'm not mistaken, however, I think bulkhead seat leg room is really huge, even in economy.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Thank you for your comment. If I'm not mistaken, however, I think bulkhead seat leg room is really huge, even in economy.

you won't get a bulkhead in straight economy now, that's the point.. bulkheads are now select comfort or economy plus.. I know what regular bulkhead leg room is and believe me this was a big improvement..a lot of bulkhead seats don't have that much extra leg room and I sure wouldn't call it huge...you also get free booze and a few other things thrown in but the legroom is the biggie..

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ivinsfan you won't get a bulkhead in straight economy now, that's the point.. bulkheads are now select comfort or economy plus.. I know what regular bulkhead leg room is and believe me this was a big improvement..a lot of bulkhead seats don't have that much extra leg room and I sure wouldn't call it huge...you also get free booze and a few other things thrown in but the legroom is the biggie..

I see. They must have changed. Do you specifically ask for a bulkhead seat then? I usually don't take a bulkhead seat because they always ask if I'm strong enough to open the exit door (and my answer is I don't know.)

From what I read, Delta Comfort+ only adds 4 extra inches of leg room. (Other features seem pretty meaningless to me, like free drinks (I don't drink), extra movies, an amenity kit, faster boarding ,etc. The seat isn't wider and there's no extra recline to the seat.) I'm just wondering if extra 4 inches does anything much. (I guess I can bend down to open my purse still sitting on the floor which I can't do in economy. In economy seating, I usually have to pull my purse out and take whatever I need out of it, and then drop it back down under the seat. But I don't want to pay extra money just to be able to do that.

[ivinsfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 I see. They must have changed. Do you specifically ask for a bulkhead seat then? I usually don't take a bulkhead seat because they always ask if I'm strong enough to open the exit door (and my answer is I don't know.) From what I read, Delta Comfort+ only adds 4 extra inches of leg room. (Other features seem pretty meaningless to me, like free drinks (I don't drink), extra movies, an amenity kit, faster boarding ,etc. The seat isn't wider and there's no extra recline to the seat.) I'm just wondering if extra 4 inches does anything much. (I guess I can bend down to open my purse still sitting on the floor which I can't do in economy. In economy seating, I usually have to pull my purse out and take whatever I need out of it, and then drop it back down under the seat. But I don't want to pay extra money just to be able to do that.

Check the seat map of your flight for avaibility of the bulkhead seat....it's nice being toward the front of the plane, less congestion.get headed toward customs sooner, etc. etc. it's a personal choice but depending on what plane you are flying on 4 inches can seem like a big deal...It's a personal preference...I prefer Delta Comfort...but I do check to see what seats are open before I pay for it.

[NoiseBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmm99 Has anybody tried Delta's Comfort Plus? It's not a full-fledged Premium Economy and the increase in space is not as big, but the price isn't either. I was wondering if you could even feel the difference from the regular economy, I don't know, so I thought I'd ask.

Yes, I flew Delta Comfort + to Rome last year and it is probably not worth the cost unless you need the extra legroom. On the way out I was in the end seat of the middle 2x3x2 layout and except for the 4" of extra legroom, everything else is identical to economy class. On the way home I was in seat 15E which was the first row of comfort plus. At 6'3" I could not stretch my legs out without hitting the bulkhead, but I could stand up in front of my seat without bothering anybody else. In general, I wouldn't fly Delta to Europe again if it means boarding a 767. The planes are old so they have small overhead bins which makes boarding a slow process. And the video monitors are small too.

Premium economy is much different. On a Lufthansa 747-800, the seat pitch in Premium is 38" versus 31" in coach and the seat width is 19" versus 17.1. It is not just a legroom upgrade that you can buy for $150. You get your own arm rests, a foot rest, a seat that reclines further, better food, free drinks, two checked bags, priority boarding and baggage handling, all for a price of course. A few years ago it seemed to cost about twice the price of coach, but this year the prices are more like $1600 and up. Not sure why.

FYI - If you know what plane you are flying, you can use seatguru.com to find out what other travelers experiences have been. It helped me avoid what looked to be an good seat, but turned out to have cramped legroom because of the way the bulkhead jutted into the cabin.

[tmm99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NoiseBoy Yes, I flew Delta Comfort + to Rome last year and it is probably not worth the cost unless you need the extra legroom. On the way out I was in the end seat of the middle 2x3x2 layout and except for the 4" of extra legroom, everything else is identical to economy class. On the way home I was in seat 15E which was the first row of comfort plus. At 6'3" I could not stretch my legs out without hitting the bulkhead, but I could stand up in front of my seat without bothering anybody else. In general, I wouldn't fly Delta to Europe again if it means boarding a 767. The planes are old so they have small overhead bins which makes boarding a slow process. And the video monitors are small too. Premium economy is much different. On a Lufthansa 747-800, the seat pitch in Premium is 38" versus 31" in coach and the seat width is 19" versus 17.1. It is not just a legroom upgrade that you can buy for $150. You get your own arm rests, a foot rest, a seat that reclines further, better food, free drinks, two checked bags, priority boarding and baggage handling, all for a price of course. A few years ago it seemed to cost about twice the price of coach, but this year the prices are more like $1600 and up. Not sure why. FYI - If you know what plane you are flying, you can use seatguru.com to find out what other travelers experiences have been. It helped me avoid what looked to be an good seat, but turned out to have cramped legroom because of the way the bulkhead jutted into the cabin.

Thank you for your post. Yeah, I kind of figured it may not worth paying a few hundred dollars more for the Comfort+. I am female and 5'5, and I really wasn't sure about what the extra 4 inches would do for me. Yeah the real premium economy sounds nice, but to go to Japan and back, it's $1,000 more, so like you said, you get what you pay for.

[nwsteve]

As another perspective of class of air travel, consider the observation of a colleague---you have the choice of traveling business (premium economy) or your kid will.
Net conclusion for us is will only do economy when trip is 4 hours are less.

[check6]

Article last summer on Norwegian Air woes.


Norwegian Air’s tough summer has so far left it with nearly 6,000 delayed flights and 170 cancellations in July alone, according to new statistics from Flightstats, which delivers airline data globally. Angry passengers are filing complaints and demands for compensation, and getting even more frustratrated when their claims are rejected.

Complete story here Norwegian logged 5,669 delays in July

[mod note - post edited for copyright compliance. ]