American Airlines 787 Premium Economy

[TripleLindy]

We are planning an international trip requiring a 14 hour flight and are trying to decide between Premium Economy and Business Class. We flew Premium Economy a few years ago to Hawaii, which was an 8 hour flight, but was on an older aircraft - probably a 767. While it didn’t have lay flat seats, it was relatively comfortable, more so than coach.

Anyone have experience in Premium Economy on AA’s 787? I’m trying to determine comfort level for sleeping. Business Class is $10k more for the 2 of us, so that’s a significant amount of money that I’m having trouble justifying, even with the lay flat seats.

Last, any advice on how far in advance to purchase? We’re planning for next April. Prices haven’t changed over the past 3 weeks or so.

 

[OldConch]

Depends on the seat, the direction, and the time. SeatGuru.com will give you a good idea of the type of aircraft and seat you'll likely be flying on. DW and I agree that lie flat is very nice on an overnight flight west to east but not nearly as nice on a westbound morning flight. Who can sleep when you've just woken up? Lastly, pandemic rules are still in effect on most airlines. Book the flight then set a Google Flights alert and if the prices drop, cancel and rebook.

 

[pacergal]

14 hour flight? No way could I be comfortable sitting for that long. I would pay for first/business class for comfort and ability to sleep if desired.

We don't fly very often, but have switched to FC/Business seating anyway. DH back and knees need the extra room and comfort level. We fly less often in exchange for the higher price.

Also second the idea of Seatguru. Use them frequently

 

[Freedom56]

We have flown business class on the AA 787 many times. I would go for that on a 14 hour flight. The pod seats are nice. Select the seats by the window. We usually sit one behind the other on the window side.

 

[TripleLindy]

Depends on the seat, the direction, and the time. SeatGuru.com will give you a good idea of the type of aircraft and seat you'll likely be flying on. DW and I agree that lie flat is very nice on an overnight flight west to east but not nearly as nice on a westbound morning flight. Who can sleep when you've just woken up? Lastly, pandemic rules are still in effect on most airlines. Book the flight then set a Google Flights alert and if the prices drop, cancel and rebook.

Yep - I’ve checked SeatGuru, but hoping for some real feedback on comfort of Premium Economy. PointsGuy had a good review and was positive about it, as were several YT videos. Great suggestion on booking and watching prices. I didn’t even think about that! Also, good feedback on direction/time of departure. Our desired departure is mid-morning, so we’d almost be at our destination (Seoul South Korea) by the time we’d normally go to sleep. The return is different - an evening departure.

As much as we’d prefer lie flat seats, I’m not sure they’re worth $10k.

 

[HarveyS]

Flew premium economy from RSW to LHR last year. Not sure of the aircraft though. Seat was a little wider, and a little more leg room. Not lie flat, or anywhere near it. However, the seat was comfortable, DW like the foot rest (I did not), service was a little better (but not business class service). We paid something like USD 189 each for the upgrade - at the check in counter day of flight. It included 2 checked bags as well. I would do it again at that price. Much more than that and I probably would not. We did not upgrade on return leg.

 

[Sojourner]

PointsGuy had a good review and was positive about it, as were several YT videos.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. You can find YouTube videos about pretty much every type of premium seat experience on any airline.

As much as we’d prefer lie flat seats, I’m not sure they’re worth $10k.

I recently did this same math and came up with the same result. As much as I hate the thought of forgoing the lie flat experience for long, overseas flights, I absolutely cringe at the thought of paying $7,000+ per seat for that. DW and I decided that premium economy (i.e., domestic first class) is good enough for now. Maybe, some years down the road, when the markets are soaring again and we feel comfortable really BTD, we'll splurge on business class once or twice a year.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

For my September flight across the Atlantic into Heathrow, I manipulated it so I was in Business class with like flat seats for the overnight leg but Premium Economy on the day time flight back home. I purchased it as round trip Premium Economy, then American Airlines offered me the ability to upgrade one or more segments of the trip. So I plunked down the money for the upgraded seat for the night time flight. Bottom line was I spent more than I would have for just premium economy, but not the full price of business class. This was on a 787 I believe.

American has started offering these upgrades after initial purchase. My offer showed up shortly after I purchased every time I signed in and reviewed my flight details. I’m not sure if they do this for all purchased flights though. They initially offered the upgrade for $1250. But I waited too long. The next day it was $1500. That’s when I grabbed it.

 

[skyking1]

It really depends on the age of the airframe. We had a horrible experience eastbound on British airways in premium economy. The seats and the whole interior were just worn out.
The same flight westbound was night and day. That interior was fairly fresh. The seats were comfortable. Everything worked.

 

[NW-Bound]

It really depends on the age of the airframe. We had a horrible experience eastbound on British airways in premium economy. The seats and the whole interior were just worn out.
The same flight westbound was night and day. That interior was fairly fresh. The seats were comfortable. Everything worked.

In the recent Europe trip, we flew premium economy on AA Boeing 777 outbound, and BA Airbus A350 on the return trip.

Both premium economy seats were OK, but the BA A350 seats were better. And it looks like coach seats were also better on the BA A350.

The flight crew seemed to be proud of this A350 airplane, and mentioned several times that it was the newest plane in their fleet.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Coming home from Dublin I was offered premium economy for both legs of the flight on AA for 145. I took it and what a difference. I am 5’7” and had more leg room than needed plus the seat was much wider. I would definitely do it again.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

It really depends on the age of the airframe. We had a horrible experience eastbound on British airways in premium economy. The seats and the whole interior were just worn out.
The same flight westbound was night and day. That interior was fairly fresh. The seats were comfortable. Everything worked.

Even that isn't a guarantee. Depending on the history of the plane (former operators, etc) or long term plans (is the plane going to be returned to lessor or sent to the bone yard?) it may or may not have cabin updates. Oh, and equipment changes can screw you over, too. It has happened to me 100% of the time on my last 4 trips. Such as when you are booked on a spanking new A350 but then two days later, moved to a ragged out 25 year old 767.

 

[brett]

We have done 5 winters in SE Asia. Usually we have two connecting flights from the west coast. Approx 10 and 8 hours depending on connection airport. Plus flight time for us to reach the west coast.

In the past we have typically gone economy which was fine. The trick is to look up the difference in pitch between economy and premium economy. We did this on our flight to Portugal in May and selected premium economy because it offered better value.

Last time we went to Singapore from SFO. Seventeen hours. We bought lay down business class seats. So glad that we did.

We are now looking at winter flights to Thailand. We can go direct now on a 15 hour flight or do the regular. Not sure that we would pick a more expensive 15 hour economy flight. I believe that two shorter flights with an opportunity to connect and walk about for two hours or so would be preferable on our old bodies. It may depend on the airline, the equipment, and on the connecting airport.

 

[5Miler]

DGF and I have a 10 day United Kingdom cruise booked for next Sept. We booked it last year and so far the price for our cabins if rebooked today is over double our rate.

This Tuesday we booked our airfare for the UK the day they became available for purchase on the dates we need. As of last night, the price is now up $3K each for those same Delta One seats we booked. We are paying $4K each for our seats and honestly don't regret it for a minute. We don't have the kind of money many on this board have but it does us no good just sitting in our retirement accounts as it has for the past 10 years of retirement.

So, for next year we have booked First Class tickets for our annual dive trip in Bonaire at just stupid pricing for a 4 hour flight and now these tickets. I told myself several years ago after a bruising flight to Barcelona in Comfort Plus - Never again. We did Delta One last year to Rome and now we are spoiled. Let's face it, a good market day makes these ticket prices seem trivial.

 

[TripleLindy]

We went ahead and bought Premium Economy. Business Class would have cost an extra $13k and I just couldn’t justify it. We have enough miles to upgrade, so I’ll give that a try once they open up the upgrades. Right now, Business Class doesn’t even show up as an option to purchase, but once you’ve selected Premium Economy, you’re given the chance to buy Business Class. I was going to do it when it showed $3500 per person, but when I selected the option, I discovered that was only for 1 way.

 

[RockyMtn]

We are planning an international trip requiring a 14 hour flight and are trying to decide between Premium Economy and Business Class. We flew Premium Economy a few years ago to Hawaii, which was an 8 hour flight, but was on an older aircraft - probably a 767. While it didn’t have lay flat seats, it was relatively comfortable, more so than coach.

Anyone have experience in Premium Economy on AA’s 787? I’m trying to determine comfort level for sleeping. Business Class is $10k more for the 2 of us, so that’s a significant amount of money that I’m having trouble justifying, even with the lay flat seats.

Last, any advice on how far in advance to purchase? We’re planning for next April. Prices haven’t changed over the past 3 weeks or so.

Just flew787 business class from Philadelphia to Barcellona. Lay-flat seats were just ok. The return trip from London to Phoenix was on 777 and thought business class was much nicer than on 787. No experience in Premium Economy.

 

[tmitchell]

We did LA-Sydney in premium right before the pandemic and it wasn't bad at all. We spent $150 for an extra day's hotel in case we needed to rest more, which was way cheaper than the business seats.

I used to fly business to Europe all the time for work and don't think I slept much better, but I did appreciate the service and good wine .

 

[TripleLindy]

We did LA-Sydney in premium right before the pandemic and it wasn't bad at all. We spent $150 for an extra day's hotel in case we needed to rest more, which was way cheaper than the business seats.

I used to fly business to Europe all the time for work and don't think I slept much better, but I did appreciate the service and good wine .

Thanks for the feedback! We ended up buying Premium Economy. Business Class was going to cost an additional $13k at the time of booking and I just couldn’t justify it. We have enough miles for upgrades, but those haven’t been made available yet. If we don’t get them, I’m sure we’ll be just fine.

 

[camfused]

In the Spring, I took a United domestic economy flight for a few hours. The seat was excruciatingly uncomfortable for my rear end. I bought an inflatable travel cushion afterwards for future flights. This may be another way to put up with economy (or premium economy) on an international flight for cheaper than the bazillion dollar premium for business class.

 

[Gotadimple]

United's premium economy is a joke, as camfused said, the seats just as uncomfortable as the economy seats. Best experience with Premium Economy I have had is with Lufthansa. Can't speak for AA.

 

[braumeister]

Best experience with Premium Economy I have had is with Lufthansa. Can't speak for AA.

SAS is also good. No others I know of are up to that standard.

 

[tulak]

I flew Delta Premium last week to Europe and I’m glad I got a good price, otherwise it’s not worth it. I think Comfort+ is almost as good and a lot cheaper.

The only difference between Comfort+ and Premium are the seats with a bigger display. Food service is identical. Personally, I prefer the classic economy seats since you can lift up the arm rest, which you can’t do in premium.

Glad I tried it out. I’ll stick with cheaper economy class seats and aim for upgrades to Comfort+.

 

[walkinwood]

In Jan 2020, I flew from Delhi to Denver via Munich in United's Premium Economy that looks pretty much like the American seat. It was comfortable enough - a huge step up from economy. This year we flew Denver-Newark-Lisbon (night flight) in premium economy (United). It was comfortable - we both slept quite a bit and it was nice not having other people breathing down your neck. We don't have any back or health issues, so one night of disturbed sleep doesn't bother us much - we just take it easy the first day at our destination.

Like you, I find the premium for Business a bit too much, but I would be tempted to spring for it, if we can afford it, for a 14 hour nighttime (my time-clock) flight.