Delta Premium Economy - Not!

[gstillson]

It would seem that if you call a seating "comfort", you are implying that the base seating is "discomfort". Poor advertising IMO

 

[Bestwifeever]

We were upgraded to Premium Economy on Swiss airlines. It was quite nice, different cabin than coach, huge seats, great food, better movies. It is not just 3 to 4 inches more legroom. Of course Delta can call any level of seating whatever they want; perhaps they will call their seats at the front of the coach cabin “Delta First Class” next.

 

[RunningBum]

It would seem that if you call a seating "comfort", you are implying that the base seating is "discomfort". Poor advertising IMO

To be fair it's called "Comfort+", implying that the base seating is still Comfort. Just not +.

 

[Anna J]

We booked a flight to Rome on American Airlines "Premium Economy". The seats are a little wider as well as more leg room on the second leg from DFW to Rome and has a 2-4-2 seating configuration. The ticket is mixed cabin though. Our first leg is intercontinental on the airbus with a 3-3 seating configuration and doesn't include meals or drinks (unless purchased seperatly) and they wanted more $ on top of what I was already expecting to pay, if I wanted to be closer to the front and slightly more leg room. Of course they don't tell you that on the original qoute. It seemed better than Delta though. We shall see

 

[NoiseBoy]

Sounds like you are expecting the same level of seat comfort at a significantly cheaper price.

I was expecting true premium economy because that was the filter I had set in Google Flights. It's no different than if you set the filter to Business and Delta coded their coach seats to show up under that search. The price was good, but not so cheap as to make me suspicious of what I was seeing. Generally speaking, PE tickets from ORD to Europe run $1500 to $1750, but you can find deals below that.

Premium Economy service must (my word) include:
Greater seat width
At least 8 more inches of legroom
Two armrests per seat
At least one checked bag included in the fare
Guaranteed space in the overhead bins
Meals and drinks included at no extra cost

Those are the minimums that are true for LOT and Lufthansa. LOT adds:
Priority boarding with business class (their top tier)
Priority baggage handling
Seat selection on all flights
Meals and drinks on all flights (I was served a snack on a 55 minute connection!)
A second checked bag
Flight attendants dedicated to the PE cabin

Premium Economy is not just a little more legroom, it is what flying should be like

 

[foxfirev5]

After poor experiences on our last first class flights, DW and I have purchased plain old main cabin seats for our next two trips. We'll endure the flights, perhaps under sedation, and spend the extra dollars on better accommodations, food, drink etc.

Besides I'm only 5'10" and have lost nearly 50 lbs since ER 2 years ago. The smaller seats fit us OK so why pay more for seat spacing.

 

[RunningBum]

I was expecting true premium economy because that was the filter I had set in Google Flights. It's no different than if you set the filter to Business and Delta coded their coach seats to show up under that search. The price was good, but not so cheap as to make me suspicious of what I was seeing. Generally speaking, PE tickets from ORD to Europe run $1500 to $1750, but you can find deals below that.

Premium Economy service must (my word) include:
Greater seat width
At least 8 more inches of legroom
Two armrests per seat
At least one checked bag included in the fare
Guaranteed space in the overhead bins
Meals and drinks included at no extra cost

Those are the minimums that are true for LOT and Lufthansa. LOT adds:
Priority boarding with business class (their top tier)
Priority baggage handling
Seat selection on all flights
Meals and drinks on all flights (I was served a snack on a 55 minute connection!)
A second checked bag
Flight attendants dedicated to the PE cabin

Premium Economy is not just a little more legroom, it is what flying should be like

Well, that's your own fault for assuming something that clearly isn't true. Just go to Delta's page:

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/onboard-experience/delta-comfort-plus.html

Nothing about a wider seat, and in fact one of the pictures they show has a guy in the middle seat in a group of 3 by a window.

 

[marko]

I was expecting true premium economy because that was the filter I had set in Google Flights.

Premium Economy is not just a little more legroom, it is what flying should be like

Before spending a lot of cash, I would've double checked things rather than just rely upon Google Flight filters. GFlights does a good job but there's still a lot of things that can go wrong, go unnoticed or just not so.

Not to be snobbish, but I would argue that First is what flying should be and that everything after that is a compromise at varying levels.

 

[NoiseBoy]

Well, that's your own fault for assuming something that clearly isn't true. Just go to Delta's page:

https://www.delta.com/content/www/en_US/traveling-with-us/onboard-experience/delta-comfort-plus.html

Nothing about a wider seat, and in fact one of the pictures they show has a guy in the middle seat in a group of 3 by a window.

So, I'm expected to double check every fare that Google Flights presents to me? Why? Would you do that for a business class fare if that was your search criteria?

My point in making my post wasn't to get sympathy, or to be told "that was my own fault", my point was to alert the travelers on this forum that, if they use Google Flights to shop for airfares, to be on the lookout for shady fare classifications in Premium Economy. Good grief. Turning off the laptop, pouring a glass of wine, and picking up my Rick Steves' guidebook.

 

[tulak]

So, I'm expected to double check every fare that Google Flights presents to me? Why? Would you do that for a business class fare if that was your search criteria?

Yeah, I would double-check even if it was business class. I want to know what I’m buying before paying.

Is business class equal between all the airlines?

As for trusting Google Flights, try searching for Economy and then try to figure out if it’s Basic Economy or something else. As you can tell in this thread, each airline pretty much does as it wants with their economy class airfare.

 

[audreyh1]

I’m afraid I also check - even for business class. But Google makes it pretty easy for me. When they send me to United, all the info is there. I can double check the flights, the layovers, the plane layout and how full it is, and select my seats, all before purchasing the tickets. I can even select different class levels from the United booking screen.

It sounds like some of the other airlines online interfaces are not as easy to use or leave out critical info.

 

[audreyh1]

As for trusting Google Flights, try searching for Economy and then try to figure out if it’s Basic Economy or something else. As you can tell in this thread, each airline pretty much does as it wants with their economy class airfare.

Google did fix the problem with Basic Economy - they now have a toggle switch to specify you want overhead storage, and that kicks out the basic economy fares.

 

[Scrapr]

I take a look at seat guru to see the layout of the seats. If Business class is lay flat or just reclined. If BC is 1-2-1 or 2-2-2. I don't want to step over someone to get to the lav, esp if the cabin is all asleep. Seat Guru is very handy. I also check the mileage plan sites for experiences and things to watch for on routes and planes

 

[audreyh1]

Same here - I always check seatguru for the airline and model and make sure the seatguru layout matches what the airline is showing.

 

[GoodWishes]

We use Google flights all the time. When we booked our Delta Comfort, we looked around the Delta web site a little bit (not too much) and it seemed pretty clear to us what we were getting.

I agree with other posters that every airline can provide what they want and call them what they want. As another poster pointed out, not all business class are the same either, ie not all have lay flat seats. So doing some homework can help eliminate surprises.

 

[RunningBum]

There's nothing shady about the classification. You made a wrong assumption. And yes, if it's a big enough deal to start a thread, you should've taken a minute to do a little investigation.

 

[DrRoy]

If one 5'6" or shorter it may not be a big deal. But, if one is pushing 6 feet or more, the extra few inches are a big improvement. Alas, on Delta, the seats are often as narrow as the regular seats. If you are unlucky enough to sit next to a broad shouldered person or Mr. Elbows, well... not so good.

The OP's description of premium economy on Delta is exactly what it is, except that there is more seat pitch (legroom) than regular coach. It has never seemed worth the higher price to me. I have never seen a difference in seat width, although it might happen on rare occasions and I just never saw it. DW and I more difficulty than before on an overnight international flight this year, and I am wondering if we should start flying business class so we can get some more/better sleep. It is just so hard to pay the extra $.

 

[marko]

So, I'm expected to double check every fare that Google Flights presents to me?

Yes. I sure as h*ll would. Especially if there's big money involved!

Google Flights is simply a search engine, not an agent of the airlines.
It's not like Travelocity or Hotels.com. GFlights simply looks stuff up and spits it out. They connect you to the airline as a convenience and then you're on your own.
I use GFlights to simply narrow down my choices and then fine tune it with the airline directly; which I think is the intent.

Do you trust everything that comes up when you use regular Google search? Do you ever find irregularities there?

 

[Kwirk]

When DW and I fly we check the seating arrangement for any flight lasting much longer than an hour. If we can't find seats together in a 2 seat group (say the arrangement is 3-4-3 instead of 2-3-2) we call the airline and book an "extra seat." I haven't seen any airline that actually permits booking an extra seat online but they have all honored the online pricing (so far). We fit well enough into 2 seats but the 3rd seat gives us protection against uncomfortable intrusions into our space. 3 economy seats are almost always much more economical than 2 business or first class seats.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

My dilemma is kind of the opposite: I'm looking at an itinerary that is ~$3,500 for Economy, ~$10,500 for Premium Economy, and ~$13,000 for Business class! So it's either the cattle pen for a 24+ hour trip, or shell out more than we're paying for the rest of the trip combined. I know we can put up with Economy, but I'm wondering if we want to....it's not making it any easier that Premium Economy is such a horrible deal for this trip.

 

[Jerry1]

When DW and I fly we check the seating arrangement for any flight lasting much longer than an hour. If we can't find seats together in a 2 seat group (say the arrangement is 3-4-3 instead of 2-3-2) we call the airline and book an "extra seat." I haven't seen any airline that actually permits booking an extra seat online but they have all honored the online pricing (so far). We fit well enough into 2 seats but the 3rd seat gives us protection against uncomfortable intrusions into our space. 3 economy seats are almost always much more economical than 2 business or first class seats.

Please tell me, if you would, exactly how you do this. I’ve always thought that buying three seats for just me and DW would be just about as good as business class at a much lower price point. Of course only speaking of space here. My concern would be that I’d buy the extra seat but they’d put someone in it anyway.

 

[Souschef]

what is worse than a middle seat? Why Two middle seats!

The only nice part about 2 middle seats is if the plane is not full and you can sleep on them

 

[Souschef]

The OP's description of premium economy on Delta is exactly what it is, except that there is more seat pitch (legroom) than regular coach. It has never seemed worth the higher price to me. I have never seen a difference in seat width, although it might happen on rare occasions and I just never saw it. DW and I have more difficulty than before on an overnight international flights this year, and I am wondering if we should start flying business class so we can get some more/better sleep. It is just so hard to pay the extra $.

I understand , as I also hate to spend the $$. But as you get older, and creature comforts are worth more, spend the $$. The first time we flew BC DW was in heaven as she could sleep on her side!

 

[Kwirk]

Please tell me, if you would, exactly how you do this. I’ve always thought that buying three seats for just me and DW would be just about as good as business class at a much lower price point. Of course only speaking of space here. My concern would be that I’d buy the extra seat but they’d put someone in it anyway.

I find a flight that I'm interested in using Google, Expedia, or whatever. I start the booking process to determine the seating situation. So far, I've been able to progress through seat selection without committing/paying. If I don't see how we can select seats in a 2-seat grouping but I do see groupings of 3 seats then I call the airline to make the reservation for 2 passengers with an extra seat. (I check the seating on all legs of the flight.) They may ask if I'm bringing a musical instrument or such but I just tell them I'm a big guy and I need extra space. They issue a 3rd ticket (same price as each of the other 2) under a name like "Exst Lastname." I have not been able to do this online but the airlines have always honored the online pricing that I suggest. Sometimes the service reps are familiar with this process and sometimes the assistance of a supervisor is needed. I specify the seat selection that I want (usually specific seat numbers) and then I recheck it online within 24 hours. When we board we just present all 3 passes.

We have only done this 4 or 5 times (typically round trips). Usually, the flights have been crowded but we have never been asked to give up the extra seat. I would (attempt to) insist on an immediate refund if a flight attendant refused to honor the extra ticket.

I suppose there could be a problem fitting us in if a flight is rescheduled or equipment is changed but this hasn't happened yet. I would request a refund if our needs (at least 2 of the 3 seats together!) could not be met.

The extra space is quite nice, both for us and for relocating any carry-ons that we may need to place under the seats in front of us during take-off/landing.

 

[Jerry1]

Thanks. I’m going to try that.