3 economy seats vs 2 premium economy

[jacquij70]

Going RTW next year and was thinking for long haul flights to book 3 economy seats rather than premium economy - has anyone done this or have any thoughts? most likely flying oneworld mainly QF. We're not big people just like a bit extra space.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Going RTW next year and was thinking for long haul flights to book 3 economy seats rather than premium economy - has anyone done this or have any thoughts? most likely flying oneworld mainly QF. We're not big people just like a bit extra space.

Booking an extra seat is entirely possible. It is also likely to be more cost effective in terms of providing the extra space you would like.

Most airlines have established practices for booking the extra seat, and don't worry about all the scare mongers that will tell you the seat can be cancelled, or you ould be deemed a 'no-show' or that one of the extra seats could be 'bumped'. None of this can happen. And if they are going to bump you off the flight for overbooking, then they have to bump BOTH seats - they can't just bump one because they want the extra revenue. And don't worry about the scare mongers that will tell you that the extra seat might be assigned somewehere else in the cabin. It won't be.

So that's the good side.

The negative side is that you won't get any of the benefits of premium economy. On BA that would be no biggie, same service in both cabins (but you do get extra hand luggage), but if flying Qantas then you essentially miss out on extra hand luggage AND what is domestic business class catering and service. And the extra legroom is a big plus on premium economy (you can stretch out 'forward' instead of having to shift your legs sideways as you would in normal economy), as is the separate check-in if you are not otherwise eligible through Qantas Club or frequent flyer status.

For the cost saving however 3 seats in economy might be the way to go. Wheter there are any additional benefits to the third seat is not really tested - for example, do you get the third seat's baggage allowance. I guess that reallydepends on the airline, I've never used that, but given that some airlines don't charge all the taxes and fuel fees for the additional seat you might find it a hard sell to get them to give you the extra bag for that seat!

 

[markis10]

With QF you will get the miles but not the SC's for the extra seat, which may or may not change your value proposition.

 

[Flashback]

Keep in mind also that with OW there's no ATW fare to be booked that is in PE. You can buy an ATW fare in whY and upgrade certain legs to PE by paying a surcharge (generally the long haul ones).

 

[serfty]

This is quite easy to do; although it may cost more due to service fees. I have no experience on this.

• Qantas FAQ's - Purchasing an extra seat for personal comfort

One thing to be aware of is many arrests lift up, so it may be useful to select seats with this feature.

 

[NM]

Personally I would take the 2 x PE seats as you also receive the upgraded food and beverage service as well as more leg room (seat pitch) and recline. 3 x Economy seats only provide more width for two people travelling together.

 

[dajop]

Keep in mind also that with OW there's no ATW fare to be booked that is in PE. You can buy an ATW fare in whY and upgrade certain legs to PE by paying a surcharge (generally the long haul ones).

This is a really good point. Is anyone aware of a RTW PE fare on any carrier? If no PE available, there's often the opportunity to pay for exit row seating as well.

But if I were on a non RTW fare, it would depend on fare level. Eg. if 2xPE came to $9K and 3xY came to $6K, I'd take the 3xY. If they were the same price then PE is probably better.

 

[docjames]

This is a really good point. Is anyone aware of a RTW PE fare on any carrier? If no PE available, there's often the opportunity to pay for exit row seating as well.

But if I were on a non RTW fare, it would depend on fare level. Eg. if 2xPE came to $9K and 3xY came to $6K, I'd take the 3xY. If they were the same price then PE is probably better.

VA/VAtlantic

MEL-LAX-LHR-JNB-MEL.

Limited routing of course.....

Agree with dajop re: 3Y vs 2Y+ - if it's at all close, Y+ is the way to go.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

What cities would you want to stop in on your itinerary & which city ex Australia?

Option One
It may be worth looking at purchasing two tickets ie do two bookings one for a cheap economy ticket ex your Australian gateway city to Asia & back then a separate business class ticket ex Asia to Europe & back. If you're on a B767 or A330 they have two seats on the side so that may suit you.

I would definitely recommend overnighting in Asia both ways particularly if you are on two bookings as if the first flight is late you could miss your connecting flight.

Option Two
If I was in the same situation I would probably book two economy seats and either pay the extra to get exit row seats for legroom or try & allocate seats where there are just two by the window eg rows 70 - 73 AB or JK on the B744 or 80AB or JK on the A380 or exit rows 79BC or HJ on the A380 (there is no A or K seats in this row so just two seats on their own.

Check out the airline seat maps on www.seatguru.com as all airlines are on the one site so makes it very easy to navigate.

Just think if you're only buying two economy tickets you've got more income to spend on stopover accommodation enroute. I have found that if I'm not trying to sleep overnight on a plane but can get a good nights sleep in a hotel bed instead this minimises jet lag ie a day flight Aust to Asia & ditto for Asia to UK.

 

[markis10]

And don't worry about the scare mongers that will tell you that the extra seat might be assigned somewehere else in the cabin. It won't be.

I have seen this happen twice in the last ten years in my travels, both times the offending airline was SQ and both times it came to my attention at the boarding gate in SIN as a customer was trying to get it fixed prior to boarding. I am sure that it was fixed however to make such sweeping comments as the above are dangerous and tempting fate IMHO. I suspect the customer may not have told the airline what they were trying to achieve or made a purchase as two separate bookings under a common name, but at the same time a lot of us have at one stage been asked to move seats to assist a couple or family wanting to sit together, which is a similar situation.

 

[oz_mark]

And don't worry about the scare mongers that will tell you that the extra seat might be assigned somewehere else in the cabin. It won't be.

I've seen it happen.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have seen this happen twice in the last ten years in my travels, both times the offending airline was SQ and both times it came to my attention at the boarding gate in SIN as a customer was trying to get it fixed prior to boarding. I am sure that it was fixed however to make such sweeping comments as the above are dangerous and tempting fate IMHO. I suspect the customer may not have told the airline what they were trying to achieve or made a purchase as two separate bookings under a common name, but at the same time a lot of us have at one stage been asked to move seats to assist a couple or family wanting to sit together, which is a similar situation.

Provided passenger follows the practice laid down by the airline to book an extra seat, (as I said in my post), the assignment of that seat cannot be separate as it is created in the same PNR and is inseparable from the travelling passenger. For example on Qantas it is designated as an 'exst' (or something similar). This 'exst' can't be randomly assigned somewhere else in the cabin. This also designates that the seat won't be designated as a 'no show', or that it is a seat which is available to be bumped.

If a passenger doesn't follow the rules and creates a separate booking then the seat may well be assigned somewhere else or (rightly) be considered a duplicate booking.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I guess the thing to do would be to call the airport a couple of days prior to travel (not reservations as they would have little knowledge about airport procedures) to ensure everything is okay.

That way you know you won't get any surprises on the day of travel.

Extra seats should always be booked in the same pnr. There maybe some way of linking bookings if the desire for the extra seat is an afterthought but I have never seen this.

 

[markis10]

Most airlines have established practices for booking the extra seat, and don't worry about all the scare mongers that will tell you the seat can be cancelled, or you ould be deemed a 'no-show' or that one of the extra seats could be 'bumped'.

Provided passenger follows the practice laid down by the airline to book an extra seat, (as I said in my post),

Your first post did not say the passenger should follow the established practice, just that airlines have them, and as I pointed out most of us have been asked to move to accommodate a family in order for them to sit together, the assumption being that their booking was on the same PNR yet they were not afforded the protection you indicate exists in terms of being split. Making two separate bookings is not what is recommended as an established airline practice for QF for instance but some think that is the way to achieve it, with some airlines they actually tell you to do that.

Its not an absolute guarantee that your seating request will be respected, and from time to time its possible that you will be split, typically when a change of aircraft config or type or when you are flying an airline that occasionally exhibits poor customer service levels, eg:

Jetstar gives overweight passenger seats either side of aisle | News.com.au

I think that customer followed the airline procedures , interestingly this article came out last night which also sheds some light on the issue when a passenger is required to purchase an extra seat, the key note is to make sure the airline is aware of your needs in advance:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/experts/burbank/2010-07-28-overweight-flier-policies_N.htm

There is no doubt in most cases buying an extra seat makes sense and works, there are things you can do to help including early check in or online checkin when the seat pool is greater to choose from, but you CANNOT say that you are guaranteed to get allocated that extra seat in a place where its useful for the purpose that you purchased it for, murphy's law striking is always a possibility.

 

[MarcB]

Speaking only in regards to the Qantas policy. The EXST designation is called an "extra seat for personal comfort" by Qantas. As a consumer, you would have a VERY good case for misleading and deceptive conduct if the extra seat was not somewhere where it was capable of being utilised such that it delivered the "personal comfort" aspect - i.e. it would absolutely have to be next to you or it would be useless.

Contrast this with the CBBG - which is an extra seat for cabin baggage. It probably doesn't matter as much if this is not next to you - but with that said, you'd hardly want to leave your baggage unattended elsewhere on the plane.

Qantas have a policy on the industry sales site dealing with both the EXST and the CBBG. Inflight Assistance

It is pretty clear that you must book on the one PNR. So I think that would be the determining factor in any case.

 

[Aardvaark]

My wife and I have done this as a 'Poor man's business class' in the days before Premium Economy - In 2001 I booked 3 seats on Qantas for the 2 of us flying SYD - FCO - LHR - SYD. The Qantas system was not really set up for this, but it was in the days of paper tickets and it all worked out OK - we were even able to get the extra seat on the British Airways flight between Rome and London. It was good for us as we can both sleep sideways across 3 seats. It also gives you enough room to get some work done. However we did not get frequent flyer points for the extra seat.

The only problem we had was that Qantas cancelled our return booking for no reason and didn't contact us, but that appeared to be just normal Qantas incompetence.

However I must admit that for the last 4 trips to Europe we have used BA Premium Economy.

 

[JohnK]

Qantas have a policy on the industry sales site dealing with both the EXST and the CBBG.

Still learning new things everyday!

 

[ozbeachbabe]

The only problem we had was that Qantas cancelled our return booking for no reason and didn't contact us, but that appeared to be just normal Qantas incompetence.

Generally airlines don't just cancel bookings for no reason. Just because you don't know the reason doesn't mean there wasn't one.

Did you bother to ask the airline why the booking was cancelled so you can take steps to stop the same thing happening again? I'd do that if I were you & get the facts first before you automatically assume the airline is to blame.

There can be a number of reasons airlines cancel bookings such as:

* if you shopped around for fares with different travel agents, some agents book flights they quote you on then not cancel the booking thus creating a duplicate booking if you subsequently book the same flights through a different agent

* travel agents not acknowledging messages from airlines to cancel duplicate booking which may cause both or in some cases several bookings to cancel

* airlines notifying travel agents of changes/cancellations then those details not being passed on to passengers

* passengers not bothering to regularly check their inbox of the email address given to the travel agent or airline

Seasoned travellers always check the airline website the a couple of days before travel to double check the flight departure time at which time they would be aware of any changes to their original flight details

When did you find out the flight had been cancelled?

Airlines make every effort to advise passengers of changes to their booking but it's a two way street and passengers need to check their emails regularly if this is the only means of communication, particularly if you have already departed Australia.

 

[TrevIng]

Have travelled to Europe for many years using three economy seats with my wife. We are normal sized passengers but the extra space you gain with the spare seat between for personal movement makes the trip more comfortable and enjoyable without stretching the budget.
Over the years we have had a variety of hic ups The points below are our experiences.

Not all armrests lift up check with airline.
Spare seat on all occasions has given standard luggage kilograms. (Good to get extra gear over to family in Europe)
Hand luggage is normal to two seats not the third.
Booking the seat no problem.
Checking in can be painful when staff have not experienced the third seat.
Works very well in the combination of 3 seats not as successful in the 4 seat configuration
No extra meal is served with the spare seat.
Some airlines offer flying points for the extra seat some don’t. (Last year Etihad would not give the spare seat points)
Some airlines do not charge the taxes it varies from booking to booking.
Many flights we have had to give up the spare seat on take off and landings when the flights have been full.
(Goodness knows where the passenger fits in for the rest of the flight?)
On two occasions we have had to talk very hard to retain our seats even to the point where we had to show our booking and payment for the third seat after we had boarded the aircraft.

Travel always has a few plusses and minus points the third seat overall is good value.

On all long flights ( 7 hrs plus we book three seats)) we have a stop over for a day or two, and share the experience of the cities to and from Australia and arrive as fresh and safe as you can.

 

[ellen10]

TrevIng - some very interesting points to your 3 seat preference. I did not know one could even book a spare seat. Do you think it is better then paying extra for an exit row seat. I must admit I am always craving extra legroom and loved our last trip in Premium economy with points. I have not seen many award flights since in Premium economy.....not on the long haul flights anyway.