Premium Economy - worth the upgrade?

[ff-jr]

I'm flying solo to LAX with VA (outbound May, inbound August) and I'm currently booked in Y class, as always (it takes all types...right?!). As it stands, I'm considering buying an upgrade to PE for at least one of the sectors, for a couple of reasons:

a) I'm bloody tall (6'6")
b) I'm curious to get a taste of the nicer end of the cabin
c) I really want to qualify for silver this year!

Do you think it's worth the cost (I'm looking at about $1000 for one or $1500 for both)? I know I can get extra legroom seats in Y for much cheaper, but those points are the main driving force here.

 

[ausi ski bum]

It is certainly much nicer, if you can afford it, do it, but you will never want to fly economy again long haul.

 

[notzac]

I'm flying solo to LAX with VA (outbound May, inbound August) and I'm currently booked in Y class, as always (it takes all types...right?!). As it stands, I'm considering buying an upgrade to PE for at least one of the sectors ... Do you think it's worth the cost (I'm looking at about $1000 for one or $1500 for both)? I know I can get extra legroom seats in Y for much cheaper, but those points are the main driving force here.

Emphatically, yes. VA whY+ is really quite nice -- seats and f&b perhaps not at the same level as QF, but the price is much more realistic as well. You won't be able to go back to economy afterwards though..

 

[Jurahn]

We're booked to fly Y+ with VA in November/December to/from LAX - have never flown premium economy before but thought we would try it, despite the additional cost as neither of us are good flyers at all. We did our first long-haul flight to Europe about 18 months ago in Y with Emirates and it was pretty awful - on every leg we had the "recline my seat into your face for the entire flight, even during mealtimes" passengers sitting in front of us and because every flight (except Dubai-Zurich) was absolutely packed, it wasn't possible to move anywhere else. So that, along with several other factors, made the flights pretty unpleasant overall.

We really wanted to make this trip to the US though, so I started looking into premium economy and VA got good reviews, so decided to give it a go. If flying Y+ makes the trip more tolerable, then it's worth the extra expense, as far as I'm concerned. J would be even better, but is out of the question as far as finances go!

 

[ausi ski bum]

Dont be so sure Business is better than Premium, I have done both and to be honest I sleep better in Prem, I find the flat beds to hard and to narrow, but maybe thats just me.

 

[jazzamcc]

I'm flying over to the US in August and returning September. I thought for $500 extra that I'd fly home in PE. I hate the dreaded night flight back for the US, and thought, why not?
I rang V Australia and reserved 14K for the flight home. I know there is no window, but I don't care. I've heard that the seats recline. I hope they do!!
I'll be stuck in normal economy unless an upgrade comes my way.

 

[Justinf]

Personally, I find VA Y+ to be a bit meh.
It's better than Y, obviously, but not overwhelmingly better and certainly I can't justify the extra bucks although for only $500 extra, I would say that is worth it.
The J product, however, is excellent. The beds are a bit hard, but when the FA makes it up and puts a sleeping rug on the bed, it's quite OK.
Certainly Y+ is better than Y though and by all means give it a shot.

 

[malmacdowall]

whY+ is well worth the extra $ .... Particularly if your taller and need the sleep... I flew PE from MEL to South Africa last Nov on VA and loved it. Noise canceling headphones, better food and beverage, bigger screen, more recline on the seats, full bar to sit at and help yourself.... Very nice...
Flying VA to LAX on Monday over in PE and return in business.... Looking forward to it and totally agree that once you fly Y+ internationally then you never want to fly Y again....

 

[pshepvic]

Can't comment on VA Y+ but on QF it I'd absolutely worth it. The extra room alone is great (both legroom and seat width) and the service, food, drinks etc are a much higher standard (on QF getting pretty close to J really).