You may have traveled by air in economy class at least once. But, have you experienced your trip in a “premium economy class”? This may not be common to everyone, that’s because not all airline carriers offer this travel class on their flights. You can also think of this as a way that allows airline companies to make additional profit, while also serving travelers with amenities and in-flight services throughout their trips.
In this blog, we are going to do an in-depth review of traveling in premium economy class on flights to your destination. We will also take a look at how this travel class differs from other classes of cabins and whether are there any benefits to it.
Table of Contents
What is a Premium Economy Class?
A premium economy class in air travel can be defined as a class of cabin that is usually higher than the standard economy class but is lower than the business class of any given airline.
Sometimes, we can also refer to a premium economy class as an elite economy class, which is offered by some airline carriers to travelers. In other words, you can experience business class travel in a premium economy. Thus, any airline carrier low-cost or full service may offer such type of travel class, whether it is a low-cost or a full-service airliner. This premium travel class was first introduced by EVA Air during the early 90s and later became popular and a standard among other airliners.
The price of a premium economy class ticket will typically cost a little more in comparison to a standard economy class. But, paying that price would be satisfying as you will get comfortable seating with legroom space, which is usually seen as a feature lacking in the basic travel class of a flight.
In addition, you can easily upgrade from economy class to premium economy class for a small fee and avail benefits, such as checking in at the airport, enjoying in-flight entertainment, availing ground services, and much more. If you are a member of an airline’s frequent flyer program, you can avail of the upgrade for free.
See Also: Know what is a first class in flight
What Services and Amenities do You Get in Premium Economy Class?
Generally speaking, the availability of services and amenities to premium economy class passengers, both in-flight and at airports, differ from one airline carrier to another.
For example, popular airline carriers, such as American Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airways, and United Airlines are based in the USA and offer premium economy class seating to travelers. Also, the services and amenities that are offered to premium economy passengers differ a lot from those of standard economy passengers. This is also common with many foreign airline carriers.
Here, we have also included a few services and amenities that premium economy-class travelers can benefit, from while traveling to and from their final destinations.
- Priority check-in at airports
- Priority boarding
- Better seats with legroom space and reclines by a few inches more
- Seats are usually located in front of the economy-class cabin
- In-flight services are available from dedicated cabin crew
- Entertainment offered in-flight includes Wi-Fi, a larger video screen, noise-cancellation headphones, and more options
- In-seat charging outlet for laptop computers, tablets, and smartphones
- Beverages, like juice and champagne, are served as free welcome drinks
- More choices for quality meals and drinks
- Passengers on overnight flights are provided amenity kits that contain toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other necessities
- Some airlines offer lounge access at airports
- Travelers earn increased frequent flyer points
These benefits are common with several domestic and international airline carriers, while a few airliners may also offer more.
Most travelers will often prefer comfort over all other things when flying in a travel class. So, if comfort is of utmost importance to you and that is less expensive, then the premium economy class should satisfy your needs.
Which Airline Carriers offer Premium Economy Class?
As of now, there are over dozens of commercial airline carriers that include premium economy class cabins on their flights, both domestic and international.
Below, we have provided a non-exhaustive list of a few popular airline carriers (in alphabetical order) that offer travelers a premium economy class cabin. This cabin gives you a little more comfort than their standard economy class cabin on flights.
- Aeromexico
- Air China
- AirAsia
- All Nippon Airways
- American Airlines
- British Airways
- Frontier Airlines
- Japan Airlines
- Oman Air
- Philippines Airlines
- Qantas
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines
- Spicejet
- Virgin America
- Virgin Atlantic
There are also several airline carriers that offer premium economy class, however, this cabin’s availability may involve many factors, such as aircraft design (wide-body), short-haul and long-haul routes, and more.
Conclusion
Traveling in a premium economy class will certainly give you better comfort and experience than what you would get in the standard economy class. Plus, you will also get to avail of many benefits as we have seen above.
