If economy is a little too uncomfortable but you don't need all of the bells and whistles (and cost) of business class, a premium economy seat might be your sweet spot.
It's not a lie-flat seat, but Premium Economy can be a godsend when flying long-haul overseas, with more spacious seats and plenty of legroom, better service and amenities, and even better food than what you get at the back of the plane. Of course, it varies from airline to airline – not all cabins are created equal … and some airlines even name them differently.
Delta Premium Select , for instance, was a high-end experience prior to the pandemic, with more legroom, wider seats, and amenities like noise-canceling headphones, an amenity kit, and dedicated service. A recent cheap fare flying SAS Plus premium economy also included a larger seat, solid service, and even lounge access.
But here's the best part: While it's not always dirt cheap, we've seen a recent trend of low premium economy fares. Thrifty Traveler Premium members have received a slew of Premium Economy fares to Europe and beyond under $900 roundtrip – and sometimes, less than half that price.
Here's how you can score a comfier ride across the ocean for the price of a typical economy fare – or less.
What Is Premium Economy?
Premium economy is a middle ground.
Premium economy products aren't as nice as the first class or business class cabins, but they're a distinct step up from economy. They're typically far more spacious (both in width and legroom) and feature more amenities than regular economy in most cases. Often times, it looks a lot like domestic first class.
Delta Premium Select seats
Premium economy products vary from airline-to-airline, but in most cases you're likely to get some version of the following:
A slightly wider seat
More legroom, often with a legrest
A little extra seat recline
Extra amenities (headphones, amenity kits, etc.)
Dedicated flight attendant service
Extra inflight meal service
Free checked bags
Lounge access (in some cases)
Unfortunately, premium economy has been a major victim of the pandemic in one regard: catering. From American to United and even foreign carriers, many airlines cut back their food budgets in premium economy, meaning the dining options still resemble what you get back in economy. That trend is only recently starting to reverse.
Still, it's a big step up – and for most travelers, this is plenty of luxury when taking to the skies. You can see if a route you're flying has premium economy when you're booking. It will look something like this:
These flights, both displayed on Delta's website, aren't both Delta flights. As you can see in the descriptions of the fares, the top flight is a Virgin Atlantic flight and its premium economy is just simply called “Premium.” It's slightly cheaper than the Delta Premium Select option in this case. Both are significantly cheaper than the business class fares, though.
If those numbers look high to you, it's because they are! Don't pay this much for a premium economy fare. Luckily, we've been searching all of these flights daily so you don't have to. Here are some of the great deals we've found.
Premium Economy Flight Deals
Premium economy fares can be expensive – far more expensive than standard economy seats. But they don't have to be.
In the last few months alone, we've sent our Thrifty Traveler Premium members many premium economy alerts at 50% off (or more!) the typical prices. Here's the most recent example, getting you a more spacious seat across the pond for the prices most travelers expect to pay for a cramped coach seat.
Get flight deals like this one sent to your inbox with Thrifty Traveler Premium !
All these fares in Finnair's Premium Economy cabin were bookable for less than $1,000 – a great deal on a mainline carrier to Europe.
But you don't have to go to northern Europe to get some premium economy action. These fares to Greece, Egypt, and even United Arab Emirates are proof. Air France briefly ran this sale on premium economy fares through its hub in Paris (CDG), offering some great value for those looking to fly to one of these bucket list destinations this year or next.
Europe is a great place to find a good premium economy deal, and that includes deals from an unlikely suspect: Singapore Airlines. That's right, the famed Asian carrier operates a fifth-freedom flight between New York City (JFK) and Frankfurt (FRA), leading to the occasional remarkable deal like this one.
Singapore Airlines has one of the best Premium Economy products out there. Fortunately, Singapore also runs great deals on its premium economy fares to some southeast Asia sweet spots, too. And with flights this long, you're going to want a little extra comfort on the way.
This deal included this flight to the Philippines. With more than 22 hours of travel each way, that extra six inches of legroom and a fancier meal is going to feel amazing.
Even though many foreign carriers have made our premium economy deal list, that doesn't mean you should ignore the likes of American, Delta, and United. United runs deals on its Premium Plus cabin from time-to-time, including this gem we dug up recently to Paris (CDG) for just a tad more than economy.
Delta's Premium Select also goes on sale occasionally, and we love finding those fares and sending them to our subscribers.
Sometimes these sales span all of Europe, like the one above. Other times, they're slightly smaller, but feature more departure cities, like this one.
Still, anything sub-$1,000 in Premium Select is a steal for anyone planning a trip and hoping to treat themselves. But there can be an even better way to book, and that's using points and miles.
If you stockpiled some SkyMiles throughout the pandemic, this would have been a perfect use for them. Using just 90,000 Delta SkyMiles to Amsterdam (AMS) and back is a pretty fantastic option for one of the nicest premium economies out there.
That is, until you see Premium Economy cash fares dip below $500 roundtrip. Scandinavia's SAS has occasionally sold its SAS Plus seats at record-low prices, including this recent deal for later this year and into 2023.
This deal is gone now – get the next one sent to you with Thrifty Traveler Premium !
Bottom Line
Premium economy can be the perfect mix between the cost of regular economy and the service and amenities of business class. It's not a lie-flat seat, but there's no denying it's a comfier ride on a long-haul flight.
Best of all, we've been finding more and more great premium economy deals via Thrifty Traveler Premium, helping our members get somewhere fun for cheap – and better rested.
Lead photo courtesy of Delta Air Lines
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