I’m planning a long-haul flight soon and I’m trying to decide between booking premium economy or business class. Can anyone explain the main differences between the two? I’m particularly interested in the differences in seat comfort, in-flight service, and overall experience. Any insights or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Premium economy offers more legroom, wider seats, and better meals than economy but less luxurious than business class. Business class provides lie-flat seats, gourmet meals, priority boarding, and more personalized service. If comfort and service are your priorities, business class is worth the splurge.
There seems to be some confusion between Premium Economy and products like Main Cabin Extra. The latter is essentially an economy seat with more legroom. However, Premium Economy is a distinct product. At a minimum, you get a decent (fixed) armrest and usually some form of leg rest. You typically have more personal space, which helps you avoid rubbing shoulders with your neighbor. It is certainly less cramped, and you can work on a laptop even if the seat in front of you reclines.
Business Class, as correctly described in other responses, offers much better food and, more importantly, a lie-flat seat. Based on your 6-hour comment, I assume you are based in New York or Boston, so the lie-flat seat is likely more valuable than the food due to the limited time to sleep.
I often buy Business Class for US to Europe flights and Premium Economy for Europe to US flights since I don’t care as much about a flat seat for a day flight. There are also occasional daytime flights from NYC to Europe, in which case I find Premium Economy to be sufficient.