After a horrendous cattle class flight some 8 years ago I vowed never to fly Y class again on long hauls. And I haven't. The day my wife and I can no longer afford it we'll just simply stop flying longhaul. It all depends on the airline and the route, but I have found that in many cases (for me) Y Premium is not available or is not that far off in price to an early C class booking. KLM have good C class fares if you book nice and early (which generally one can do for leisure travel).
In answer to the question: YES, I'm one of the minority who would pay more for improved comfort in Y.