Premium Economy to NY - BA or VS ?

[smallpilot]

I have to travel to NY (JFK) in a month or so for work. The choice is BA or Virgin and credit cruch means its only Premium Economy (called World Traveller Plus on BA I think ?). Any advice/suggestions on which is the better product ?
main factors: Seat space / legroom, and which is the better seat for a sleep on the overnight return to LHR ?
secondary: Service / food. Do either of these classes get you any lounge access or other perks on either carrier ?
VS will be a 747 I guss ? will BA be 747 or 777 ?

Appreciate any comments.

Thanks.

[somewhereat1l]

I love the BA business class product and in my opinion is better than VS. However Premium Economy is another story.

BA - seat not that flash. Food identical to economy and no dedicated crew. Would be on either 747 or 777 I think. Laptop power is empower and you have to purchase the adaptor (unless you already own one).

VS - good seat and more room than BA but avoid the middle seat (check in early). Food is similiar to economy but served on china and bigger portion. Warm bread too. You also get dedicated crew in the cabin and liquers/brandy and fruit is available during the flight (just ask the crew). Laptop power is empower too but the crew will loan you a free adaptor for your laptop / ipod or psp. You can check on the vs website whether they will have the correct tip for your laptop and generally apply macs aren't supported. The flight could be either a 747 or an A340.

[PAXboy]

If FFMs are important to you - that's a factor. For myself, it would be VS but the two products ARE broadly similar and any carrier can have an 'off' day for service. VS revamped the PE about two years ago and widened the seat (which might be important to you) I have not been on WT+ for some time.

[intortola]

Have recently flown both BA and VS premium econonmy, BA LHR-CAI and VS LGW-ANU for the additional cost involved I would go with Virgin, cheaper than BA and I thought was an excellent product. I have read on other forums that VS cabin crew can show an indifferent attitude but on both my flights with Virgin over the Christmas/New Year period they were excellent. The last flight i did with BA from ANU-LGW was in Club world and the service in VS premium ecomomy was superior, although not such a good seat!

[Stymied]

I fly Virgin Premium Economy on any long haul flight where it is an option. The first time I flew Premium it was because I needed the leg room following a back injury, but since then I have been able to fly in this class consistently, often thanks to the additional frequent flyer points you accumulate in this class and which I have used to upgrade from Economy.

I have flown BA World Traveller on one return London to Cape Town flight.

There certainly was a difference. I felt cheated, having expected something on the lines of Virgin Premium Economy. I will never willingly fly World Traveller again. The only advantage was additional legroom compared with Economy. (There's no separate, rapid checkin; no welcome bubbly, nothing to match Virgin's ergonomic new Premium Economy seats and entertainment; nor did it match Virgin's onboard service and its catering.

There is one more thing. I'm not someone who asks for, dresses for, or gets upgrades. Except on Virgin. I reckon that I have been upgraded on at least 25% of the flights I have taken with them and on only one flight with all the other airlines I have flown with.

I hope they thrive.

[VAFFPAX]

Given the choice, I'd take VS. The new PE is great. Used it to Narita, used it to Johannesburg, used it to Washington DC, and every single time I was not disappointed, and arrived a lot fresher than I ever have at BA interconti.

S.

[reverserunlocked]

I recall earlier advice on here about Virgin's PE being to try to get upstairs on the 747. I don't know whether that may be different now that they have revamped it. Do Virgin still put PE upstairs?

[The_Banking_Scot]

Hi reverserunlocked,

On all the 747-400's operating out of LHR the Upper deck is now all Upper class only ( PE moved downstairs)

On the LGW 747-400's PE is still upstairs ( plus some on the main deck)

Regards

TBS

[rog747]

going to NY
both BA and VS p/econ products are better than Y !

the flight is pretty short but VS wins for me as all *LHR based a/c are all fitted with the new PE leather seat which is super,
row 18 window/aisle on the a340-600 is amazing,

(the LGW 747 a/c and one *LHR a340-300 are NOT fitted with this seat yet)

the VS service is upgraded and frankly its very good...
even on longer DAY flights this VS product is great, prob better than upper as you have alot of shoulder room,

there is no upper deck VS 747 PE now except on LGW based a/c which as yet do not have the new seat, the old seat is vile !!!

enjoy,

btw
BA is still good in PE if thats all you can get...
the front row is best.

[007helicopter]

Thinking about Premium economy on Virgin Heathrow to Hong Kong, quick question can you still get an emergwncy isle seat even more leg room ( I am 6' 4") and assume you would pay a supplment for this?

[rog747]

yes u can
see their website
extra legroom seats in Y are a few quid more

[keltic]

While flying Premium on VS to Hong Kong, avoid windows seats in rows 19th on the A340-600. No window, just a white panel. :confused:

[smallpilot]

Thanks for all the comments. I've decided to give VS a try, hopefully they've improved since my last unsatisfactory experience with them to Florida a few years ago.

[VAFFPAX]

Florida... that wasn't LGW-MCO, was it? In that case, you can rest assured that the Far East flights are from LHR, which makes them a lot better.

S.

[grrowler]

My experience with BA PE:
old worn out seats and IFE
no welcome drinks
no dedicated attendants
economy food thrown at you and presented with the same lack of interest shown to economy customers.
attendants go into hiding as soon as service is rushed through and only reappear for descent

You would think that considering the significant premium over a standard economy ticket, they could at least throw in some extra/ better quality food and service. I feel PE should be similar to business with a smaller seat, not economy with a bigger seat, maybe I expect too much. :yuk::)

[deep_south_gb]

I have flown PE & WT+ several times to the US (east and west coasts) and to be honest there isn't a huge difference.
Fundamentally you are getting a bigger seat and a bit more room than Y.

I think VS give you a better service than BA. BA food is generally better than VS. Both will give you more drinks if you ask. IFE depends on the specific plane, but at the minimum is OK.

And surprisingly enough, the costs are usually the same.

So I would base the choice on (a) schedules (if the timings are important), and (b) if you need the miles on that airline for a particular reason.

As has been said, either is a lot better than Y, and the extra cost is usually not too high.

[Final 3 Greens]

On short day flights, e.g. Boston, I prefer WT+ to Club World, as I find the seat better for using a laptop.

As I am used to a C seat pitch of 34" on 3-3.5 hour flights around Europe, 38" and a wider seat is ample on a 6-7 hour flight, when I have work to do.

I am probably one of the few people who politely declined an upgrade to J for this reason, the US check in agent looked as if I had gone mad :}

I accept that I am probably in a minority in this respect and for an overnight flight I very much prefer a flat bed.

Although I have never used PE, it does sound as if it is a very good product with the new seat and I would seriously consider it were I looking at a Boston/NY trip.

[fastrobert]

BA WTP seats are only a very slight improvement over economy. In fact, on a night flight, if you hit lucky in WT and have an empty seat next to you then you can at least lift up the armrest and stretch out a bit. No such luck in WTP since the armrests are fixed.

Food in WTP is, as correctly stated above, exactly the same as WT. Very galling when you can smell the hot bacon rolls being dished out in the Club World cabin just in front. For the extra five or six hundred quid a WTP seat costs, a bacon roll (and a smile from the cabin crew) would be nice!

[leeUK]

I've just returned from Nairobi having flown PE with Virgin ex LHR. On all points VS won over BA WT+ (once experienced, not to be repeated). Dedicated Fast Bag Drop, priority boarding, smiling cabin crew waiting with bubbly or fresh juice, the meal very good and the seat comfortable enough that I slept for 6 hours both ways (these elements present on departure from both LHR and NBO). Feeling pretty spoiled now:O!

[Der absolute Hammer]

Virgin would be the choice I think but one point which perhaps is not mentioned?
Does either airline have dedicated toilets for Premium Economy. If not then I think that you have to walk all the way down the aircraft-or at the least to the middle.