Premium Economy..
 

I'm going to Florida next March and I'd like to know who offers the best Premium Economy between BA and Virgin.
Or do I stay with my normal carrier of American Airlines flying economy.

Here are 2 recent threads comparing the two products -

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34639735

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34656426

And another thread that discusses whether it's worth the premium -

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34625029

My personal choice if prices are similar would be Virgin. Are you flying into Orlando or Miami? Orlando is operated on the LGW configured 747 with the entire upper deck being PE and 2 rows of PE on the lower deck. Miami uses a LHR configured 747 with half of the upper deck being PE seating and 3 rows on the lower deck. In either case, if you book PE I'd try to get a seat on the upper deck.

American doesn't have any premium economy but they do charge premium prices for drinks in economy. $5 for a beer or wine or mixed drink. Consider prices and the fact that the Miami flights are out of Heathrow and the Orlando flights are out of Gatwick. The upper deck is great but on BA it is only Business Class. American does use the 777 from Miami to Heathrow so at least you will have your own monitor. Expect the U.S. airlines to keep the fasten seat belt sign on for almost the entire flight and they will sensor the movies more. But you will get more frequent flyer miles flying American.

I think American feeds you for free; dinner and a snack, but it's "food for purchase" from Miami to Honolulu.

To Wally... I usually fly AA from the UK to the USA but we fancy a change and wanted to know if AA Economy was camparable with BA/Virgin Premium Economy.
If you had to fly from the UK to USA who would you fly with...
AA - Economy or Virgin PE or BA PE ???

I've never flown on Virgin but have heard great things about them. BA offers 38 inches of legroom in Economy Plus while American and BA both offer 31-32 inches in economy. If you have any miles with BA, I think you have a better chance of getting upgraded to Economy Plus on an Economy ticket with BA. Also, instead of the 3,4,3 seating in BA's 747 in economy, the seating is 2, 4, 2 so the chair is much wider in Economy Plus.

Check out www.seatguru.com for video, audio information.

Have you considered flying into Miami and flying out of Orlando? Rental cars will do the one-way rental so why backtrack.

If I were flying, I would go by price, but I'm willing to pay an extra $30 to go with BA or Virgin since American charges $5 for each drink.

American also gives so many threats to their passengers. You must use the toilet in your area, you can't drink your own alcohol, interferring with a flight attendant, and if someone gets out of their seat to use the toilet, they will announce loudly the captain has not turned off the seat-belt sign. But, then, they need to keep those isles clear so those flight attendants can sell those $5 beers.

I have miles with Continental a partner of Virgin, American and BA. So I try to feed my miles card when flying when possible.

I just love the British Accent on BA. We're always on "schedule."

American got rid of the extra room in coach. Don't fly them for that reason.

Wally,
BA and American are not partners with Continental. BA and American are partners but you can't get points on BA for American US-UK translatlantic flights nor American points for BA US-UK transatlantic flights.

Wally,
AA have 34in of Leg room or have they now changed all their configurations to 31-32in.
If so,I might think twice about flying with them in the future.

AA will have converted the last "MRTC" - more room throughout coach - seats to LRTC (less) by the end of the year. The last planes to be converted are the 777s, which are generally used in overseas flights. By March there won't be any leg-friendly (in coach) AA planes, unless you can score an exit row.

World Traveler Plus on BA does offer a slightly wider seat and lots more legroom. The armrests are fixed, however, so if you'd like to raise the arm to stretch out (or lie down on empty rows) it's no go.

I think Gardyloo answered your question. When are you flying?

Nibblette: I said I have miles with each: AA, BA and Continental. So I try to feed my miles. Yes, BA and AA will not accept each others miles going across the Atlantic. However, Continental will take Virgins.

UA have something like that but it's on their JFK-LAX and SFO flights. You get a lot of space in economy plus they serve hot meals.