I am thinking of spending the extra money to fly either british airways or virgin atlantic's premium economy sections (from dulles to heathrow). Anyone done this? Is it worth it? My biggest concern is leg room as my hubby is over 6'2" and needs more leg room. I can't afford business class so I thought this might be a good compromise?

Both are nice products, but pricey.

Have you considered AA - they have more leg room for every seat in coach w/o paying for Premium economy. They have 3 inches more pitch than on most airlines and 4 inches more than some.

I am not pushing AA, in fact Virgin is probably my favorite transatlantic line. But the extra space on AA gives you an option without paying a fortune.

Janis, American announced last week that it's reducing the seat pitch on about a third of its fleet, specifically those aircraft serving mainly "leisure" markets (transatlantic?) because they couldn't turn a profit on planes that had fewer seats. There's a lively if somewhat technical discussion of it at www.flyertalk.com. Bottom line, products like "premium economy" (boy, if ever a term sounded like it was coined by an advertising agency; that has got to be up there with "jumbo shrimp&quot will be the only way the longlegged amongst us will survive without flying biz class. The company said its "research" showed that leisure passengers only cared about price and that only the lowest prices would fill the seats, no matter how comfy they were. But amazingly, AA charged the same fares as other carriers and had similar "load factors" (percent of seats filled), so some people were opting for less room in coach even at the same price as AA was charging for "more room in coach." Maybe it wasn't the price but the marketing plan's effectiveness? Heaven forfend.

I found American's explanation beyond lame, but understanding how the executive brains work on American's "mahogany row" is beyond most of us evidently.

AA reduced its number of seats by around 10% - 15% in order to achieve the improved seat pitch. So would I, as a leisure passenger, be willing to shell out the same 10-15% extra to enjoy more room? You betcha. Would you?

I just have to believe that eventually some brave soul in the airline industry will figure out how to provide greater passenger comfort at a slightly increased cost over basic coach. What if your $700 transatlantic fare cost $800 or $850 instead but you got a near-business class seat for it? Would it be worth the extra 150 bucks for twelve to twenty hours' worth of increased comfort? Some would vote no, but I suspect thousands and thousands of leisure travelers would vote yes. Maybe we need another Freddy Laker (but with a different plan) nowadays.

Ivy, I've flown BA's World Traveler Plus (their "premium economy&quot because they upgraded me and, nice as it was for free, I wouldn't pay for it.

Yes, there's a little more leg room (not much) and there's a nice little padded footrest that comes up and you recline a little more. The best part is that your seat configuration is 2/4/2 instead of 3/5/3, so if you get a window seat it's just you and your partner. The compartment is smaller (ten rows I think), but the food and service was the same.

Have a great trip!

Flying from Seattle to Heathrow on BA in World Traveler Plus on a 777 for 9 plus hours I found the extra 7 inches of pitch and one less seat in the row to be worth the extra price. We were supposed to come back on a 747 but they bumped us up to business. I was told several trips back that BA won't assign seats until arrival at the airport for World Traveler but found that they would pre-assign for WT Plus. We were able to book window side seats upon purchase.
Rick

I just came back flying 'premium economy' on Virgin...if you ask me I would try to find an American flight that still has the extra leg room However if you cannot, premium economy's seats do recline a bit more than economy and they do have a bit more bells and whistles than the basic economy. (especially for taller people)It is also 2 across instead of 3 and their video screens are bigger and have a larger selection of entertainment.
However don't expect much else in the way of perks...bring your own food!