Originally Posted by
steveben53
Economy flight LHR to HKG in October on CX is £679, Premium Economy is £1,169. Apart from a little extra legroom and 2-4-2 seating config rather than 3-3-3, what are the other benefits that would convince me to lay out the extra £500 on PE rather than Economy
the seats are a different product than the economy seats, which is what allows them to go 2-4-2 not 3-3-3. Not sure if you're aware of that by your post. This isn't like the US style fake "premium economy", where really it's the identical seat just with some more legroom.
On CX, like British, SQ, etc. it's a different hard product altogether. Google it to see the differences online, or search around here...a lot of people in this forum fly PEY.
If you're going to buy PEY, buy it for the hard product difference. Don't get too stoked about the soft product differentiation. As mentioned glass of champagne on boarding, hot towel service, bottled water for all pax, better headphones than Y, first meal served is a J class meal - which on CX is usually a disaster, so this may sound like a benefit but it's not - and if you're flying on the 77H plane, a dedicated toilet in your section. On 77G, no dedicated toilet. FAs serving PEY are all based in economy, which is bad not because they're less experienced, but because folks on here routinely report that FAs spend more time in the back and don't come around and proactively patrol the section. And just an FYI, you'll be on economy class meal timing for the second meal. This isn't a positive or negative.
I fly on CX long-hauls frequently, although not really in PEY or Y (I have sat in PEY plenty of times though regionally) but I usually walk the length of the plane at least once per flight to stretch my legs. PEY feels very "civilized". Cabin is usually dimmer, quieter, it indeed feels distinct and I suspect it is a far superior longhaul experience than Y. Y class inevitably feels kinda chaotic. Walking from the back of the plane forward, there is a noticeable change in vibe between the Y cabin and PEY cabin. And the increase in seat size/pitch etc. is very noticeable.
Long story short, you buy PEY on CX for the distinct hard product and don't expect much from the soft product. Any soft product benefits should be seen as free upside but I wouldn't expect the lights out from them. It is basically civilized economy class hard product. Up to you if that's worth it.