mxzebrax

This October My wife and I will be taking our first trans Atlantic flight. Portland >Dallas>Paris and back. Generally speaking we’re infrequent air travelers, maybe once every 2 years.

We’re both tall-ish. I’m 6’1” and she’s about 5’8”. We’re wondering if we should shell out the $500+ that it will cost to get the main cabin extra for the flights to/from Paris (not the short Portland part).

Traveling via 787-9 (flight 22) and 787-800 (flight 49).

Any intel would be immensely appreciated!

And if folks have any other general tips, or know another place I should post this, please let me know! (New poster to this site, please let me know if there's a better place for this post! Also, if there are tricks to earning upgrades, buying miles for cheaper, anything like that, that'd be great!)

Thanks!

ajeleonard

IMO that money would be better put towards the upgrade to premium economy rather than MCE

Often1

What are the price differentials to PE, J (and just for kicks, F)?

If you are willing to spend $500, might a bit more be worth it for PE and how much more would it be for J?

As always, this is a subjective call and nobody here knows what $500 means to you. I would spend the $250 per person without a second thought. But, that is me. Is $500 needed to keep your mortgage current or is it what you drop at happy hour after work?

FlyingLaw

Do what you can to fly PE. Well worth it over MCE.

rbAA

No FC on the 787's. Another option is to try to scare up 50k in AA miles and use miles+cash: 25k+$350 each- to J. MCE is OK, but still the same seat as regular coach except the extra legroom. Not worth $500 IMO.

Efrem

$500 is $125 per person each way. IMHO that's not unreasonable for MCE on flights of that length. I'd personally go for it if you have the money, though I agree with others who would see if more of an upgrade is available and affordable.

beckoa

Welcome to Flyertalk @mxzebrax.

Please follow the redirect as we send this thread to our AA forum.

~beckoa, co-moderator Information Desk

MorganB

I agree with this . Also of note, it would be an "upfare" to a higher cabin so you shouldn't be charged a change feel.

C17PSGR

While the advice about Premium Economy is good, the cost for upgrading to Premium Economy for both of you can be significantly more than $500 for the round trip in some cases. When I looked for a random date from Portland to Paris, it actually didn't look that bad so worth checking out.

Flyingforless

I typically travel MCE as a one world sapphire on 8+ hour flights (free seat choice) and it's definitely worth it. The route I take normally charges $118 for the seat. It gets you closer to the front of the aircraft and more space for seating. You are in the main economy cabin. PE looks a whole lot better. Better seat, space, entertainment screen size, food, baggage allowances. In your own separate cabin as well. Not sure of the price difference between MCE and PE but if within your budget, choose PE.

GTITAN

Ehhhh, not to be the contrarian here, but ........... PE is great on a day time flight for sure and you should consider for CDG-DFW, but on overnight flights, anything other than BC/FC with lie-flat is not going to be great, so DFW-CDG is a wash for me. I'd fly PE but only because of the 1.5X EQM multiplier. Were it just a "better seat" think I'd rather have an exit row.

Safe Travels

e90dude1

I agree with GTITAN, I was in PE (bulkhead) for a AA 789 daytime flight from LAX-HND...it was good however it is not even close to a Business class seat...there is still a lot of people/noise in a small cabin and I felt like a MCE exit row or bulkhead seat is not much of a step down however way cheaper...

upinsmoke

Whether something is worth a number of $$ depends on what value those $$ have to you. Is Main Cabin Extra better than regular economy? Absolutely, you get more legroom, and your knees are not against the seat in front of you.

For a transatlantic flight? There are two issues: the seat width is the same, so if that's a concern, the width is the same as a regular economy seat. The other issue is the amount of recline. Main Cabin Extra reclines the same as a regular seat. For me, this is a killer. My butt hurts spending that many hours (trying to sleep) in those seats, since it's absorbing all the pressure from being almost upright.

Premium Economy has the wider seat, but more importantly much more recline, and a footrest. Both remove pressure from my behind. Do I sleep as well as on the flat bed in Business? No, of course not. But Premium Economy might be an extra $300-$500 per person, while Business can be $2000 more.

chitink

For me? no. It's more leg room but that's about it. For someone as tall as your husband, i would consider it. But yes, call AA and ask them what the upfare to Premium Economy would be first.

Gig103

Fun fact, BA charges that amount or more for business class passengers to choose their seats ahead of time. Even when my nonstatus friend had a $10k last minute ticket!

At least OP is getting extra legroom. I'm not quite 6' tall and I'd probably do it if PE was very expensive or unavailable.