BA Economy vs. Premium or Delta?
 

First, thanks very much for any insights. My brain is on overload trying to find the best combo of flights/prices/service.

What are your experiences flying BA Economy vs Premium Economy vs. Delta?

We're a family of four ( 2 elementary aged kids) flying Seattle to Inverness. We fly domestically a couple of times a year, but this is our first overseas trip together.

These are our options:
BA Economy via LHR for $630pp/$2,526 total including their ridiculous seat charges - 747
BA Premium Economy - same flight for $1,210pp/$4,842 total

Delta/KLM Economy via AMS for $766 pp/$3066 total on Airbus A330
Delta/KLM Comfort Plus - same flight for$1,099/$4398 total

I've only just started researching flights, but those economy seats seem like a great deal. I'm just not sure I want to spend double that for premium economy on BA when the reviews are really mixed. Pro on BA PE is the separate cabin, but it's roughly $500 more than Delta's Comfort Plus. Delta's regular economy is $500 more than BA, but we get to avoid LHR.

I appreciate your thoughts. I'm in analysis paralysis!

I cant comment on Delta/KLM. hopefully someone will be along soon to help there.

But if it was me, using my own money, I would not pay the extra for BA premium economy on a 747.


Do you do much domestic US flying? as this trip could get you the 4 required BA segments, and put you on your way towards BA silver, if thats worth something to you?

We only fly a few times a year, usually just west coast, so we have very few miles, not enough to get status of any kind. I need to do more research on that topic, since we'll be flying more often. Thanks for your input!

I think you'll get allocated seats together for free with school aged children so don't factor in seat fees if it makes a difference to you

Welcome to Flyertalk and welcome to the BA forum Kaimik, you have definitely come to the right place to find out more, and I hope you will continue to participate here.

You can get seat allocated for free 72 hours before departure, so it's only worth paying if you want a very specific seating arrangement or location.

My general take on flying economy is that the nature of the cabin is that you best go the cheapest way. The economy products will be broadly the same, so to my mind cash is king; and the differences at premium economy level fairly small, maybe BA will have the better catering, Delta the more modern seats. A key issue is whether you are in the Super J version of a 747, which is a good bit of kit, and definitely worth trying while we still have the amazing 747s around. Looking at the Route Tracker on thebasource.com you have a good chance of getting a Super J, these have 86 seats in business. The seats and IFE are quite good on that version, the mid J version with 52 seats in business - well that's complex but overall best avoid due to the older seats and IFE.

Route Tracker | The BA Source

One other option to consider, though this is for the summer months: starting from Vancouver so you can use the A380, which is superb in all classes. Also have a look at going to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, simply because so many more airlines go there, and there is just more competition. It's easy to get to INV from all of these locations.

Seattle to Europe is quite a long flight. Personally, I would pay the extra for more legroom. I am over 6 ft. However, different people have different priorities. My wife does not care about planes and comfort, and would always choose the cheapest. She is quite happy to fly down the back, even when I am in Business or Premium Economy. I am not sure if anyone can advise you sufficiently. As to choice of carriers, I would avoid Delta, but my rationale for that is not up-to-date - it is a prejudice from years ago.
As to places to connect in, it is easy to get lost/annoyed/frustrated in both AMS and LHR.

corporate-wage-slave:

Many thanks for your very informative reply. I do hope to be active in this community with several overseas flights on the horizon. One day, I hope to have something to contribute other than questions! Looks as thought 1 of 2 flights out of SEA is the Super J and ours would be. Surprisingly, the flights to INV are about $900 less than flying into EDI or GLA, and even less than flying just to LHR. I hadn't considered Vancouver, but will take a look at that now.

I would be prefer the extra legroom as well and I'm short compared to my husband! If we were flying alone, we'd splurge on Business class, but that fare four times over is too much. Thank you for your input.

Delta Comfort Plus is basically the same Economy seat with a few extra inches of leg room plus free spirits. It is NOT a separate cabin like BA premium Economy. Delta does however have a premium economy product called Premium Select, but only on a few planes. Personally I would go with an actual Premium Economy product as that is a pretty long flight if you can swing it financially.

INV is exempt from one of the taxation bands which apply to the other UK airports, but it doesn't explain all of this. The connection in London would be through the same building, as it would be in Amsterdam, but there would probably be a lot less walking in London.

Have a look at the Super J thread, I'm pointing you to some WT photos but the rest of the thread has other tips and advice. You'll have to adjust around the fact that this forum is a bit Business/First centric.....

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...l#post26643466

Good luck spotting the Loch Ness Monster.

Delta is the most with-it of the big USA players right now if you're looking for a preferred airline with good domestic and international route networks, and I've had some good experiences with them going far beyond necessary for IRROPS recovery when my no-status self was flying cheap or award tickets. And I feel like they're trying to up their service game on international routes lately. As a 5'9" person married to a 6'2" person, I'm okay with paying extra for Comfort+, even if it's not a separate cabin situation. Your Leg Room Needs May Vary.

I'd rather connect in AMS than LHR too but wouldn't regard it as a huge deal-breaker either way.

BA still has a very good soft product in many ways, but I think their service recovery is often weak compared to the US options and one of the big down sides of the BA Avios program for me (in addition to high fuel surcharges on transatlantic flights) is that it's all segment-based so unless your home airport is a BA or American hub, you end up spending a fair number of miles just to get to your main flight.

If you're interested in status-chasing, there are a few AmEx Delta cards that offer Medallion-qualifying miles that let let you shortcut your way to status. I'm about to hit Silver based on one east coast round trip, one transatlantic trip, and the first half of a Florida-Portland, Oregon ticket and a whole bunch of home improvement spending ran through the Delta Platinum card. While a lot of people complain about the 'Sky Peso' and how many miles it takes to redeem for long haul premium cabins, Delta actually often has some sweet spots in terms of the number of miles needed for domestic coach redemptions and availability for a family of four.

Have a great trip!

So the C+ on Delta is not the same as premium economy - an important distinction. C+ is just extra legroom, which is definitely nice on a long flight if you're tall, buying 4 of the seats at a premium isn't a value to me (especially knowing two passengers are kids). So I'd stick with the Delta economy unless you or your wife are taller and can't steal some of your kids legroom.

The DL A330 is a nice plane, I've flown it and actually chose a the SEA-AMS-CDG route instead of a Delta nonstop SEA-CDG on a 767 for my next trip. You get more space than on a BA 747, and in fact the DL economy is almost the seat width of BA premium. And you have the option with the A330 to book two pairs of two seats, or an entire 4-across row. No strangers in either option is pretty darn cool.

I will note there really isn't much, if any language barrier for an English-speaking person in the Netherlands. Not only does it seem like anything important is signed in both languages but also pretty much everyone under age 50 grew up watching US-produced tv shows that were subtitled in Dutch rather than dubbed and consequently speaks American English better than many native-born Americans.