Gismoman

I am trying to decide whether to fly BA Premier Economy or LH Business. As I have never flown BA Premier Economy, I would like your help in how the two compare. I look forward to your comments. I am flying from SFO to India

Thank you

LHR Tim

Well, they are two completely different products to begin with.

BA World Traveller Plus is Economy Class with a slightly better seat. It is by no means a business class product: No separte check in (thought Online Check-in is pretty good), No Lounge, Same Meal (thought word is you get a small real glass with the tryap - whoopdy-do!) If you compre it to business class, you'll be sorely dissapointed. If you compare it to economy class, you'll be pleased.

LH Business class - well I can't comment on the long haul, but it's a business class.

However, if it's a case of thousands of dollars to be saved, well, that's up to you, but I'd probably opt for LH.

Just noted you're a 1K at UA. Don't forget you can use your SWU's on LH to upgrade to First! Oh, and you'll get MILES that count to 1K status.

Raffles

Lufthansa is rolling out beds (but not totally flat beds - they slope at an odd angle!). The LH website tells you which routes are going onto beds on what date. This would swing it for me, without a doubt.

Virgin fly to Delhi a couple of days a week, so you may also find you can get a good price SFO - LON - DEL if you go and come back on the right days. VS Premium Economy is seen as marginaly better than BA, if only because you get a separate check-in desk.

dnw

We should have a BA FAQ sticky post and this is one thing that could go in it:

British Airways Premier Economy class is called Word Traveller PLUS and not Club World MINUS... i.e. only ever comparable to economy classes and not business!

norodnik

I would rather fly in the Loo than fly with LH.

Their business class product at the moment is worse than US airlines although they are rolling out pseudo flat beds that are still years behind other decent airlines.

LH's ground service is usually awful, their lounges are terrible and often totally crowded.

In the air they serve manky champagne, the food is ok if you don't mind unpacking it and you feel as though you are training to be in the army if you converse with the cabin crew.

However, their fares ex-LHR via Germany are cheap which is not suprising as they have no product worth selling so selling it cheap is their only option.

Summary: fly WT + on BA

fraisse10

I am no great fan of LH but, for a trip that length and as long as money is no object (you can't have been quoted similar fares?), then for the seat alone it has to be LH.

CXBA

as WT+ is a glorified economy, why do not get CX or AA business instead?
As for the LH opinion I wholeheartedly agree, adding only that if you compare WT+ with LH economy the former is a BUSINESS class. Ahh german quality...

Doors2manual

WT+ is indeed a "premium economy" service, nearer to WT than CW.

On all a/c, its a seperate cabin (744 ex SFO and ex LHR to DEL). Same service as WT, except the service flow includes a complimentary newspaper ex LHR and glass glasses for wine (which is WT wine)

However, the cabin (esp if not full) is relative serenity to the WT cabin (WT+ config of 36 seats in 2-4-2 arrangement) Inflight Entertainment in WT+ includes all onboard games that cannot be accessed in WT and also Laptop power points (although you will need to own your own converter)....

All in all a good "between classes" cabin.

MAN Pax

Hmmm..... LH Business is still a Business seat (in 2+2+2) in a business cabin. That alone to me is worth more than the BA offering (unless I need some level busting tier points in a hurry).

The food is fine, cabin staff OK. However, the lounges are full and can be smokey. They do have free food and better beer than BA, and if you were flying with BA you wouldn't be in the lounge anyway, you'd still be in the WT check-in queue at LHR, with no prospect of a lounge visit. I'd take the LH trip, pile the miles into BD and you'll be well on your way to silver.

edi-traveller

Part of the problem here is that people incorrectly say (and this includes some BA staff) that the WT+ seats are the old Business Class seats and people then assume that they are the same as the Old Club Cradle Seats.

They aren't obviously and were specifically designed by Recaro for the WT+ cabin. Whilst there are similarities with the old Cradle seat - they are much smaller.

Unfortunately this myth has been perpetuated on many other travel websites.

FF_Bello

Nobody in their right mind would want to compare LH C to BA WT+. I agree wholeheartedly, that LH C is not a classy product, neither short-haul nor longhaul. But as was said before, if you bash the lounges, be aware you don´t get any in BA WT+. Yes, the seat is not what you expect from a modern business class, still, it is wider and more leg room. We don´t need to discuss food or wine, I hope, and if you don´t like the sparkling wine in LH, I hope you don´t wait too long for decent champagne in eco+.

Maybe LH is not "German Quality", but it is not "Rip-Off Britain" either. Given a LHR-BOM-LHR is to be had from GBP1400 in C via FRA on LH and over GBP3500 in J on BA non-stop, I know where the value for money is.

norodnik

value for money is questionable.

Yes, if you fly through FRA its cheaper in J but:

1) You have all the hassle of getting to and back from FRA

2) Per point 1, your day is going to be much longer

3) WT+ can be as expensive as LH C, but it can also be half the price. So, on value for money, WT + direct for 50% off direct would win everytime with me.

4) The LH lounges are so bad, there is little difference between standing in or outside, therefore this point is void.

5) LH seats are better than WT+ but you still get jammed in by the window, or have the window crawling over you if you are in the aisle. Being Old/Old club style seats you would have only a marginally better chance of getting some rest than WT +.

Its obvious I loathe LH and thats mainly because on all 6 longhaul flights I have either been treated appalingly and been totally unimpressed by everything to do with them.
Speaking of which, I am just off to SFO and had the chance to go LH via FRA for about £1600 in club or fly WT+ to Denver and on from there at less than half this cost. (almost no availability 12/13th back from the West Coast next week, hence the need to go via somewhere)

Needless to say, WT+ wins

MAN Pax

1) Not if you need to fly from MAN Anyway, more miles in LH MAN-FRA in C than BA MAN-LHR in Y (and more space) [and this question is for SFO-India, so a change somewhere, anyway]
2) See 1.
3) We've already established that WT+ to LH C is like comparing apples to oranges. Though for for the route in question, the price is similar.
4) Free food and drink and and a nice seat or not. I know which I'd take.
5) I've yet to be attacked by a window, though I await the experience. IMHO the best seat in LH C (and I am by no means a regular) are the centre seats. They manage to avoid the crawling window.

'nuff said

Swanhunter

I would choose LH. Stripping the emotion out of the comments above, LH business is a perfectly adequate product. Recline, legroom and seat width are significanly better than WT+. Should that not be enough you can get a seat right in the nose, much quieter than half way back.

I find the catering perfectly adequate, though the wine selection is variable. The on-board service can be very reserved, but I have come across some charming members of staff too. The lounges at FRA are rubbish but is is a better airport to connect through than either LHR, AMS and CDG. Bags do normally make the connecting flight.

I have a cheap trip to make to HKG and SIN and have gone for LH, at a price comparable to a cheap WT+. It seems a no-brainer to me. As you are a 1K, the miles should give you a helpful push towards re-qualification.

Buster CT1K

I agree with the above poster. Particularly for SFO-FRA-DEL/BOM, you'll have a good time on LH. I think the flat beds are now on the SFO-FRA flights and provide a more than adequate bed product. You can use the UA lounge in FRA to avoid smoke and crowds. It's usually a bit more of a walk from the LH flights, but it's worth it.

Food and service are much better in LH C than BA WT+.