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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

Thicker padding on the seats, more legroom, more recline, slightly larger ife, amenity kit (albeit virtually useless), glass of deutz during boarding, priority boarding, improved meal, dedicated lav on a 4 class 777

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.

It certainly is food for thought and what is also worth while considering is going on an emirates flight - going out Economy, on an A380 and coming back in Business - this is only £1200

personally i think that's a no-brainer win for CX PEY, no? Same price, 2 flights (nonstop) vs 4 (connecting), and you'd still be stuck in Y class for 2/4 flights if you chose EK. Unless you have status on EK or something that makes the Y experience better. Not to mention, your ex-LHR flight(s) will cross a nighttime, so you'll be sleeping in Y class.

Try a search around here for some PEY reviews. Or maybe other regular fliers will chime in. I've sat in the seat extensively for regional flights, and I prefer it to the (poor) regional J business class CX recently installed fleetwide. The PEY seat is far more comfortable for lounging, fwiw. Although it's not really a meaningful comparison for CX, since the two products are never on the same plane together. But just for some perspective. It's not a regular economy seat.

I know a lot of people say PEY is not worth it here, but ever since I started flying PEY (I am a student, by all means), I have gone to great lengths to never step back beyond row 34 anymore. All the time.

Some reasons that CX PEY is 'well worth it'

- Super competitive fares. In your case, nominally it looks like a large difference but your fare is quite competitive. If you start in HKG it can be a 200-300% premium above economy.
- If you bank to BA/AA frequent flyer programs the earning differential is much more than that on your fare quotations. (e.g. 90 TPs vs 20(?) or 1.5EQM vs 0EQM)
- If you can, try snagging row 30 (+31AC/32HK on 77H). This could probably be classified as 'PEY plus' since the seat is even more comfy with legrest and extended legroom. I always draw comparisons to flying in business in the older times or a weaker airline when flying in these 'PEY plus' seats, it is that comfy.
- The chances that you will be flying with people you absolutely don't wish to be flying with (or misbehaving travelers from a particular neighboring country of HKG) are much lower compared to sitting in the back.
- Standard goodies such as amenity kits, priority boarding, more overhead bin space, pre-departure drinks, better headsets, off the plane sooner...etc

- Both meals are now J meals :)
















- And...last but not least, a relatively higher chance of op up :D

This is pretty huge especially on ultra long-haul flights. Unfortunately, some of these neighbors have migrated up to F (relatively rare) and J as well...albeit, they are relatively tame.

Let's just say I didn't realize the human body could be contorted in such a manner in a Y seat until I witnessed it with my own eyes.

That isn't a bad price for PEY but I'd almost always prefer a mix of Y/J.
You get to choose which part of the trip you want to rest on.

PE is comfy, but it doesn't really take away the discomfort of your body, especially the lower back, being in a reclined position. (When I fly in coach I just get a 1hr body massage after; all is forgiven :D)

There are three main benefits.

- bigger seat, obviously. If you're over 6' it makes a big difference. I wouldn't do 13 hours in the CX economy seat.
- 2-4-2. If you're travelling with a partner you have a row to yourself. With 3-3-3 you always have a stranger by you.
- Smaller cabin and less chance of a screaming child in earshot, although there are often a lot of expat families on the LHR route in all cabins.

Yes, PEY is better than Y for sure. Howeveer, considerating its value, is it worth more 490 pounds? For me, it is not...

For US-HKG TPAC, the fare difference from AA codeshares is typically about US$600 (US$1900 vs US$1300), and less than the copay part of the miles+copay for upgrading on AA. I find it well worth it; the much lower ($100, previously $50) change fee is also very helpful.

The non-codeshare AA-earning H-fares are up around $1700 a lot lately, so that's a truly trivial difference given the difference in comfort.

If I were flying the cheapest non-mile-earning fares, I'd probably feel differently as those are around $900 and so Premium Economy would be more than doubled.

When did they introduce J entrees for both meals? Cx seems to have lost interest in the PEY product with much less publicity about it than when it was first launched with fanfare.

CX PE is worth every penny. It's one of the better PE products. I'm 180cm (5'11") and in full recline I can fully stretch out and actually sleep...which I find impossible to do in Economy. And if you have any status, you are first in line for a J class bump too.

Having been on CX PE 10+ times, its much more comfortable and have better sleep then Y class. The only thing I dislike its when the person infront recline their seat, the inside passenger have difficulty getting out also I can't really stand up with too. Like others you should consider the the hard products rather then soft.
Since a glass a champagne (5 pound)
-hot towel (5 pound, if you ask me its worth nothing)
-better meals (10 pound),
-priorty boarding and getting off (10 minutes?)
-bottle water (2 pound)
-amenity kit (5 pound which I often giving it away since I got stacks from variety of airlines)
-head phone (I don't know how to price that since I have my own noise cancellation headphone, maybe 10 pound)
-extra 5KG (worth it if you use it since CX charge extra luggage KG cost a lot and heard recently they are really strict)

The extra price is upto your own preference, I would only pay about 300 pounds or up to 40% more the economy. Since CX Y class is one of the best out there especially their 777 (9 across 32inch). Part of increase of price are due to UK APD an extra 70-80 pound.

Just curious when did CX start both serve both meals from J for PE? that wasn't the case when I last travel last year. Which route would that be? Since when?

I just took CX873 in PEY from SFO to HKG, and the meal service was a bit underwhelming. Someone mentioned that they serve the first J meal in PEY. True? It came with one tray with everything in it, and they served wine in plastic cups (not to mention they offered one type of red wine despite two printed in the menu). Am I missing anything? It didn't look like J meal to me (of course, this was the first time I had flown on CX and I have never flown in J on CX).