puchong

I have (separate) trips to Hong Kong & Sydney coming up and noticed that Delta offers a reasonable Premium Economy fare on both these routes. I have flown SAS (SK), Virgin Australia (VA) & Japan Airlines (JL) in Premium Economy classs and wonder whether Delta's PE seats and service would be comparable to any of these? Is it worth paying the extra for PE on Delta? Does the PE cabin on Delta have a dedicated lavatory?

nichojo

Great question that no one here can answer. Reason being that it is being introduced via the a350 which hasn't flown a revenue flight yet.

ty97

As nichojo said, Delta Premium is being introduced when the A350 goes into service this fall. However, the first routes for the A350 are the current 747 routes: DTW-NRT, DTW-ICN, DTW-PVG.

DL's SEA-HKG is operated on an A332, and LAX-SYD is on a 77L. Neither of these planes currently have Delta Premium. These planes do have Delta Comfort+ but that is a regular coach, with regular coach seat width, a few inches of extra legroom, and a little more recline than standard coach. But it's still a standard coach seat. Some flight search sites, like Google Flights, categorize Comfort+ under 'Premium Economy' but is NOT in any way akin to International Premium Economy as most would think of it. Before booking, make sure whether you are booking Comfort+ or Delta Premium; only the latter is actually International Premium Economy akin to other international airlines.

If per chance the HKG or SYD flights are moving to an A350 in the future, then disregard above. But if it's not an A350, it's not Delta Premium.

ATOBTTR

Concur mostly. However, to HKG, OP could be getting a connecting itinerary to Hong Kong with PE via ICN on a DL metal flight and then KE on ICN-HLG (OP's post didn't say what the routing was). And to SYD, OP could be getting a DL codeshare operated by VA that is booking into VA's PE. (This is why I say I mostly concur since I don't think we can fully conclude what OP is giving us based on the information in the thread starter so far).

@puchong: verify that what you're looking at is truly "Premium Economy" (will be "Delta Premium") and not simply "Comfort Plus", which as noted above, is simply a regular coach seat with a little extra legroom, and on an internationally equipped aircraft, a little more recline. Seat width is the same as regular economy. As ty97 notes, I too have unfortunately seen some travel sites return Delta's "Comfort Plus" as an option when searching for "Premium Economy", which is usually significantly cheaper than a true PE product, so carefully research what you're getting. You can always post more information here (routes, aircraft types, fare classes, etc.) about the flight you're looking at and get verification from people here.

tentseller

FYI DL sells two different routing to HKG now: US-SEA-HKG and US-ICN-HKG

CommentatusMaximus

On the A350 it's like a true PE- as the seats are relatively narrow, otherwise it is reportedly similar to a US domestic first class. If you're not on an A350, Economy Comfort is just an economy seat with a little extra legroom.

355F1

It's a fake cabin. I'm assuming you're comparing fares on google flights?

I'd be pissed if I bought a "seemingly" cheaper PE fare on DL and walked into a 777 or A330 only to find a few inches more of legroom that they are selling as PE--ESPECIALLY because I have flown in true PE on LH/AF/BA.

DL will have a true PE cabin once they start flying their new A350, which I think is next month DTW-ICN.

trooper

If you look at the prices between Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand and Delta for Transpacific Premium Economy you will se a LARGE price difference... as already mentioned Deltas current product is NOT "Y+" .....its annoying that so many sites categorise it as such....

keitherson

Because no one calls it Y+

They call it W

Y+ is exactly Y+: economy with + space

Economy Plus(UA)
Main Cabin Extra (AA)

Presumably Delta doesn't call it Main Cabin Plus is because they also provide free drinks, snacks, that other carriers do not. On UA and AA it's literally just extra legroom. Not even Priority Boarding.

That's also why AS calls it Premium Class.

flyerCO

AA does get priority boarding.

trooper

Sorry...many refer to proper premium economy as "Y+"....although the better ones to tend toward "J-" ....

bennos

IME Y+ refers to extended legroom products like DL "Comfort Plus". W refers to Premium Economy.

vincentharris

Before I get yelled at I am ONLY comparing other airlines to what DL CURRENTLY offers. Not what they "might" offer on a new plane which in all honesty can be switched at any time (plane swaps etc.). The airlines I am referring to have PE across their entire if not almost their entire fleet so the chances of missing out on the product are substantially less.

Ok, now that the disclaimer is out of the way.....

Eva to HKG (with a stop in TPE) has a fantastic PE product. Seat similar to US DL FC seats, friendly service, upgraded meals etc plus premium boarding/luggage. I have flown it and can attest it was a comfortable hard & soft product.

I flew Virgin ATLANTIC PE as well and was very impressed with them as well. Very similar to the above on all the offering with Eva but I think Eva was just slightly better in the service, and the hard product (especially the seat).

Of course there is always Cathay Pacific to HKG which I have never had a bad flight on even allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way in the back of the plane.

puchong

Thanks everybody for pointing out my naiveté about Delta's faux premium economy offering. I actually looked at the nonstop LAXSYD & SEAHKG flights and will now consider other options. Selling Y+ as PE is BAD!

xliioper

They are not selling Y+ as PE. It is third party websites that fail to differentiate between the two and are being misleading. If you start your search on delta.com, it clearly distinguishes between the two. Note that DL codeshares on the LAX-SYD route with VA. DL6798 and DL6799 are VA operated flights which do have PE seating. DL does not sell PE seats on it's own DL 40 and DL 41 flights because it does not have them.