JamesBigglesworth

It's not immature. What the OP is really telling us is that they see the purchase of a seat as an image statement for others to see. On that, s/he is simply in a minority.

eastindywalrus

Agreed. This is my biggest complaint about Premium Economy. For the limited benefit there is over standard economy, it's nearly impossible for the average person to justify the significantly larger expense. I suspect it's mostly business travelers whose companies have a no-J-but-Premium-Economy-is-OK policy.

Annalisa12

I agree with you. I think PE is too expensive for what it is. You don't even get half the value or comfort of business class.

If the prices were $700,$1500 and $3500 then maybe I'd think PE was actually worth it.

Shadowfactor

Admiral Ackbar

I was going to use the Golf R as the reverse of the Mercedes C-class analogy for PE but then realised PE would have to cost a lot less for that to be true!

lhrsfo

I see sitting in PE as broadly similar to sitting in "First Class" in the USA. Some may well look smug watching people trooping to the back of the plane (and some people trooping to the back of the plane may wonder why people spend the money on the bigger seat), but most simply enjoy the greater space. For several older people I know, for the last few years PE is the difference between a trip or no trip - economy is too uncomfortable and Business is too expensive.

State of Trance

I mostly fly TPAC, and usually find pricing to be Y: ~$1000 PEY: ~$1500-2000 J: ~$5000+ at about a month out which seems more in line with how it should be priced IMO. Once prices start approaching J, the value isn't there anymore.

jah718

The only thing that is "gauche" are people who purchase products solely based on the image they will convey, perceived or otherwise. I gather from your post that it is you who are not "secure in your socioeconomic status" as you so eloquently put it.

I book plane tickets in a variety of different classes, depending on my situation at a given time or the reason for my trip. If I would like a little bit of extra comfort, I will book PE or business, I don't book based on the the status a given class gives me.

pinniped

PE is still a relatively new product on many airlines and in many markets. It's possible that the pricing simply hasn't found its footing yet. Airlines are hoping that corporate travel policies that have increasingly taken J off the table for most flights will include PE. So they're hoping to keep yields high and still capture those clients.

I look at it this way for most of the international routes I fly:
- Rock-bottom coach fares are still in the range of their historical lows if you know where to look for them. There are new-ish options that weren't there before - better Iceland options, Norwegian, TAP, and a couple others on the "budget" end of things. Even if you don't want to fly these carriers, their presence keeps the legacies reasonable and has even caused legacies to offer one-way tickets in some cases.
- J fares are actually more attainable for individual buyers than they were in the past. The 90's model of pricing all J at $10k and cutting the corp buyers a 50% "discount" has weakened. Now you see $2500-4000 R/T's on some TATL and TPAC routes with just enough modest restrictions to keep the business travelers in higher fares. The quality of the J seat has improved as well.

So since both of those are *good* things (for the buyer), I don't have any problem with airlines trying to slot in a PE product and see what sticks. I'm not a buyer at 2x the Y fare, but if it eventually settles at 1.5x the Y fare, I might become more interested. The business traveler demand will ultimately define where it lands for each route.

emma69

I think the places the PEY really stands out is on planes without business or first, on short-medium haul, such as on some of the Westjet routes. The cost difference is pretty modest, and so I will buy a PEY seat for a sun destination, to get the extra bag, priority boarding, more space, food and drink. I have never once bought it because of what others might think of me. Who even does that, other than clearly the OP. Incidentally, the cost to go from Main cabin economy to First on Delta for an upcoming flight was far less than from economy to premium economy on a not-dissimilar length flight by another airline, so I am not sure how you could call PEY 'gauche' when First is cheaper?

BearX220

PE simply performs the market function Business Class used to occupy 35+ years ago, e.g. a betwixt product for customers who (back then) couldn't expense F, or justify the personal spend, but wanted more than Y. Today's J is more spacious and opulent than F back then ever was, and Y is somewhat worse, so the betwixt opportunity is bigger and clearer than ever. Status or show-off impulses have little or nothing to do with it.

gungadin

BuildingMyBento

evergrn

For TPAC flights, in general the Y:PE:J ratios would be 1 : 2 : 6 for price, 1 : 1.5 : 6 for the seat footprint.
At least that's been my observation.

Based on this, PE offers the worst value. Airlines are ripping people off with PE revenues, and airlines know it.
Considering that J pax get very enhanced catering and amenities, lounge access, more miles, etc, one could argue that biz class is good value for the money. For award travel, J is an exceptional value.

However, there are so many people (like me sometimes) who can't tolerate the Y torture but could never afford to pay for J. Hence the demand for PE, and airlines take advantage of that demand.

strickerj