premium economy in newly refurbed 747 v airbus a330

[Keith]

So.....

I've tried premium economy in the A330-300 and hmmm. Nothing special, felt not much different to economy to be honest :/ albeit with a glass of sparkling wine when we sat down.

We used to love PE upstairs in the bubble on the 747s but theyve been revamped and I guess theres more economy seats up there now :/

So... whats PE like in the refurbed 747s? anyone know?

Should I try and get a 330 or a 747 flight? :/

[Wendy]

I haven't been up there all I would say is that what I've read there are a lot of angry PE passengers out there who are now fighting for the blocks of 2 seats downstairs.

From what I can see is when you go upstairs, the first seats you get to are the 33 economy and these go forward to where the cabin doors are and after that there are a 20 PE seats.

bubble.JPG

The biggest gripes seem to be that the only toilets are the ones at the front of the cabin, so when passengers in economy want to go they have to walk through PE. You can imagine what it's like in PE before the seatbelt lights come on I can't say I'd like it very much. Another thing that annoys PE passengers is that they don't have a dedicated team anymore, the cabin crew upstairs now cater for PE and economy, so you might get your meal first, but you have to wait until all of economy have theirs before you get your wine.

One of the biggest moans is that as a PE passenger you are paying a premium price for a poor service in the bubble and you have to wait for economy passengers to get off before they can

I know that feeling in UC and it can be frustrating especially when people are faffing about

I wouldn't know what to do Keith, if I was flying PE I think I would probably go downstairs now and try and get one of the bulkhead seats.

Not much help am I

One good thing is that the new entertainment system is good

I guess you could always go economy upstairs and try and get row 80 and pay for the extra seat, it would be cheaper than PE. I don't know if you can pre-book them though

[Keith]

It's REALLY insane Why they had to make such a stupid change I don't know

That bubble was an oasis of peace and quiet and a true advantage of PE (there aren't many to be honest!)

We were downstairs in PE on an A330 out of manchester in December. There were screaming kids galore (Hello? can we ban kids from PE please or at least have an adults only section??) the seat pitch was no better than economy IMHO or if it was better, it wasn't by much.

PE is basically twice the cost of economy and I'm really struggling to justify it at the moment

[Wendy]

It's REALLY insane Why they had to make such a stupid change I don't know

That bubble was an oasis of peace and quiet and a true advantage of PE (there aren't many to be honest!)

It has always seemed ridiculous to me, I thought it was a joke when it was first announced.

We were downstairs in PE on an A330 out of manchester in December. There were screaming kids galore (Hello? can we ban kids from PE please or at least have an adults only section??) the seat pitch was no better than economy IMHO or if it was better, it wasn't by much.

PE is basically twice the cost of economy and I'm really struggling to justify it at the moment

I can't see that happening somehow, especially not on the Orlando route, although there are some airlines that do restrict children under a certain age from some cabins, which I think is a good idea

[Esmeralda]

keith, can you not stretch to First Class... even if it's just the one way? Expensive I know but a blessed relief on the journey home for a sleep. I would rather go less frequently but have the First Class treat on the way back.

[Keith]

keith, can you not stretch to First Class... even if it's just the one way? Expensive I know but a blessed relief on the journey home for a sleep. I would rather go less frequently but have the First Class treat on the way back.

yeah you make a very good point indeed

[piglet]

It's REALLY insane Why they had to make such a stupid change I don't know

That bubble was an oasis of peace and quiet and a true advantage of PE (there aren't many to be honest!)

We were downstairs in PE on an A330 out of manchester in December. There were screaming kids galore (Hello? can we ban kids from PE please or at least have an adults only section??) the seat pitch was no better than economy IMHO or if it was better, it wasn't by much.

PE is basically twice the cost of economy and I'm really struggling to justify it at the moment

Ouch Keith, that was a bit hurtful. We flew out PE downstairs in September and UC coming back with my grandson aged 6. We were complimented both ways on how well behaved he was. In fact one person on the way out said he hadn't realised there was a child on board. It's not so much the child, as the parents who don't bother to control them.

[Keith]

Ouch Keith, that was a bit hurtful. We flew out PE downstairs in September and UC coming back with my grandson aged 6. We were complimented both ways on how well behaved he was. In fact one person on the way out said he hadn't realised there was a child on board. It's not so much the child, as the parents who don't bother to control them.

Sorry you felt hurt Val as I'm sure you'd know, I'd never want that.

However, you need to understand that I wasn't commenting on YOUR child and hopefully you'll be able to consider it from my, and many other peoples, perspectives.

We simply don't want 9 hours stuck in a cramped space with crying, screaming, puking kids running around and what I'm saying is, if there was SOME class that we could buy in which kids were banned, that would be great. Perhaps it was called adult PE and it's rows in its own space? I don't see how that would be a problem to anyone.

I likewise love it when upmarket restaurants ban kids under a certain age after a certain time in the evening. It makes for a better experience for us and given I have to be tolerant towards annoying kids for the other 99% of life, I think parents should be understanding and give me some adult space for the other 1% of time.

In days gone by, parents were sensible enough to control their kids in public versus the now popular "leave them to do their thing, we're on holiday too" attitude. Likewise in restaurants, you wouldn't see parents with babies at the california grill at 10pm and if a kid was crying/misbehaving, they'd be taken out. Since we can no longer count on that behaviour, my personal view is that we have to carve out some kidless space for adults.

As I say Val, no intent to upset

[piglet]

Hi Keith Do tend to agree with you about adults only after a certain time. Wouldn't dream of taking my grandson out for a meal after 7.30pm at the latest, he would be tired and grouchy.
Val

[Wendy]

The cabin is exactly the same on the 747 Terry, all that is new is the suites have been cleaned, new carpets and there is a new entertainment system with a different screen.