There are a plethora of articles online harking on about the pluses and minuses of each airline cabin class, but they’re all general information lacking a scientific approach. We all know that lie-flats are more comfortable than economy class seats and the food up front always tastes better, but by how much?
I’ve taken Air Canada’s 4.5-hour red-eye flight 124 from Vancouver to Toronto three weeks in a row in the same month and on the same aircraft type to control for as many factors as possible. Each flight was taken on a Saturday evening in January at least ten days after the last public holiday in a Boeing 777-300ER in layout 1, all originally booked in an economy fare class between 60 to 70 days in advance.
Economy preferred seat
I chose to sit in bulkhead preferred aisle seat 50G, I had free preferred seat selection with Air Canada elite status. There was ample legroom, nobody in front to recline into me, and the middle seat could extricate themselves to use the toilet without waking me up.
The legroom was generous enough for me to slouch into a comfortable position and sleep while reclined. The headrest with winglets helped avoid neck pain when I woke up. I slept for two hours, waking up three times in total. There was no food service, but we did get three drinks service and some dry snacks. It cost $242.
Premium economy
I already had zone 2 boarding and priority ground service with elite status, so these perks didn’t add anything to the experience. To me, the only difference between economy and premium economy is the cabin experience. I sat in aisle seat 13H after I used my eUpgrade credits to bump up from economy.
I would have preferred bulkhead row 12, but I didn’t get a choice in the complimentary upgrade. The seat was wide enough so that passengers’ shoulders don’t touch throughout the flight. The centre armrest drinks tray was useful in holding a sparking water while keeping the tray table stowed.
While the seat in front reclined a good four inches, it wasn’t noticeable when I fell asleep. Although there’s no legroom advantage over an economy class preferred seat, the extra width and steeper recline meant I slept for two hours with only one interruption. The food and drinks service is almost identical to business class except for a shorter wine list. I paid $306 and 6 eUpgrade credits.
Signature class lie-flat
Air Canada calls its widebody aircraft business class “signature class” to distinguish the lie-flat pods from the large domestic flight recliners. It comes with zone 1 boarding, which was appreciated as the zone 2 line can get awfully long to board large planes. I sat in aisle seat 3D after using eUpgrade credits to bump up from economy.
I like having the aisle to my left as I usually sleep turned to the right. I set up the mattress topper, blanket and pillow as soon as I boarded and got three hours of uninterrupted sleep. I slept so well I drooled on the pillow. Don’t worry, they’re disinfected and individually packaged after each use.
I asked to be woken up for meal service, watched live TV on a large screen, and enjoyed a glass of white wine for breakfast. I paid $306 and 10 eUpgrade credits.
Conclusion
Fo those who aren’t very wide, a well-selected preferred seat in economy is good enough. I got the same amount of sleep and don’t think the lack of interruptions or a meal service is worth the price premium (or the eUpgrade credits in my case). The real difference is in lie-flat business class where the sleep quality is so much better that I actually woke up feeling like it was a good night’s rest rather than a series of deep naps.
However, I see value in a premium economy flight for a daytime service as the service and menu is very close to business class. When sleep isn’t a factor, premium economy has its selling point. Only you can decide if the enhanced service is worth the price, the seat isn’t much better than economy class with extra legroom and premium economy shares toilets with economy class.
For me, it’s all or nothing. Economy class for the daytime flight and business class for the red-eye.
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