BA Premium Economy?

[LiquidSunshine]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has had any recent experiences of the BA Premium Economy Gatwick to Orlando route?

Think I have found a good price for us next Oct return, but reviews seem very poor and now wonder whether to pay the extra and fly with VA?

Thanks in advance

 

[BadPinkTink]

I flew BA Premium Economy Heathrow to LAX about 5 years ago. I had no issues. The seats are more comfy than regular economy. You get a foot stool and the food is the same as business class. There are only a small number of seats, so they sell quickly. The seats are located just near the entrance door, at the top of economy. This means that when you land, you are the second group off the plane, after Business. You also get to board earlier as well, again after business class and before economy.

I miss premium economy as my route has changed. There are now direct flights from Dublin to LAX on Aer Lingus, but if I was going from Heathrow I would defiantly book BA Premium Economy again.

 

[RossK]

the food is the same as business class.

The food is definitely not the same - and not even close. World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) meals are very similar to World Traveller (Economy meals); the main difference is they're served on china plates/bowls. Simply do a Google Image search for "World Traveller Plus meal" and "Club World Meal" and you will see how vastly different the meal service is.

Here is a typical World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) Meal:-

Here is a typical Club World (business) meal:-

 

[Duck In Blue]

The food is definitely not the same - and not even close. World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) meals are very similar to World Traveller (Economy meals); the main difference is they're served on china plates/bowls. Simply do a Google Image search for "World Traveller Plus meal" and "Club World Meal" and you will see how vastly different the meal service is.

Here is a typical World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) Meal:-

Here is a typical Club World (business) meal:-

The link between Club (Business) and WTP (Premium Economy) meals is that the WTP main course will feature choices off of the Club menu (I think two of them) as opposed to coming from economy. There are more choices in Club itself and as RossK has shown the presentation and rest of the courses are not the same!

I've not flown with BA in Premium on that route recently, but did on another route last year. The service was marginally better, but for me it was all about the extra space which was nice.

 

[RossK]

The link between Club (Business) and WTP (Premium Economy) meals is that the WTP main course will feature choices off of the Club menu (I think two of them) as opposed to coming from economy. There are more choices in Club itself and as RossK has shown the presentation and rest of the courses are not the same!

I've not flown with BA in Premium on that route recently, but did on another route last year. The service was marginally better, but for me it was all about the extra space which was nice.

I'm not sure when you last flew BA - and this may have been the case previously. However, the meal service in business has been completely revamped. There is no link between the meal service in Premium and Business and the items on the menu are completely different between the two cabins. Meal preparation is also completely different. Premium economy meals are "single tray heat" - that is to say, the square china dish the meal comes in is loaded in to the plane like that, but with a tin foil cover. The entire meal is then placed in the oven and reheated and the foil tray is removed (this is partly why they look pretty poor). Business meals are component based - so a tray of each ingredient type is placed in separate ovens and then plated up to a separate plate. But the food between the two cabins is completely different and there is no crossover. The photo above is that of the new business meal service.

 

[Duck In Blue]

I'm not sure when you last flew BA - and this may have been the case previously. However, the meal service in business has been completely revamped. There is no link between the meal service in Premium and Business and the items on the menu are completely different between the two cabins. Meal preparation is also completely different. Premium economy meals are "single tray heat" - that is to say, the square china dish the meal comes in is loaded in to the plane like that, but with a tin foil cover. The entire meal is then placed in the oven and reheated and the foil tray is removed (this is partly why they look pretty poor). Business meals are component based - so a tray of each ingredient type is placed in separate ovens and then plated up to a separate plate. But the food between the two cabins is completely different and there is no crossover. The photo above is that of the new business meal service.

I flew with BA in Club World in October and experienced the service you are describing then. As I put in my post, I haven't flown with them in Premium since last year. Before posting though I did check on the BA website where it states for Premium "For your main course for lunch or dinner we’ll also offer you a choice of two of the meals featured on the business class menu" which was consistent with what I experienced when I flew.