Is it worth upgrading flight seats?

We are flying from Birmingham to Barbados next January with Thomson airways and have a couple of questions:

Is it worth paying for the seat upgrade?

What is the usual seat configuration on Thomson flights to the Caribbean?

We are flying from Birmingham to Barbados next January with Thomson airways and have a couple of questions:

Is it worth paying for the seat upgrade?

What is the usual seat configuration on Thomson flights to the Caribbean?

Each to their own but I wouldn't pay the extra for a little more room. The config is 2-4-2 in cattle class so if you pre book the seats, which is available 12 weeks before you fly, you can have a 2 and be comfortable. I think the seat pitch is 33" which is quite good.

I agree with Somerset cruiser. I have flown to Barbados in Premium Economy and "cattle class" and I don't think it is worth the extra money which could be used for other indulgences. However, I have flown to Acapulco for a P & O cruise (16 hours) and definitely appreciated the extra room in PE.

With my long legs and knee problems business class would be worth the money on any flight over 5 hours.

If you can afford to upgrade, then do it - well worth it. We upgraded on a Thomson Barbados flight and it was great.

One of the benefits you get is to pay the government £162 per person in air passenger duty, rather than the £81 paid by people in the cheap seats. So if you take out the extra £81 from your supplement, it does not leave a lot to spend on extra facilities

Brian

It just goes to show we are all different, I would definitely go for an upgrade and consider it money well spent, especially for the return overnight flight which is much more comfortable. We had a very cramped return flight once with seats near the toilets and vowed never again and have upgraded since.

From the 2012 winter season, economy passengers no longer get unlimited free drinks, premium still do. Other than that I personally think its too much to pay and most of it goes to line the Governments coffers in Air Passenger Duty.

Hell of a lot to pay for a couple of extra drinks and not much else. My six feet and 16 stone was fine flying from Gatwick to barbados in the normal seats

So not a chance would I pay a penny extra

Always been with Thomas Cook so can't comment on Thompson but we've always managed fine in economy seats!

We too flew back from Acapulco once and we were fine. Though with Thomas Cook flight only took 13hrs cos we didnt have to stop to refuel.

Really, having seen the premium seats they dont look worth whatever the difference is!

We spend it on having a balcony instead - thats 14 days worth of benefit. Worth putting up with 9/10hrs!

My opinion is that flight upgrades are never ever worth the cost.

DON

Always been with Thomas Cook so can't comment on Thompson but we've always managed fine in economy seats!

We too flew back from Acapulco once and we were fine. Though with Thomas Cook flight only took 13hrs cos we didnt have to stop to refuel.

Really, having seen the premium seats they dont look worth whatever the difference is!

We spend it on having a balcony instead - thats 14 days worth of benefit. Worth putting up with 9/10hrs!

Still think its worth every penny upgrading on long haul charter flights. We always splurge on a balcony as well:D

It obviously depends on firstly how much money you have - and then on your priorities as to how you spend that money.

We were upgraded (for free) to Business class on a Qantas B747 - Singapore to London (14 hours) a few years ago. We always travel economy class . It was WONDERFUL - definitely the ONLY way to fly -- BUT not if I am paying for it. Business class long haul is around 400% more expensive than cattle class. I would rather keep the money and have a couple of nights in the Ritz upon arrival in London!!

We have recently booked seats on the Eurostar (London to Paris) and the TGV (Paris to Munich) . Eurostar 1st class was 300% more expensive than 2nd Class (with advance bookings even) - while the 1st Class for the TGV was only 40% more.

Barry

We managed to get premium economy seats 2 years ago when we went to the Caribbean and felt at that time it was worth the extra especially for the overnight flight home. But it is only premium economy not business class and what you get is slightly wider seats a little more leg room and better service during the flight. We were lucky to get the upgraded seats and got them through a cancellation months after we'd booked so it's possible they'll be none left even if you want them.

We always upgrade to premium and have done on Thomson and Thomas Cook when flying out to the Caribbean. Thomson has proved a much better plane and superior service to Thomas Cook. For us it is worth paying the extra for wider seats and more room plus the extra service - each to his own.

Carole

We too flew back from Acapulco once and we were fine. Though with Thomas Cook flight only took 13hrs cos we didnt have to stop to refuel.

Really, having seen the premium seats they dont look worth whatever the difference is!

We have never paid to upgrade on airline seats and never will. On our Thomas Cook flight to and from Barbados last December there were passengers in premium saying that they wished they'd not bothered because we had better service, etc, etc. :D

Well that was certainly not our experience whenever we have paid for premium seats. Always got very good service, especially with Thomson and BA. We have travelled a lot in economy seats as well and we can certainly tell the difference. Nothing worse than a long haul flight with someone in front of you spending the whole flight in a prone position with their head almost in your lap:eek: no thank you very much.

On our way home, once, from Montreal with Air Canada. Had a glimpse of their premium class seats - wow! They really would be worth paying for! However, you can hardly notice the difference on the flights to Caribbean. Oh, you do get served first and you have a couple more films to choose from! When we passed through them whilst getting off, a few people were saying that they didn't seem worth paying extra for so it wasn't just us thinking it!

We have done once about 10 years ago. We had suffered Monarch 28 inch pitch and an extra seat across the aircraft (9 instead of 8) twice to India and it was purgatory, more due to the narrowness of the seat rather than legroom.

Our next flight was with Airtours who also squeezed 9 across and that made the decision for us. We upgraded, 36 inch pitch and only 7 seats across which were very comfy leather arm chairs.

Since then long haul charter aircraft have become better with increased legroom and scheduled aircraft seating layouts so upgrades may not be necessary.

I do feel for the airlines. The air passenger duty is double for premium seats so very little of the extra you pay goes to them. Hence the differences between premium and economy are not huge.

We booked premium seats for both our caribbean cruises. Our first one we flew with Thomsons, definately worth the difference (mind you we did get a discount from TA). The second time we flew was with Thomas Cook, I felt the seats were a complete waste of money, they ran out of food choices, poor service, and the films were rubbish. Our next caribbean flight is again with Thomas Cook, we will be flying economy and use the money saved for something else.