Premium Economy From LAX

[palermo22]

It would be very helpful if someone has recently upgraded to Premium Economy and flown out of LAX using Viking Custom Air. While every itinerary is different it might give me some idea which airlines Viking is using for its contract fares. As a side note, even if you haven't used Viking and made your own reservations for a Premium Economy seat - are there Airlines Premium Economy Sections which have stood out as being good (or bad)?

[CharTrav]

I'm a faithful United Airlines person through thick and thin. So can only speak on their Economy Plus seats which to my mind are worth it. We used Viking Custom Air in 2014. I just called and asked about a number of United itineraries that I had researched and liked to see which one they could accommodate (they have a bunch of tickets sort of pre-reserved per their contract fares). They were able to do #2 on my list. A few weeks later, earlier than they wanted to, but I was a bit of a pest, they actually cut the ticket after which I was able to upgrade our seats to Economy Plus. Altho our home airport is IAD, am sure that makes no difference.

 

Re what airline Viking typically uses, I think it's Delta. I base this on talking with other passengers on our VR cruise and what I've seen recently with VO.

 

Does this help?

[Peregrina651]

 

Re what airline Viking typically uses, I think it's Delta. I base this on talking with other passengers on our VR cruise and what I've seen recently with VO.

 

 

I don't think there is an airlines that Viking typically uses. If you were to base your statement on my experience with Viking, then you have to say Star Alliance airlines such as United and Lufthansa because four out of five times that we have sailed with Viking we have flown (or will fly) United or Lufthanasa for at least the transoceanic leg of the journey.

[CharTrav]

I don't think there is an airlines that Viking typically uses. If you were to base your statement on my experience with Viking, then you have to say Star Alliance airlines such as United and Lufthansa because four out of five times that we have sailed with Viking we have flown (or will fly) United or Lufthanasa for at least the transoceanic leg of the journey.

 

 

Valid point. I stand corrected. Perhaps it's a function of whatever hub airport is closest to you. But if that were the case, then United would be preferred for IAD. A real puzzler indeed. Maybe it's all voodoo![emoji2]

[CharTrav]

Valid point. I stand corrected. Perhaps it's a function of whatever hub airport is closest to you. But if that were the case, then United would be preferred for IAD. A real puzzler indeed. Maybe it's all voodoo![emoji2]

 

 

Logan is a Delta hub. Where's the logic? [emoji2]

[Peregrina651]

Maybe it's all voodoo![emoji2]

 

I'm with you on that. Voodoo and a BIG computer.

[Fairfield Nana]

As to the initial question--my wife and I have used Air France or KLM for our past several trips to/from Europe, and really like their premium economy and business class. We are big fans of Delta for our continental US travel--primarily in econ plus when we can get it.

[ducklite]

Air France premium economy was horribly uncomfortable. I would have been better off in the more comfortable economy seats. I am serious.

[comcox]

That would help in guessing which airline you might be assigned.

 

I've flown British Air premium economy twice. The first time wasn't so bad. I did like that we had leg rests that opened up from under our seat and there was a bit more width to the seat. However this second time it was a different aircraft and it was less comfortable. I did not feel I got any more width than an economy seat other than another inch to the armrest between chairs. There was a bit more leg room than economy but mechanical boxes under seat in front limited what I could put there. BA does give better luggage allowances to PE passengers--two checked bags instead of one.

 

In the past I've flown Economy Plus on United and again it really depends on the aircraft as some give a bit more leg room than others, but that is all there is to the "Plus" other than boarding before the rest of the economy passengers.

[inborn traveler]

We were on the Sea's maiden voyage in April. We are United Flyers but love partner Lufthansa to Europe. We bought Prem Econ tickets, then upgraded to Business at the airport. $600 each, a treat to ourselves. Flew Luft on the return in PE and it was very good. I would not spend the $ on Business for a day flight. My husband and I prefer seats in the middle of the cabin, and we choose seats on the aisle. across from each other. We do not book air through anyone but the airline directly. We want to be in control,of where we sit and the airline and the times. Be sure to consult seatguru.com before you select a seat on any plane you fly.

 

 

 

It would be very helpful if someone has recently upgraded to Premium Economy and flown out of LAX using Viking Custom Air. While every itinerary is different it might give me some idea which airlines Viking is using for its contract fares. As a side note, even if you haven't used Viking and made your own reservations for a Premium Economy seat - are there Airlines Premium Economy Sections which have stood out as being good (or bad)?

[inborn traveler]

Scroll down to see my post below from invorn traveler

 

 

QUOTE=palermo22;50141230]It would be very helpful if someone has recently upgraded to Premium Economy and flown out of LAX using Viking Custom Air. While every itinerary is different it might give me some idea which airlines Viking is using for its contract fares. As a side note, even if you haven't used Viking and made your own reservations for a Premium Economy seat - are there Airlines Premium Economy Sections which have stood out as being good (or bad)?

[ducklite]

Scroll down to see my post below from invorn traveler

 

 

 

 

 

QUOTE=palermo22;50141230]It would be very helpful if someone has recently upgraded to Premium Economy and flown out of LAX using Viking Custom Air. While every itinerary is different it might give me some idea which airlines Viking is using for its contract fares. As a side note, even if you haven't used Viking and made your own reservations for a Premium Economy seat - are there Airlines Premium Economy Sections which have stood out as being good (or bad)?

 

 

 

I would not pay for PE from Air France. Terrible seat and service. I would have been more comfortable and gotten better service in economy and saved $1000 dollars.

 

I would pay for it from Virgin Atlantic and BA.

[CharTrav]

Going by experience both for work (do some international travel there) and one time with Viking, I would recommend United economy Plus. As worth it. Especially if you can rig your itinerary to remain on United aircraft throughout, no Star Alliance. Coming from Lax, if you can get a direct flight thru Dulles to Europe, do that. Otherwise, look at connecting thru Newark (miserable airport doing customs on return) which has a wide number of direct flights to airports in Europe (courtesy of merger with Continental). The extra leg room in EconPlus is worth it. And it doesn't cost megabucks to do for two.

[binbin854]

We are 1k gold on united and get Econ plus automatically. Much better than economy. Even Econ plus can have bad seats so check seat guru for advice on specific airline and plane used for each segment.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Krisval]

I use http://www.seatguru.com to check reviews of seats and planes. In planning a trip, I search for flights with itineraries I like, then go on seatguru and check the airline and type of plane used for the route. There are reviews from fliers who rate specific seats. Not every seat is reviewed, but the seating chart highlights good, bad, and okay seats. I can cross check that info with the "seats available " info for the specific flights I'm considering. This works well whether I'm using Viking or on my own.

[palermo22]

I started this thread - I cancelled the air with Viking (we would have had to pay over $4200 and even then we probably would not have gotten one of the upper tiered Premium Economy seats on the better airlines). From the beginning I was only going to consider Virgin Atlantic or Air New Zealand Premium Economy seats since they are voted the best in the business.

 

About a week ago I saw that Virgin Atlantic had terrific PE seats from LAX to LHR but the cost would have been $4400 and then we still would have had to pay another $500/$600 for airfare to Barcelona and then from Stockholm back to London at the end of the trip. Kept searching and found a Delta fare that in reality was a code share with Virgin Atlantic - it was a Virgin Atlantic plane that I got for $2800 - after I made reservations on British Air for London to Barcelona and from Stockholm to London - and using Chase points - we got the complete air trip for $2500. If anyone needs help in doing this I'll be glad to help.

Edited July 18, 2016 by palermo22

[mhb1757]

I started this thread - I cancelled the air with Viking (we would have had to pay over $4200 and even then we probably would not have gotten one of the upper tiered Premium Economy seats on the better airlines). From the beginning I was only going to consider Virgin Atlantic or Air New Zealand Premium Economy seats since they are voted the best in the business.

 

About a week ago I saw that Virgin Atlantic had terrific PE seats from LAX to LHR but the cost would have been $4400 and then we still would have had to pay another $500/$600 for airfare to Barcelona and then from Stockholm back to London at the end of the trip. Kept searching and found a Delta fare that in reality was a code share with Virgin Atlantic - it was a Virgin Atlantic plane that I got for $2800 - after I made reservations on British Air for London to Barcelona and from Stockholm to London - and using Chase points - we got the complete air trip for $2500. If anyone needs help in doing this I'll be glad to help.

 

Wow that's awesome. I'm not flying from the west coast but if you have tips to share I'd love to hear them. Did you book on your own or go through a ticket broker? When is your cruise? I'm trying to gauge how far in advance to book. The booking window for our dates has just opened.

[palermo22]

Wow that's awesome. I'm not flying from the west coast but if you have tips to share I'd love to hear them. Did you book on your own or go through a ticket broker? When is your cruise? I'm trying to gauge how far in advance to book. The booking window for our dates has just opened.

 

We're on the Viking Sky - Barcelona to Stockholm 4/15/17

 

I'm pretty experienced at this so I do my own booking. First thing I did was get a Chase Preferred Travel Card - they'll start you off with 55,000 points and then look for ways to increase your points. Charge the cost of your cruise to this credit card. You'll then have over $1,000 to apply to airfares.

[mhb1757]

Thanks Jerry. I will look into it!!

[TravelerThom]

Going by experience both for work (do some international travel there) and one time with Viking, I would recommend United economy Plus. As worth it. Especially if you can rig your itinerary to remain on United aircraft throughout, no Star Alliance. Coming from Lax, if you can get a direct flight thru Dulles to Europe, do that. Otherwise, look at connecting thru Newark (miserable airport doing customs on return) which has a wide number of direct flights to airports in Europe (courtesy of merger with Continental). The extra leg room in EconPlus is worth it. And it doesn't cost megabucks to do for two.

I am doing SE Asia river in October. My obvious first leg flights would be UA 803 IAD-NRT or UA 7941 (a code share on ANA 1). These flights leave 5 minutes apart. The UA metal is 3-3-3 in econ and in econ+, econ has 31 inch seat pitch and econ+ 34 inch seat pitch. The ANA metal is 2-4-3 with 34 inch pitch in economy. Not surprisingly we booked the ANA 2 side with 34 inch pitch at no (zero, nada) extra cost. It pays to check the seating charts.

 

Thom

[inborn traveler]

for the maiden voyage of the Sea, we flew our favorite airline, Lufthansa, non stop LAX to Frankfurt, then Munich to LAX on our return. We bought PE for both flights, but upgraded to business at the airport for the outbound. PE coming home was great. We were on flight LH452 seats 23D and E. We prefer seats across the aisle from each other, but could not get them as we booked only two months before the flight. Service, seats and food were all very good. As someone else posted, always use seatguru.com to help you decide what seats, plane and flight would be best for you.

We used Viking Air for a river cruise prior to the ocean, and much preferred making our own flight arrangements. Also, don't buy Viking transfers. There are taxis available every place you may need one, are less money, and you have personal service, not a huge bus and lines to wait in. Enjoy!

 

 

It would be very helpful if someone has recently upgraded to Premium Economy and flown out of LAX using Viking Custom Air. While every itinerary is different it might give me some idea which airlines Viking is using for its contract fares. As a side note, even if you haven't used Viking and made your own reservations for a Premium Economy seat - are there Airlines Premium Economy Sections which have stood out as being good (or bad)?