$99 economy plus

[Flatbush Flyer]

We just came home on Nov. 9th from O cruise. We paid the deviation fee plus $99. pp each way. BA A380 aircraft upstairs and 2 seat alone was well worth the price. Received the same routing as I would have made on my own. The only problem is on the way home we had a one hour connect time at London` Heathrow. I knew this was tight so checked with TA and BA. Both said no problem it was a legal connect. Well we had to run for our gate and were the last people on board. There were 20 of us that were trying to make the same connect. Worked out fine but I would not do that again. I would only take the upgrade if you had the 2 seat side. Otherwise one of you will be in a middle seat. PE is not F/C or B/C but it sure beats coach !

 

 

Our preferred international layover is 3 hrs. Under 2 hrs (even domestic in certain hub cities) is never a good idea for all of the obvious reasons.

[Hawaiidan]

We have booked this class of seat on our last several transatlantic flights. Basically' date=' you get early boarding, more legroom, meals and drinks from first class. It does make air travel a bit more comfortable. Is it worth it? Only you can tell once you try it.[/quote']

 

booking prem economy gets you a regular drink and a regular coach class meal you do not get business class meal or first class meal ( on china with table cloth the works with usually 4 choices for dinner and where you tell them when to serve) Thats reserved for Business and First only....not PE

 

This holds for United, American, Swiss, Air France, Delta and air new zealand... and Hawaiian Its leg room 3-6 inch depending on the plane some airlines like Air France offer 3 inches more recline..... but no lie flat.

[PaulMCO]

booking prem economy gets you a regular drink and a regular coach class meal you do not get business class meal or first class meal ( on china with table cloth the works with usually 4 choices for dinner and where you tell them when to serve) Thats reserved for Business and First only....not PE

 

This holds for United, American, Swiss, Air France, Delta and air new zealand... and Hawaiian Its leg room 3-6 inch depending on the plane some airlines like Air France offer 3 inches more recline..... but no lie flat.

 

You need to get the facts right...

1) United does not have PE

2) American, and Delta do not have PE -- announced but only on their new planes which they do not yet have

3) Swiss does not have PE

 

PE gets you (I have flown multiple times on Virgin and LH) -- wider seat (over 18-20 inches depending on airline), free drinks, priority boarding, separate cabin, and YES better food. On Virgin you get real china and the last time the meal and the service was better than my previous Upper Class meal on the outbound leg.

[LHT28]

Air Canada have PE on certain flights

https://beta.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/home/fly/onboard/cabin-features/premium-economy-class.html

[Sny]

We had it on Lufthansa this month, to and from the Med for Riviera cruise. $99. each way is a bargain for the kind of service we experienced.

[wombatjoey]

You need to get the facts right...

1) United does not have PE

2) American, and Delta do not have PE -- announced but only on their new planes which they do not yet have

3) Swiss does not have PE

 

PE gets you (I have flown multiple times on Virgin and LH) -- wider seat (over 18-20 inches depending on airline), free drinks, priority boarding, separate cabin, and YES better food. On Virgin you get real china and the last time the meal and the service was better than my previous Upper Class meal on the outbound leg.

 

So then what happens if you pay the $99 and get a flight on Delta with NO PE.? Do you get your $99 back? or does O only put you on a flight that offers it?

[rallydave]

So then what happens if you pay the $99 and get a flight on Delta with NO PE.? Do you get your $99 back? or does O only put you on a flight that offers it?

 

While we can't be sure without getting reports from those to whom this occurred, the airlines noted as not having PE, do have what for instance United calls Economy Plus and know Delta has a kind of enhanced economy. Believe these to only have added leg room and not what most foreign airlines provide in their PE. It is possible if one were to pay the $99 they would be put in the class between economy and business which I know exists on international flights. You would get a better experience but, not what people on this thread are describing so perhaps the $99 applies to these situations??? economy plus

[ORV]

While we can't be sure without getting reports from those to whom this occurred, the airlines noted as not having PE, do have what for instance United calls Economy Plus and know Delta has a kind of enhanced economy. Believe these to only have added leg room and not what most foreign airlines provide in their PE. It is possible if one were to pay the $99 they would be put in the class between economy and business which I know exists on international flights. You would get a better experience but, not what people on this thread are describing so perhaps the $99 applies to these situations??? economy plus

 

Either way for a long haul flight it's worth the $99 if you're not going to spring for business. I just paid $149 pp on AA for their Main Cabin Extra which is only more room(it is a good bulkhead on a 787-8) between DFW and Santiago.

 

So this would make true PE a bargain at $99

[arima22]

So then what happens if you pay the $99 and get a flight on Delta with NO PE.? Do you get your $99 back? or does O only put you on a flight that offers it?

 

Oceania has contracts with only specific airlines for PE. For my last couple of flights to Europe, Delta was not included. However, I was able to upgrade myself to Delta's Economy Comfort+ which offers more legroom, wider seats and greater recline in the section between FC/Business and basic economy, plus drinks and priority boarding, etc. The upgrades cost from $109 to $119 PP from Seattle to the European hub, same for return. Best chance for upgrade is to purchase tickets as soon as possible, I ask Oceania to make the purchase as soon as I make final payment for the cruise, I'm able to purchase the Delta comfort+ seats within 24 hours of that final payment.

Edited November 24, 2016 by arima22

[Mura]

I'm wondering about Delta's PE since I've been told -- I forget where -- that their version is not true PE. We've used it on short trips in the U.S. and it was fine, but I've been avoiding it on longer trips.

 

Going back to Dan's comments that PE doesn't give you Biz food, etc., I have to say that when we flew from L.A. to Auckland on Air New Zealand in PE -- this was in January '08 so it may well have changed -- we DID have all the business class benefits. The main difference was that we didn't have flat-back seats, but the seats were so plush and comfortable that I actually preferred them.

 

Most of my PE flights more recently have been excellent, but it may be that in general these were European airlines. We had better food on Lufthansa than we did on Air France ... that was a few years ago.

 

But for the most part our PE flights (we are more often in Business I confess) have been very good, and if the food wasn't the same as business it definitely was NOT the food served in coach. And when I go back and look at the squished in people in coach, I'm glad I am not there!

 

That's why we now tend to fly business (or at least PE) on long flights. When we were younger coach was fine. Now it isn't. (And back then coach was far more comfortable than it is today!)

 

Mura

[azam71209]

For people who plan to do a lot of their international travel on United, they have a special deal for a one year Economy Plus on all flights-but they must be United Flights. Haven't tried this but could be useful for some people. Last time I looked at it, it was about $1200 for two people for all flights, including international. Since we sometimes mix business and economy using miles and don't do every flight on United, we haven't done this. But it may be worth thinking about if you already know you are going on a couple of cruises next year and plan to book your own air on United equipment.

 

Mary

[pinotlover]

I stated this earlier, and it has been restated by others

 

United, AA, Delta, etc, do NOT offer true Premium Economy seating! Any discussion of the seating provided by these and true Premium Economy provided by Air Canada, BA, SAS, Qantas, etc, is like comparing a verandah and a Penthouse suite. They are not the same, at any level!

 

Oceania has contracts with those carriers that have true P.E. That is what the $99 is charged for, not the products of the other listed American carriers!

 

If one confuses true PE with the products of UA or AA, then they consider a PH to be the same as a verandah. Really quite simple!

Edited November 25, 2016 by pinotlover

[PaulMCO]

For people who plan to do a lot of their international travel on United, they have a special deal for a one year Economy Plus on all flights-but they must be United Flights.

Mary

 

For people who do a lot of UA travel the give E+ for free.

 

One change for those who fly UA should know about is that UA will begin a super cheap economy in 2Q. That means if you take O and O uses these fares, then there is zero chance for elites (even GS and 1Ks) to get E+ or even have the chance to buy up to E+.

[pinotlover]

Paul;

 

 

Those UA special discounted rate seats will be only on a select number of US domestic destinations, primarily where they compete with Sprint or Frontier directly. International flights wouldn't be included.

 

Additionally, Oceania already buys heavily discounted bulk rate seats for their passengers which include the normal perks. I doubt that they will attempt to buy the other tickets, it would be penny wise and pound foolish.

 

Don't currently consider attempting to upgrade O's cheap bulk rate tickets to PE or Business class on foreign carriers either!

[JimandStan]

Paul;

Don't currently consider attempting to upgrade O's cheap bulk rate tickets to PE or Business class on foreign carriers either!

 

I've gone over this before, but if the passenger specifies that they desire an upgradeable class of ticket in their initial deviation request, then all subsequent routing proposals (and costs) will deal with an upgradeable product.

[pinotlover]

StanandJim;

 

From a purely technical point of view that is correct, but actually it's more complicated. O's bulk rate tickets are presently upgradeable, however that upgrade fee, direct with the airlines may be as much as the ticket price itself. So merely being upgradeable isn't the issue, it's the upgrade price itself. I have used O's air, with deviation, and later attempted a seat upgrade from Economy to true PE. Wasn't a pretty thing, but possible.

 

With the new UA low fare ticket, no upgrade, even to Economy Plus will be possible.

[llarsen]

We just booked our 6th Oceania cruise with air. We plan to deviate air to do a pre and post stay in Rome and Venice.

 

We will be flying out of LAX so it is a long flight, total of about 14-15 hours at best.

We have just got back from the Med and can't imagine another long flight crammed in those economy seats, but also can't afford business class.

 

We've never used the $99 PE. I read hear that Oceania contracts only with lines that offer the PE.

 

Does this mean that if we book our air with Oceania that we will get one of the better airlines?

 

We booked our own air last time and it was supposed to be British Air, but when we got on the plane it was American! Awful flight.

[LHT28]

Does this mean that if we book our air with Oceania that we will get one of the better airlines?

 

We booked our own air last time and it was supposed to be British Air, but when we got on the plane it was American! Awful flight.

If you are going to pay the deviation fee just request the flights you want

Be sure to check that you are actually going to be on BA & not a BA code share flight on AA metal

 

Did you connect in the USA on your recent trip??

 

Keep in mind the PE seats will only be on the leg from say NYC to VCE or similar routes

[maggie.1008]

We just cane home from Rome to Venice trip. We flew out of LAX on BA. PE.

 

A380 aircraft upstairs PE was very good. Just make sure you have enough connect time from LHR back to LAX. We had to run for our flight. We paid $99. upgrade and deviation fee to get the flights we wanted.

[pinotlover]

If you pay the $99 for the P.E. upgrade, you will be put on a flight that has PE service. Oceania has a list of carriers it uses that offers PE service. Review that list and see how you might get to your destination. Checking Oceania's list of carriers that offer P.E., I don't believe you'll be able to fly non stop from the States to either Rome or Venice. Air Canada may be an option out of Toronto for you, otherwise, You'll probably have to interconnect somewhere in the US and again in Europe. As Lynn stated, only the flight over the pond will be P.E., not either the US leg, or any subsequent European land leg.

 

Take notice, that P.E. is not offered on all aircraft. Take BA out of DFW -LHR for instance. Some of their flights offer PE service, while others don't. Same goes for some of the other carriers to their destinations. None of the US carriers offer PE service currently. You will be on a foreign carrier, if you opt for that cabin selection.

 

Good luck in your pursuits!

Edited November 29, 2016 by pinotlover

[bisabella]

Does anyone know if AirTahitiNui offers the PE. We will be flying out of Newark to LAX and then presumably on AirTahitiNui to Tahiti. If the EWR to LAX won't include the PE but the LAZ to PPT will, can we still get it and would the $99 fee still apply, since we would only get it on one of two flights?

Barbara

[Paulchili]

None of the US carriers offer PE service currently. You will be on a foreign carrier, if you opt for that cabin selection.

 

That's the best part of it :D

Edited November 29, 2016 by Paulchili

[LHT28]

Does anyone know if AirTahitiNui offers the PE. We will be flying out of Newark to LAX and then presumably on AirTahitiNui to Tahiti. If the EWR to LAX won't include the PE but the LAZ to PPT will, can we still get it and would the $99 fee still apply, since we would only get it on one of two flights?

Barbara

Is the $99 special offer for your cruise ?

If so I would ask Oceania if you can get the upgraded seats on your LAX -PPT portion

[LHT28]

from O's website for the $99 offer

 

We use the finest world carriers such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Scandinavian Airlines, Air Canada and Icelandair.

 

 

They may use others I do not know or they can get you on other carriers but it may not be for the $99 deal

Best to talk to your TA or Oceania to see what works for your specific circumstances

[bisabella]

Is the $99 special offer for your cruise ?

If so I would ask Oceania if you can get the upgraded seats on your LAX -PPT portion

 

I didn't see it stated that it was. Does that mean it isn't offered?