20 Jul 2023

Should I upgrade to Premium Economy?

We asked holidaymakers who flew Premium Economy with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and other airlines whether they thought it was worth it

Trevor BakerSenior researcher & writer

Our research found that upgrading from economy to premium economy increased the fare by 99% on average – and passengers of some airlines told us it simply wasn’t worth the money.

We asked more than 8,000 people about the best and worst airlines – 744 of them told us they'd flown Premium Economy, rating everything from seat comfort and cabin quality to food and drink and entertainment.

The differences between airlines was stark. While Virgin Atlantic was rated four or five stars in every category, passengers of British Airways gave it just three stars for seat comfort and the entertainment offering. Worse still, it received just two stars for value for money.

See the table and reviews below to find out which airlines are worth upgrading to Premium Economy on, and which to avoid.

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Best and worst airlines for premium economy


Virgin Atlantic	79%	36-38	★★★★	★★★★	★★★★	★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★
American Airlines	67%	38	★★★★	★★★★	★★★	★★★★	★★★★	★★★★	★★★
Tui Airways	62%	36-38	★★★	★★★★	★★★	★★★	★★★★	★★★★	★★★
British Airways	58%	38	★★★	★★★	★★★	★★★	★★★★	★★★★	★★

Using the table: Sample sizes are in brackets. A dash indicates that there were too few responses for this aspect to give a star rating. Seat pitch: The distance between two rows of seats - an indicator of legroom. Boarding: The boarding process - waiting time, queues etc. Cabin environment: Fixtures and fittings, temperature and lighting. Customer service: On-ground and on-board staff. Food and drink: Range and quality of on-board catering. In-flight entertainment: Quality of free wi-fi, earphones, TV screen. Customer score: Combines overall satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the airline.

Should I upgrade to Premium Economy with Virgin Atlantic? 79%

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Virgin Atlantic’s leather seats give you between six and eight inches more legroom than Economy class and are a roomy 21 inches wide. That's probably why they got four stars for seat comfort, but then they didn't get less than four stars for anything – even the crucial value-for-money rating. Spotless cabin environments and excellent customer service got five stars.

Food is served on china with real cutlery, while passengers can help themselves to extra snacks (such as Kettle Chips and Green & Blacks chocolate) from what Virgin Atlantic calls the Wander Wall.

If you're going to pay so much extra, you expect a bit of luxury, and that's what you get with Virgin Atlantic.

Should I upgrade to Premium Economy with American Airlines? 67%

There was a big gap in customer scores between the best (Virgin Atlantic) and the second-best– American Airlines. With a three-star rating for value for money, travellers just weren't as convinced that it was worth it.

Nevertheless, larger entertainment screens and noise-cancelling headphones helped it to a four-star rating for entertainment (the same as Virgin) and it also got four stars for boarding, seat comfort (38 inches on every flight), customer service and cabin environment. It might have been uninspiring food that let it down. It promises 'chef-inspired dining' – whatever that means – but our respondents gave it just three stars.

An upgrade might be worthwhile, but don't expect extravagant luxury.

Should I upgrade to Premium Economy with Tui? 62%

If you're flying long-haul with Tui, you might be tempted to pay more and upgrade from Economy for a better experience. Tui got just one star for food and drink and entertainment in our survey of the best and worst airlines. However, don't expect the kind of luxury available on Virgin. You will get a bigger seat (36-38 inches instead of 33 in Economy), and Tui got four stars for seat comfort. But food and drink and entertainment were rated just three stars – as was value for money.

If you're thinking of Premium Economy just to give yourself more legroom, first check whether you can simply choose a seat with more space. Seats with extra legroom ranged between £55pp and £85pp on flights we looked at.

Should I upgrade to Premium Economy with British Airways? 62%

British Airways is the second-worst airline for long-haul flights in Economy (only Lufthansa got a lower rating in our survey) and it's towards the bottom of our table for short-haul as well. It's unsurprising then that so many people pay to upgrade to Premium Economy but few of them felt it was worth it. It got just two stars for value for money.

Travellers thought that the cabin was pleasant and customer service was good (four stars) but the overall customer score was far lower than its transatlantic rival Virgin Atlantic. Seat comfort, boarding and entertainment all got just three stars.

We checked 11 flights, and BA's Premium Economy was between 50% and 100% more expensive than Economy (the average for all four airlines was 99%). The best upgrade is probably to fly with a different airline.

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