We all know how lacking personal space is on planes, especially when you’re toughing it out in economy. And when you’re on a 13-hour international trip, the cheap seats can make the flying experience feel all the more torturous.
On my recent trip from Brisbane to San Francisco, I thought I’d try a premium economy offering for some extra space – United Airlines’ Premium Plus.
Not to be confused with the extra-legroom seats in Economy – United calls that Economy Plus – Premium Plus is a true premium economy product.
Legroom is greatly increased, but that’s just one of the Premium Plus benefits. The seats are wider and more comfy, similar in appearance and feel to a US domestic first-class seat. There are some welcome service enhancements in this class of travel too.
For those reasons, premium economy offers the perfect balance between the cramped, but value oriented Economy Class, and the high priced, lie-flat Business Class product.
United Airlines Australia Service
Before I get into the seat and service specifics of United’s Premium Plus, here’s a quick update on the airline’s Australia service.
United Airlines recently announced a substantial increase in capacity to Australia and the South Pacific, a region the airline has served since it purchased Pan Am’s Pacific routes in 1985.
Since that time, United has had a constant presence in Sydney and Melbourne from Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. (For someone who remembers the Pan Am days, it’s hard to believe that United has flown these routes for nearly 40 years – but I digress.)
A welcome new addition to United’s Australian network is Brisbane (BNE). Australia’s third largest city, Brisbane is the capital of the state of Queensland, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, and home to United’s latest alliance partner, Virgin Australia Airlines (VA), offering ten flights per week from San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Thanks to the VA tie-up, United passengers can connect in Brisbane on VA’s domestic network. Likewise, VA’s domestic Australian guests benefit from United’s trans-Pacific routes and US domestic connections.
Importantly, United Mileage Plus members and Virgin Australia Velocity members can earn and redeem frequent flyer points on each airline.
United has put its capable 787-9 Dreamliners on the Brisbane routes with a competitive three-class in-flight offering:
- Polaris Business Class with lie-flat seats
- Premium Plus (premium economy)
- Economy Class (which includes an extra legroom section called Economy Plus)
Check-in and Boarding
Check-in at Brisbane International was a breeze. United has kiosks for check in and for printing of bag-tags. We used the kiosk option and proceeded to the bag drop-off line.
The agent was very welcoming and friendly. After reviewing our documents and taking our bags, she advised that Premium Plus guests can use the express lanes when going through security and immigration at BNE.
Upon boarding the flight, the same agent was outside the boarding door of the aircraft and wished us a pleasant flight. That was a nice touch I thought.
Premium Plus Seat
As mentioned, this is a true premium economy product, not just an extra legroom seat in Economy. On United’s 787-9 aircraft, Premium Plus is a separate cabin consisting of three rows in a 2-3-2 configuration. By comparison, the Economy section is in a tightly configured 3-3-3 layout.
There was a blanket, pillow, pair of slippers and an amenity kit on each Premium Plus seat. The pillow was more substantial than those offered in Economy, and they had a Saks Fifth Avenue logo on them.
The amenity kit contained some useful goodies – an eye mask, socks, travel toothpaste and toothbrush, but I especially enjoyed the Sunday Riley brand hand lotion and lip balm.
I was sitting in possibly the least desirable seat in the Premium Plus cabin – the middle seat, in the middle row. Still, with the spacious legroom, extra seat width, and my own armrests, I never felt cramped or physically infringed upon by my neighbors.
In Premium Plus, leg room is increased substantially. While Economy and Economy Plus have a seat pitch of 31 and 34 inches respectively, Premium Plus offers a blissful amount of leg space, with a 38-inch seat pitch.
When the passenger in front of me reclined his seat soon after takeoff (a horror when that happens in Economy) I still had plenty of space to move my legs, and later, to eat my meal.
Without direct aisle access though, it was a bit difficult to get up and move into the aisle with the seat in front of me in the fully reclined position. The seats to my left, and right, were occupied but thanks to the wider seat, I still had ample hip, shoulder and elbow room.
An adjustable foot rest also enhanced comfort. With a greater seat recline than in Economy and the foot rest to elevate my feet, I was actually able to find a comfortable position while watching my entertainment choices.
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Entertainment
Each seat has its own personal screen. The number of movies and tv shows on United’s inflight entertainment system is extensive. I watched some favorite classics, as well as some newly released movies. There was a useful map to follow the progress of the flight as well.
The screen was quite large too which made my movie watching more enjoyable. Premium Select seats get a 13-inch screen, while those in Economy are 9 inches. United also supplies noise-cancelling headsets for Premium Select passengers, similar to Business Class, but seeing as I have my own Bose Quiet Comfort set, I didn’t test the sound quality of United’s pair. They were the better fitting over-the-ear type though which is nice.
No worries either when it comes to charging your electronic devices as each Premium Plus seat has its own power outlet and USB port.
Premium Plus Service
We departed Brisbane for SFO around 11am. Shortly after takeoff the flight attendants came through the cabin with a pre-lunch beverage service. As one would expect, liquor, beer and wine were complimentary for Premium Plus. Economy passengers are offered free beer and wine, but must pay for other liquor beverages.
I hate seeing plastic cups in Premium Economy but they were used for every beverage service. I asked for a red wine and received a good-sized pour but the wine itself was average at best – the same mediocre types served in Economy. I was expecting a wine selection more similar to Business Class than Economy which was disappointing.
The meal was offered shortly thereafter, and the beverage cart did another drink pass. Thankfully, there was glassware provided on the meal tray. I asked for another red wine with lunch and to my surprise the flight attendant took the real glass that came on my meal tray and went to the Business Class section to fill it. I didn’t inquire on what type of red it was, but it was a noticeably better wine than what was offered in Premium Plus and Economy.
Meals were served on real dishes. The hot meal portion definitely could have been bigger. It would’ve been a help as well if the crew knew what they were serving. The flight attendant serving us said the meal choice was a salmon dish or a meat pie.
My spouse ordered the salmon, which wasn’t salmon at all (it was barramundi – a white fish). I ordered what I was told was a meat pie, which actually was a veggie pasty (a puff pastry filled with mixed vegetables) – and a very thin and unsatisfying one at that.
A bit of a fuss erupted with the passengers immediately opposite us as the crew had already run out of one of the meal options after serving the first row, which seemed odd as we were only the fifth and sixth passengers to be served. I did ask the flight attendant how that could be possible and was told that catering never gives them enough meals. To run out of one meal option after the first row is clearly an under-catering issue and not expected in a premium cabin.
Mid-way through the flight, a very tasty chicken salad sandwich was provided, with the obligatory Tim-Tam bikkie (an Aussie chocolate covered cookie).
A breakfast was served about 90 minutes before landing. This was a simpler tray, with no glassware for juice. Again, the crew ran out of one of the meal choices after serving the first row. The remaining Premium Select passengers had to be given a standard Economy meal. The meals were a real negative when evaluating this flight, especially with the price paid, and hopefully United can address this.
Have you had a similar food experience in United’s Premium Plus? Let us know in the comments below.
That being said, the flight attendants were friendly, attentive and highly professional throughout the flight, so high marks for them. They had to deal with a tough issue which was out of their control.
During the 13-hour flight they made frequent passes through the cabin offering small bottles of water and to pick up rubbish.
One last observation about the cabin itself, Premium Plus and Economy passengers share the same lavatories, of which there are four in total. The only time I noticed a short wait for the facilities was after breakfast, just before landing. The fact that the Economy section was only three quarters full may have helped alleviate excessive wait times but on a full flight, it could easily become an issue.
The Verdict
I have flown Premium Economy on many other airlines and overall, United did an above-average job.
I would like to see United add a couple of things though. A pre-takeoff welcome drink (in a real glass) would be nice after boarding, as well as real glassware for each beverage service. It is hard to have the word ‘premium’ when you receive plastic cups of wine from economy.
Printed menus would also have been nice, but if only five or six people in the cabin are going to get their first meal choice, then a menu is pretty much useless. It might however give the crew some kind of a clue as to what they’re serving. Hopefully United can address that issue.
While I think United could upgrade aspects of the service, I would recommend Premium Plus if the price is right, because based on this flight, it wasn’t worth a “premium” fare. When it comes to the added space, however, the benefits are priceless.
