Help picking flights to London from Boston.

I am flying from Boston to London for an cruise out of Southampton. I have narrowed down the choices to the following:

Premium Economy on British Airways/ American airlines for 1190.

Business Class on Delta/ virgin atlantic for $2695.

 

I am on the heavier side and cannot bear the thought of a flight longer than 3 hours in regular economy tickets. I have frequent flyer miles on both American Airlines and Delta but not yet enough for an award ticket. I am not sure which would be the more comfortable trip for the money. I am tempted to go for business class but from reading reviews think that maybe the premium economy would be sufficient. Has anyone flown both and can give me some advice?

I am flying from Boston to London for an cruise out of Southampton. I have narrowed down the choices to the following:

 

Premium Economy on British Airways/ American airlines for 1190.

 

Business Class on Delta/ virgin atlantic for $2695.

 

 

 

I am on the heavier side and cannot bear the thought of a flight longer than 3 hours in regular economy tickets. I have frequent flyer miles on both American Airlines and Delta but not yet enough for an award ticket. I am not sure which would be the more comfortable trip for the money. I am tempted to go for business class but from reading reviews think that maybe the premium economy would be sufficient. Has anyone flown both and can give me some advice?

 

 

 

I am in almost the same situation. I will be flying back from London to Los Angeles. Long haul flights can be so miserable. I have flown PE on Virgin and it was ok. The business class maybe worth the extra $$. I will follow,this post.

Diana

 

 

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I am not sure which would be the more comfortable trip for the money. I am tempted to go for business class but from reading reviews think that maybe the premium economy would be sufficient. Has anyone flown both and can give me some advice?

I don't know exactly what you mean by "the more comfortable trip for the money". Undoubtedly, business class will be the more comfortable trip. But if the question is which of these options is better value, then a lot of personal things come into this. They include whether these fares are for one-way or round-trip travel, and whether spending $2,700 on a business class ticket is something that you can afford without difficulty.

 

One other factor is whether you'd be prepared to take the BA day flight from Boston to London. A short day flight in premium economy would be less arduous than a short overnight flight on which you'll be tired but unable to get a full night's sleep. On a night flight, business class would be more likely to get you a reasonable period of sleep, although with a flight this short you're still unlikely to get more than about 4 hours' sleep even if you prioritise sleep over everything else when on board (which would be my advice).

 

One thing you might want to note is that although it is true that both Delta and Virgin Atlantic operate on this route, American Airlines does not. Each flight carries the flight numbers of both partners (within each pair of partners), but the actual product you will get (specifically, which type of seat) will depend on what the operating airline uses. And AA is not one of the operating airlines on the route, so don't be misled by what an AA aircraft might offer.

You are comparing apples with oranges and it's completely subjective.

 

Premium Economy, known as World Traveller Plus, on BA (AA do not fly this route anymore) is more akin to domestic first class within the US, a little extra width, a couple of less seats per row, a little more recline, about 6" more pitch etc. You do get a legrest/footrest in BA WT+.

 

Virgin Upper Class or Delta One is going to be a world apart with full flat beds, lounge access at both ends, etc. However, if your concern is about seat width then you won't find a huge difference between WT+ and Upper Class/D1. There is more room but you're talking between 3"-4" difference depending upon which aircraft types you're comparing.

 

Personally I always go for at least business class on longhaul flights, but not everyone has the same value system as me. I know someone who owns (not fractional, not charter) their own $9m jet and he flies premium economy longhaul!

While I wouldn't say that money is no object, I only need to purchase one ticket for myself, so I purchasing the Business class ticket is not outside my comfort zone. Both quotes were for non stop round trip tickets.

It's only about a 6 1/2 flight. (about the same as going form Boston to Los Angeles). I really can't see spending over twice as much for a biz/first class seat when PE is avail. Now if it was a 10+ hr flight to Asia/Australia/South Africa then by all means sit up front. But, that is just my opinion.

It's only about a 6 1/2 flight. (about the same as going form Boston to Los Angeles).

 

Much shorter than that. I've had flights from JFK be in the 5hr 30mins range, BOS-LHR can be less than 5hrs with the right winds.

It's only about a 6 1/2 flight. (about the same as going form Boston to Los Angeles). I really can't see spending over twice as much for a biz/first class seat when PE is avail. Now if it was a 10+ hr flight to Asia/Australia/South Africa then by all means sit up front. But, that is just my opinion.

 

Much shorter than that. I've had flights from JFK be in the 5hr 30mins range, BOS-LHR can be less than 5hrs with the right winds.

It's an hour longer westbound as the tailwinds that get you to London quickly become headwinds in the other direction.

 

WHEN is this trip? Timing can have a major impact on pricing. Also, how long will you be overseas? Is the return from London too, or from some other city?

Boston-London is not a long flight at all. Often under 6-hours. So its all about how much the price difference means to you financially.

 

If $1,000.00 means nothing to your financial state, then go with business. If $1,000.00 means you need to cut out your favorite hobby for two months, then don't do it.

 

The flight back is a bit longer. But on international flying side of things Boston-London-Boston is really not a long flight.

It's only about a 6 1/2 flight. (about the same as going form Boston to Los Angeles). I really can't see spending over twice as much for a biz/first class seat when PE is avail. Now if it was a 10+ hr flight to Asia/Australia/South Africa then by all means sit up front. But, that is just my opinion.

However, there is also an argument that you'd want a flat bed on an overnight, precisely because it's such a short flight.

 

I came back overnight from NYC to London a few weeks back, and needed to work when I arrived here in the morning. Having a flat bed for that flight was a great boon. I got changed before departure. As soon as the seat belt sign was off, my seat was flat, my eyeshades were on and my earplugs were in. I was asleep in about 5 minutes, and got about 5¼ hours of solid sleep before the pre-arrival announcements started 40 minutes before expected arrival in London. That was enough time to get changed and even get a cup of tea.

 

I wouldn't fancy my chances of getting anything like that even in premium economy.

 

This is actually the (rather popular) approach that some airlines take to these short overnight flights to London: You can eat in the lounge before departure, and once on board, everything is geared towards a sleeping environment for the entire flight. In many cases, you can then get a shower and breakfast in the lounge after arriving in London.

 

It is all personal, though, and much depends on what you are expecting to get from the business class experience on that particular flight. It's just like the phenomenon of being more tired on arrival after a first class flight than after a business class flight because, like a naughty child, one has stayed up too late to enjoy the service and the amenities. :)

I recently did a BOS to LHR flight with Virgin Atlantic. Prior flights have been with BA, so I do have some first hand knowledge of the experience. The Virgin flight was the 10:PM flight out of Logan; originally it was listed as being on the dreamliner, which I have experienced before. However, when the airline notified me of a time change on both ends, it also indicated we were now flying an [old] airbus. Even though we booked premium economy, the flight over was marginal for service and comfort. Glad we had dinner at Durgin Park in Terminal E, as the food was bad even for airline food. Forget the TV monitor - it didn't work and my seat, 20A, would not lock securely in the upright position.

The return flight, again premium economy, was a slightly better experience. The flight attendants were better at offering water, beverages, snacks, etc., but the electronics were still pretty dismal. Comfort? Well, that's subjective, but the older planes have seen their years of use. Virgin's food in PE is the same as economy, while BA's similar cabin service gives you the option of business class. Not a game changer, but on BA I was able to pre-order my menu selection and on Virgin I could not.

What really threw me was checking in for the LHR to BOS flight. Of the 5 of us, two of us were "specially selected" to undergo enhanced security search. I know that having Global Entry means nothing until I return to BOS and go through passport control, so this was a new experience. We all went through the standard security and thought "maybe that was it...or was it?" After a little duty free spending and Terminal 3, we saw our departure gate on the monitor and headed there. We got into the priority line and as our passes were again scanned, two of us were directed through the door to a series of long tables where the agents asked us to open our carry on bags, pocket books, and remove shoes, etc. We were had scanned, shoes checked, all electronics were checked and left on the table. After that we were told to put our things back and wait to board the plane.

Once we arrived in BOS, we all agreed that having Global Entry, no matter the cost, was worth it. The standard lines were long while we whisked through in a few minutes. Our luggage came about he same time as we got to the carousel. Oh, cute beagle was jumping onto the carousel, then sat next to a man who appeared a bit startled. Seems he had an orange in his pocket. Guess the dog wasn't into chocolates - I had spent the last of my GBP on boxes of Butler's chocolates at duty free.

 

Darcy

You can look on Seatguru.com for the specifications on the various seats of each airline/aircraft. PE is certainly more comfortable then Economy, but many airlines only give you a few extra inches of leg room but still use the exact same width seat as economy Some airlines such as British Air do give you an extra inch of width. For a large person, the seat width can sometimes be a bigger issue then the leg room.

 

Hank

You can look on Seatguru.com for the specifications on the various seats of each airline/aircraft. PE is certainly more comfortable then Economy, but many airlines only give you a few extra inches of leg room but still use the exact same width seat as economy Some airlines such as British Air do give you an extra inch of width. For a large person, the seat width can sometimes be a bigger issue then the leg room.

 

Hank

British AIRWAYS !

 

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A handful of clarifications, in case they help:-

 

Virgin's food in PE is the same as economy, while BA's similar cabin service gives you the option of business class. Not a game changer, but on BA I was able to pre-order my menu selection and on Virgin I could not.

The BA premium economy main course choices are two of the selection of main courses on the business class menu. Pre-ordering your main course is only available on flights departing from Heathrow, and there are a handful of routes on which you can't.

 

What really threw me was checking in for the LHR to BOS flight. Of the 5 of us, two of us were "specially selected" to undergo enhanced security search. I know that having Global Entry means nothing until I return to BOS and go through passport control, so this was a new experience.

AIUI, at the moment 25% of US-bound passengers are selected for this. So it's not really an adverse reflection on you if you get the SSSS.

 

You can look on Seatguru.com for the specifications on the various seats of each airline/aircraft.

seatguru can be very out of date. It's pretty useless for some airlines. If you want information on BA seats, much better to go to http://thebasource.com/seatmaps.html .

 

PE is certainly more comfortable then Economy, but many airlines only give you a few extra inches of leg room but still use the exact same width seat as economy

If you get a seat of the same width as economy, it's not really premium economy.

PE is certainly more comfortable then Economy, but many airlines only give you a few extra inches of leg room but still use the exact same width seat as economy Some airlines such as British Air do give you an extra inch of width.

 

When talking about seat width, it's important to determine whether one is looking at true premium economy, or what some airlines offer as economy+ type products. They are very different, and the "plus" products are the ones that usually have a few extra inches of legroom but otherwise the exact same seat (style and width) as regular economy. True premium economy seats are usually wider, in addition to offering additional legroom, and may offer additional features such as adjustable leg rests and better in-flight amenities.

I would also look at the Virgin PE flight option. A better option than BA in my opinion, and you do not have to pay for seat selection.

 

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Thank you for the information, I will check out some of the information provided. To clarify a few of the questions being asked, both flights were round trip. The cruise originates and ends in the same port.

 

I am not as concerned with food options as I am with a comfortable seat. I know for more seasoned travelers a 5-6 hour flight is not long, but I know that 3-4 hours is all I can tolerate in an economy seat. I do not want to start and end my vacation miserable