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Coach Distancing with Premium Economy Upgrades for as Little as $73 One Way

Coach Distancing with Premium Economy Upgrades for as Little as $73 One Way

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How to dodge coach for as little as $8 per flight hour.

When Business Class fares are soaring, and coach is, well, coach… Premium Economy becomes an option. Especially when you can get those tickets at coach prices, or thereabouts.

UNFRIENDLY BUSINESS CLASS FARES

On the major airlines to Asia, Business Class fares easily go for $4,000 to $8,000, depending on the route and airline. To South America, they range from $3,000 to $4,500.

When low $2,000-ish Business Class fares can’t be found and mileage availability for an upgrade or free award isn’t available, Premium Economy sticks its hand up and says, “I’m here, don’t forget me.”

WHEN PREMIUM ECONOMY MAKES SENSE

Economy class is the pits and we never want our readers to be stuck there. Nobody really wants to be, but not everyone knows the many ways to avoid it. While we generally focus on Business and First Class, there are times when it just makes sense to consider Premium Economy (PE), such as:

  • Family travelers: On a family vacation (do the kids really need to fly up front?).
  • Employers: When you want to give your employees a perk.
  • Business travelers: When sleep is secondary to working on your laptop or when your company travel policy or your client’s budget is tight.
  • Business Class travelers: For people accustomed to flying Business Class but don’t want to spend between $4,000 and $8,000 to sit up front when fares are high, especially on a day flight. PE seats are in a separate cabin from coach and come with a leg and/or footrest and often with upgraded meal service. It may not be Business Class, but it isn’t coach.
  • Low-upgrade lovers: When the flight is non-stop, offers an international PE cabin, and the upgrade from economy is low.

THE $8-AN-HOUR UPGRADE

Flying from Newark to São Paulo round-trip is about 19 hours in the air non-stop on United. We’ve found a low-cost upgrade that equals about $8 an hour. Coach is $602, and PE is $748. Divide the difference ($146) by flight hours (19), and you get: $8 an hour for a relatively significant upgrade.

United Premium Economy

Consider that the Business Class price for this route is about $2,485. That’s a whopping $1,737 more than PE. In other words, you could buy about three tickets in PE for the cost of one ticket in Business Class for a family vacation.

A BETTER-THAN-FREE LEG UP TO PE

If you fly “Economy Plus” on United, (which is coach with a bit of extra legroom), the upgrade to a Premium Economy seat is free. “Economy Plus” on United Airlines costs $866, and $916 once you add in a checked bag. So you’re WAY better off traveling in PE for $748. You get a savings of $118 over the “Economy Plus” fare for Premium Economy, a seat that gives you much more.

MORE ROUTES WITH LOW-COST UPGRADES

Below are the cheapest “non-stops,” but many other U.S. cities also have low fares via a connecting flight.

South America:

  1. Miami-Rio de Janeiro is only $143 more each way in PE with fares starting at $706 round-trip on American Airlines non-stop. Business Class is $2,561.
  2. For the Atlanta-Santiago non-stop route on Delta, the upgrade is $99 each way in PE, starting at $890 round-trip. Business Class is $3,330.
American Airlines Premium Economy

Asia:

  1. Los Angeles-Tokyo non-stop on Delta, where the upgrade is $150 each way in PE starting at $950 round-trip. Business Class is $4,057.
  2. Seattle-Tokyo non-stop on Delta, where the upgrade is $132 each way in PE starting at $997 round-trip. Business Class is $5,159.
  3. Atlanta-Tokyo non-stop on Delta, where the upgrade is $150 each way in PE starting at $1,378 round-trip. Business Class is $6,434.
Delta Premium Economy

Hawaii: American has three non-stop routes that offer a low-cost upgrade:

  1. Dallas-Honolulu, where the upgrade is $150 each way in PE with fares starting at $1,029 round-trip.
  2. Dallas-Maui, where the upgrade is $180 each way in PE starting at $1,089 round-trip.
  3. Dallas-Kona, where the upgrade is $180 each way in PE starting at $1,089 round-trip.

CONNECTING FLIGHTS

Connecting flights can be added to the non-stops from many U.S. cities with American, Delta, and United, but the domestic leg that connects to the international leg is in coach. The same is true for onward travel connections where all travel legs are in coach. You can book connecting flights beyond the international leg, too. Again, those flights will be in coach.