Want to gain much more overall value? Consider leveraging your elite status or fees for extra legroom on your daytime flight and shift your budget to the night flight for a higher class of service.
Normal economy class seating is pretty tight, so the four to six inches of “extra legroom” in the better economy class seats can make a world of a difference in your travel experience, particularly on a long flight.
So who ends up benefiting most from economy extra legroom seats, and when? We take a rare visit to the back of the plane to evaluate the situation.
This is a sister special report to FCF’s February report, “Horses for Courses (and Cabins),” where we looked at flying from A to B in one Premium Class of service and returning in another. Why pay for a lie-flat seat when it’s a day flight and you’ll be tapping away at your laptop or watching a movie? You’ll save money by sleeping in Business, and doing your daytime business in Premium Economy. It makes perfect sense for some, but since most people don’t consider this option, we decided to bring it to your attention.
This month we look at doing the “cabin shuffle,” meaning using the extra legroom seat for the day flight and Business Class or Premium Economy for the overnight flight. This is ideal for elite status members with American, Delta, and United, who get the extra legroom benefit for free.
How many of you are elite status members who’ve gotten stuck in the upgrade waitlist waiting room (again)? Many elites spend too much time there, wasting plenty of hard-earned time in the process. We have a better idea.
It’s important to use your seats smartly. As an elite, you get extra legroom in economy for free – or you can buy-up if you don’t hold an elite card. So there are times when you can really make use of this benefit to add a ton of value to your travel life.
It’s also an effective ploy when Business Class or Premium Economy is sold out on a flight you must be on for whatever reason. Go for the extra legroom seat instead.
I like to think of it as threading the needle on value, and not overpaying where you don’t need to.
Let’s look at a concrete example.
Save $393 for a Seat You Might Not Even Sleep In
Consider the Newark-London route on United, for example. And let’s say you’re flying in Premium Economy outbound and return in an economy seat with extra legroom. The time of the day is critical for making this decision. That Newark-London flight is overnight, so you should make use of the more comfortable Premium Economy if your budget is tight and you can’t fly Business Class. The return flight leaves at 10:25 am so having a reclining seat isn’t as important. In this case, you can save $393 and get the extra legroom on a normal coach seat instead, while still earning your elite credit.
United Gold, Platinum and 1K elites, and up to eight companions (gold one companion) have free access to Economy Plus at the time of booking when traveling on United. Star Alliance partner travel on Lufthansa, SWISS, and Singapore does earn United elite credit but offers no advantage over a regular paying passenger for Extra Legroom seats for United elites.
Or there’s this example…
A Family of Four Would Save $2,684
Let’s say you plan a trip for the whole family to fly from Miami to Madrid on Iberia in Business Class and return in the economy Extra Legroom seat. Again, it’s an overnight flight out of Miami, and an afternoon flight coming home. You can make the most of those Business Class amenities on the overnight flight, while enjoying the extra legroom and stretching your legs in a more upright seat on the way home. That’s how you net big savings versus opting for Business Class both ways.
AA elites and their companions booking flights with Iberia via the American Airlines website get free access to extra legroom seats (AA gold members can for a small fee). All levels of American AAdvantage elites traveling on American, and top-tier AA elites when traveling on Finnair, have free access to Economy Comfort for up to eight companions traveling together. All levels of American AAdvantage elites and their companions traveling on British Airways have free access to extra legroom seats. Top-tier elites can book online during the booking process.
DELTA EXAMPLE
You can fly from New York to Paris on Delta in Business Class and return in its Economy Comfort+ seat. Again, it’s an overnight flight out of New York, and a mid-morning flight coming home. Make the most of Business Class and get your beauty sleep on the overnight flight, while stretching your legs in a more upright seat in Economy+ on the way home. Once again, you net big savings versus paying an extra $2,350 in Business Class both ways.
Delta top-tier elites and one companion have free access to Comfort+ at time of ticketing when traveling on Delta. Delta elites have access to Extra Legroom seats for up to eight companions traveling together on Air France at a discounted rate at the time of booking. Although Delta elites do earn elite credit on Air France, KLM, and Alitalia, KLM and Alitalia don’t offer any advantage to Delta elites for Extra Legroom seats over regular paying passengers.
P.S. Don’t worry, FCF’s once-every-five-years report on anything economy class won’t happen again for a while.