How to save on premium economy fares

Premium economy is supposed to be an affordable way to get a comfortable seat and better food on your flight, but our analysis found it is very expensive to upgrade from economy class. 

When we compared prices across multiple airlines, we found that premium economy fares can be more than twice as expensive as economy ones.

Many of the tips you’ll see online about saving on premium economy class aren't true either. You won't get a free upgrade by wearing nice clothes or giving a gift to the cabin crew.

Free upgrades, while rare, do happen, but you would be better off using seat upgrade bidding sites or even buying a bulkhead seat if legroom is tour top priority.

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Get more legroom for less

If the main reason you're considering an upgrade is because you want more space, you're better off just buying a better seat. A bulkhead or exit row spot can have up to 38 inches of legroom (compared with around 30 inches in most economy sections). When we checked a British Airways flight from London to Tenerife in summer 2025, an extra-legroom seat was £41 each way – which is far cheaper than premium economy.

Virgin Atlantic has something called 'economy delight', which is half way between standard economy and premium economy. It gets you more legroom (34 inches - rather than the 31 inches in economy) and priority boarding for about £150 more than the cheapest fare on the flights we looked at.

We've compared the economy seat size of popular long and short-haul carriers to see which airline gives you the most legroom in economy. We also found that - on some flights - you can get a full extra inch by sitting on the right of the plane. 

Use air miles to upgrade to premium economy 

Air miles can be a good way to upgrade to premium economy, and flying isn’t the only way to earn them. Some credit cards enable you to earn points every time you spend, which can be used to upgrade your existing flight.

Here are the best credit cards for earning air miles.

Schemes such as Avios (used by British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia and others) and Virgin's Flying Club all accept points for upgrading your ticket to a more comfortable cabin. British Airways is restrictive, however, and won't allow you to upgrade using points from Economy Basic fares. 

Bid for an upgrade

If the price of premium economy makes you wince, some airlines will let you make a bid for a cheaper upgrade. Virgin Atlantic has a system called Your Bid, where up to seven days before your flight, you can make an offer for remaining premium seats (or other classes) and see if they're accepted.  

There's always a minimum price, and you'll almost certainly need to pay more than that to get the seat. But if you're a regular flier and ready to splash out, you'll eventually get a feel for how low you can go and still win.

Virgin says it will let you know if you have a winning bid between seven and two days before departure. Other airlines, including Air Canada, Etihad, Lufthansa, Singapore and Qantas, have similar systems

Ignore full-flex tickets

Some premium economy fares with British Airways were more than three times as expensive as economy fares. This is because the only premium economy seats available were 'full-flex' - allowing you to change or cancel the dates of your flight for free. Other fare types are typically non-refundable. 

However, if you have no interest in a fully flexible ticket, it's not worth paying the hundreds of pounds more for premium.

Fly from other European cities

If you want long-haul travel for less, try connecting in Europe. 

We compared the cost of flights from London with those from a range of European cities. We found that if you're heading to Asia or Australia, it was usually cheaper to fly from Istanbul, even taking into account the extra flight to get there.

Flights to the US can be cheaper from other European cities, such as Dublin, Barcelona or Amsterdam. 

So, for example, instead of booking London to Los Angeles with British Airways, try London to Dublin, then Dublin to London and finally London to Los Angeles with British Airways. Counterintuitively, the latter can be cheaper (although your carbon footprint will be much higher). 

If you time it right, the savings can be ‘astronomical’, according to Gilbert Ott of travel blog God Save the Points. 'It's not at all uncommon for the lower fares to be offered by British Airways or another UK carrier', from airports in continental Europe. 

There are some caveats. It can be a long day travelling, once you add in your additional flight. It's also important to make sure you book a 'through' ticket – that means you'll be rebooked for free if you miss your connection, or leave lots of time to make that connection. 

Join airline mailing lists or a flights club

Many airlines offer specific premium economy seat sales. To find the best deals, you could sign up to the mailing lists of the airlines you're most likely to use. That way you'll find out about the best deals before anybody else.

An alternative is to join a deals site, such as Jack's Flight Club, Secret Flying or Thrifty Traveler. They all offer limited access to their deals for free, or you can pay to join the premium club and receive notifications of cheap 'mistake deals' or new sales. They work best if you don't have a specific destination in mind but are open to finding a bargain from your nearest airport.

Find a package holiday deal

Choosing to upgrade to premium economy through your package holiday provider can sometimes be cheaper than booking it separately through the airline. 

Our research has shown that package holidays can work out cheaper than booking flights and hotels separately. Your holiday also has much more protection under the Package Travel Regulations. 

Consider whether premium economy is worth it on your flight

Different airlines provide different things under the banner of premium economy. The last time we surveyed passengers about the experience in premium economy in 2023, British Airways got a customer score of 58% and Virgin Atlantic got 79%. 

Airlines love premium economy because it's often so profitable for them. You pay twice as much to get about 40% more space - which is a great deal for the airline. According to aviation analysts Cirium: 'Premium economy is Lufthansa’s most productive cabin for revenues per square metre, 33% higher than economy and 6% higher than business.'

It quoted a former Lufthansa executive describing it as 'a money-generating machine'.

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