This is a guest post by Andrew Wicks, a Dubai-based expat, fellow points and miles geek and regular contributor to The Expat Flyer.
I think all passengers will agree that Economy Class is not the most fun you could have with a few hours of your time, but it’s a means to an end. So, in 1991, EVA Air introduced the world to the Premium Economy cabin, and we have never looked back. I’m looking at three Premium Economy options from the UAE to Europe to help you decide which offers the best bang for your buck.
I’ll compare three recent Premium Economy trips with Emirates, British Airways, and Air France to help you savvy Expat Flyers decide which is best for you. Upon reflection, it wasn’t the airline I originally thought…
Etihad does not offer a proper Premium Economy, so it is not in the running in this article. But they do offer their Extra Legroom seat. Click here for more on this.
As all of these products have been reviewed multiple times, I will not do the usual deep dive into the product itself but focus on how they differ and what that means for you.
Good service and luxury food and beverages are all good, but the average traveller will tell you that it is a bit more space they would like to make the trip comfortable – and dare I say, even a pleasant experience. After all, you can bring all manner of snacks on board to make up for unappealing dining options, including my wife’s go-to travel companion when not in the pointy end – a small chilled bottle of champagne from duty-free. But if you are not prepared to pay for the extra space of the flat bed and Champagne class, or like me, you travel with a family of four, it just seems an unnecessary cost – especially on a day flight. What do you do?
Emirates is the only Middle Eastern carrier to offer a Premium Economy cabin. At present, Emirates has a limited Premium Economy network to Europe, with London Heathrow currently its only destination. However, Zurich, Geneva, and Brussels will come online by the end of the year.
British Airways offers Premium Economy from Dubai and Abu Dhabi and, through its Heathrow hub, can route you to anywhere in Europe once the long-haul leg is done.
The last is Air France, which will only fly from Dubai as of October, but with an extensive European network, it is a good option.
So, how do they stack up?
Pre-Flight experience
All three airlines offer an increased luggage allowance, priority check-in, and priority boarding for Premium Economy passengers. But Air France offers Sky Priority, which in France also gets you Fast Track security. Unfortunately, this was not the case on the UAE side, but nonetheless, it was a very useful perk.
Once onboard, Emirates has the best boarding music. It’s old school and sets a calm and somewhat glamorous tone for the flight. Likewise, British Airways has opted for more dulcet tones. Air France, surprisingly, has gone with a bizarre soundtrack reminiscent of a 90s club. I found it most off-putting.
It seems silly to focus on, but a pre-flight drink is one of the small touches that makes a traveller feel they are having an elevated experience. It somehow puts you in a good mood for the flight that follows. British Airways was the best in this department, offering Prosecco, orange juice, and water as a pre-flight drink. Dinner menus were handed out simultaneously, adding to the sense of an elevated experience beyond Economy.
Emirates offered a hot towel and pre-flight drink. However, there was only juice on offer, which was horribly sweet and cheap-tasting, so whilst a nice touch, it was ultimately not very pleasant. It’s a pity they do not offer a sparkling wine option, as once in the air, Emirates does have a good back-of-the-plane wine offering, including Prosecco.
Air France did not offer a pre-flight drink or hot towel on either of my flights, which was a great shame as it greatly diminished the pre-flight experience.
Winner: British Airways
The Seat
The most important reason to choose Premium Economy is the extra space. All three airlines have very similar seat sizes, pitches, and reclines, although not necessarily with Air France, but more on that later.
The Emirates Premium Economy cabin on the A380, while good-looking with its slick beige leather seats, is vast, with 56 seats. It lacks any sense of exclusivity. This is not a deal breaker, but it somewhat diminishes the experience. As the A350s and refurbished 777s roll out, I suspect they will have a much better cabin as they will be significantly smaller.
While all three carriers supposedly offer a calf rest that lifts up from the seat, British Airways did not on my flights, as my aircraft had an older version of their Premium Economy. This was disappointing, but it made little difference to my overall comfort.
In terms of seat comfort, I found Air France the most comfortable on my back once in the deep recline. The seat seemed the best padded, too. The Emirates seat lacked lumbar support, and it was very uncomfortable unless I had my pillow in the small of my back. So, if you are on Emirates, I suggest travelling with an extra small pillow in case this is the case for you, too.
It must be noted on my outbound trip with Air France, I flew on the A350-900 featuring the new Premium Economy seat; the return, however, was on the four class 777, which currently, and for some time to come, features the old fixed shell seat. This is a matter of personal preference as people either love or hate this product. My opinion is, it has very limited “recline” and unless it’s a day flight, do not fly Air France Premium Economy if it is the fixed shell seat. It would be impossible to sleep, and your money would be wasted. This seat was also much firmer with thin padding and was far less comfortable than the new Air France seat.
Emirates offers the most in-seat storage if this is a must for you. However, with the reduced passenger-to-overhead bin ratio, in-seat storage is less of an issue in Premium Economy cabins.
On my flights, all three airlines had both USB and plug socket power at the seat. With British Airways, this may vary depending on the aircraft type, so do check.
Quite surprisingly, overall, I found the Air France seat on the A350 to be the most comfortable of the three, but it is a close race, and you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Winner: Air France on the A350
Bedding
Pillows and blankets—you would think this is not an important area of distinction, but Emirates failed miserably in this department. Both British Airways and Air France were vastly superior—and I really noticed it!
Waiting for you at your seat on Emirates was what looked, and felt like, a standard economy blanket in a cheap, flimsy disposable plastic wrapping. It was decidedly uninviting. I would suggest removing the plastic to create a smarter appearance if nothing else. The pillow, while large and plump, was in the worst pillowcase I have ever found on an airline, including in Economy Class. It is a cheap disposable plastic cover that is scratchy and uncomfortable. On my flight, at least half of the passengers removed the pillow from the cover and used it uncovered. I would think a proper fabric cover would be the obvious choice.
British Airways and Air France had enhanced bedding with blankets that were more in line with Business Class and proper fabric pillowcases. This made for a significantly more cosy flight and made you feel you were in a more luxurious environment, which was more important to me than I would have thought before this side-by-side comparison.
Emirates did not offer an amenity kit on either of the flights I took with them. Air France and British Airways both provide a basic amenity kit, which is always a nice touch and handy.
Winner: British Airways
Inflight Entertainment
When it comes to in-flight entertainment, Emirates knocks it out of the park, offering the largest screens of the best quality. The volume of content is likewise impressive. Their headphones, however, are not great and are decidedly an Economy offering. I would always suggest taking your own headphones on Emirates if travelling below Business Class, as this is not an area they have invested enough in.
Air France had a decent-sized screen that worked without any problems, and you were provided with good noise-cancelling headphones. However, the content, while adequate, was not on par with Emirates.
British Airways had the best headphones, but that was about it. The touchscreen TV did not work at all. If it were not for the remote in the armrest, I would not have been able to do a thing. The screen quality was the poorest of the three carriers, and the range of content was very average. My advice if on British Airways is to download some content onto your tablet to avoid a long-haul flight with not a lot to watch. But, as mentioned above, I was on an older iteration of the Premium Economy cabin. More recently refurbished planes will doubtlessly have better screens.
Winner: Emirates
Food and Beverage
British Airways was by far the best of the three in this regard. You are provided a paper menu with a choice of three main courses. The portions are good, and your tray is presented nicely with china and glass. Overall, I found the quality of the main meal to be the best on British Airways.
Emirates disappointed. There is only a choice of two main meals, and the portions are small. Cunningly, the dish they are served in is wide but very shallow. On my flight, one of the food options ran out by row 3, leaving the rest with no choice at all. Emirates definitely needs to review their meal offering if they are to pitch themselves as one of the best Premium Economy cabins.
Air France seems to offer the same food you would get in Economy Class. They just serve you first. But it was presented well in china with glassware, even providing Christofle cutlery. The food quality was, however, the worst of the three airlines – sadly, not living up to the reputation of French cuisine.
Second meals
All three carriers offer a second snack later in the flight. Emirates did best in this regard, providing a decent scone with jam and proper clotted cream, along with finger sandwiches. Unfortunately, my sandwiches were very dry and seemed a day old. However, both British Airways and Air France disappoint in this regard, with a rather grim Economy Class offering served in a cardboard box, like some budget fast food meal.
Drinks
Bar service was best on British Airways. You were offered drinks often, and there was a choice of wine, beer and spirits, with decent mixers. While Emirates had the best wines on offer, the service was lacking, and you needed to go to the galley to hunt down a drink in an apologetic manner. My personal bugbear with Emirates is its offering of tonic water across all its cabins. They provide top-quality gin, even in Premium Economy and Economy, but you only get Evervess Tonic, which is horrid and cheap. This is the case even in First Class – such a shame.
Air France offered only wine and beer, which I found very disappointing. You are out of luck if you prefer a Gin & Tonic, Rum & Coke or whisky. In a Premium Economy cabin I think enhanced beverages from your Economy offering is a must. The cabin crew never came around to offer drinks during the flight, but they came quickly when called and were very happy to bring you what you wanted (out of the limited offering) and did so with a smile.
Aside from the main meal service, drinks, including tea and coffee, were served in paper and plastic on all flights. I find this a shame as such an effort is made to elevate the dining experience, and then you have a rather uninspired tea in a small paper cup as if you had got it from a service station at two in the morning.
Only British Airways came around with a tray of snacks mid-flight. On offer were biscuits, nuts and crisps. The cabin crew were more than happy to replenish your supplies at any time during the flight. Emirates offers no such service, in fact I went to the galley to ask if there was a biscuit or the like available at one point for a hungry child, and was told by a very matronly stewardess that the second meal would be served in an hour. Likewise, Air France provides nothing extra beyond its two meal offerings.
Winner: British Airways
Toilets
The A380 Emirates is by far the best Premium Economy when it comes to the ratio of toilets to passengers. With three toilets for the Premium Economy cabin, it’s an impressive ratio of 1:18, although Economy Class passengers frequently sneak through the curtain to use the bathrooms. British Airways has five toilets shared with Economy, with a ratio of 1:32, while Air France has a disappointing ratio of 1:48 as you use six toilets along with Economy Class.
I should add that an examination of their seat maps suggests that on its A350 and 777 aircraft, Emirates will not offer exclusive Premium Economy toilets. You will need to wander backwards into the Deep Vein Thrombosis section.
Winner: Emirates (on the A380)
Service
I found the cabin crew’s service on British Airways to be the best. They were the most responsive and friendly. But the other two airlines did not offer bad service; they just did not seem as swift and amiable. On Emirates, the service across all their cabins seems a bit hit-and-miss. They seem to have the least consistency across their service processes.
Winner: British Airways
Cost
This is the most important metric, in my opinion, as it puts everything else into perspective.
At this point in time, Emirates Premium Economy is very expensive as they only offer the fully flexible fare, making it far more expensive than the other options, and frequently not too much less than Business Class on competitor carriers. This should change, though, as the Emirates Premium Economy rollout continues. When they reach critical mass and have significantly more availability, this price should come down, as they simply won’t be able to fill all of the seats at current prices.
When I flew, Air France had a special and was cheaper than Emirates in Economy on the same route, making it the best deal of the lot. However, if you don’t manage to nab a cheap fare, Air France is priced around the same price point as British Airways, if not a bit higher.
British Airways, if booked timeously, always offers very competitive rates and can be cheaper than Emirates Economy Class to London, let alone Premium Economy. It is always worth checking British Airways when booking to Europe.
Winner: British Airways
Air Miles and Tier Points
For any aviation enthusiast, a crucial question will always be – How many Air Miles and Tier Points do I earn?
This will differ for each airline depending on ticket fare class and loyalty program status. For the comparison below, I have assumed the cheapest ticket fare available. On a return fare, this is how they stack up.
British Airways awards Avios based on eligible spend. From 1 April 2025 they will also begin awarding Tier Points based on spend. Based on average fares you will earn between 4,000-6,300 Avios (depending on Tier Status) and 700 Tier Points for a return trip in Premium Economy between Dubai and London. It will take between 9-11 round trips to qualify for Silver Tier status in the British Airways Club.
Air France’s Flying Blue program has a more complex system for awarding loyalty Miles. You will earn a flat 32 Experience Points (Tier Points) for the trip. Three and a half return trips will elevate you to Silver status. However, you will need Gold status to be more in line with British Airways and Emirates Silver, which will take six return flights.
Emirates awards you 5200 Skywards Tier points. As noted above, there is only one fare class available at the moment, but when this changes, I assume there will be a difference in Tier Miles depending on ticket fare class, much like in other cabins. At the moment, five return trips will get you to Silver status. Skywards Blue members will earn 5200 Skywards Miles, Silver 6566, Gold 8500, and Platinum 9928.
However, with Air France, the Miles earned depend on your total spend—including ticket, seat reservation, extra luggage, upgrade, or food costs. For my trip, as a Blue member, I earned 3522 Miles.
Winner: Emirates Skywards
Overall Winner
For me, British Airways wins the Premium Economy race between the three – at this point in time.
This is largely due to its better food and much better value for money. But when Emirates can compete on price, I suspect it will offer most passengers the best bang for their buck in the future. However, I could not help but feel Emirates was lacking in its soft product offering, which surprised me as they are positioning their Premium Economy product as one of the best in the world.
But for now, to maximise your value for money in Premium Economy, go British Airways. It is consistently a well-priced, solid offering.
Book your next Premium Economy flight on British Airways here.