Has anyone travelled bmi to the US in Premium Economy? What's it like, value for money, good service etc?

Author

Topic

Has anyone travelled bmi to the US in their Premium Economy? Whats it like, is it value for money, good service etc?

MAN-ORD in BMI PE last year. Legroom was great but all seats have a box under them to run the entertainment system which made it very restrictive. Cabin crew were brilliant, very helpful if a little rushed on their feet with only one crew member to PE during most of the flight. Entertainment was fairly good with a good choice of channels to watch. Seat width is the same as economy and the padding is not very dense so it's not easy to sleep on the homeward leg. No amenity kits going to the USA but i managed to get one on asking one of the staff & the kits were on the seats on the return leg. Food was the same as economy and not very edible. Prebooked a seafood meal going back as it minimised the chances of getting any dairy products. This was a far better option than the sausage & Mash or curry going over. Nice touch was the Ben & Jerry's ice cream served for desert. Alcohol was free to PE passengers & there was a good choice of wines. Not a bad service but compared to Virgin, very poor. Should really be caused 'enhanced economy' with a price to reflect this.

A very expensive upgrade. bmi premium economy is the same as economy except for 38 inches of seat pitch opposed to 32, priority boarding and first service, similar to United's Economy Plus. BA and Virgin have different products for premium economy to their standard cabins. If you want more with bmi, splash out and go business, they have an onboard chef!

The problem with BMI's (and United's) premium economy is that they still maintain the same number of seats abreast. So, whilst the legroom improves, the seat width doesnt - so you are still close up against your fellow travellers. BA and Virgins product in much better. BA have 8 abreast on a 747 - thats two fewer than Economy.

I have already posted a review of this very poor but expensive service. I have travelled twice on this service, I paid the first time and someone else paid the second. I would not waste my money. Seat and food the same as economy. Service was poor, a box under the seat in front of you, restricts your leg room. If I were you, forget BMI Prem Economy. It is simply not worth the money.

BMI =uses the EXACT same seats in same configuration as the cheaper economy seats. Only difference being that there is more leg room and you are in a quasi-seperate cabin. At least United doesn't charge the huge premium that BMI does. BMI needs to follow the likes of BA, Virgin etc and actually provide a different, wider, more confortable seat in a more generous configuration that simply sticking the same cabin in the cabin and throwing in a bit more leg room.

My wife and I travelled to Chicago & return in 2003 and to Barbados & return last year. The previous comments are all true. The larger seat pitch is useful but the seats are exactly the same as the economy seats. The cabin service was very good with a plentiful supply of free drinks on each flight but the food is only the same as in economy. On the first trip we booked through ebookers and paid £200 extra each for the return trip but we booked the flights to Barbados through Virgin holidays and paid an extra £250 each way per person. I would say that the separate check in, improved legroom and good cabin service made it worth the extra £200 for the return trip but I wouldn't pay an extra £250 each way again. This year we are going to Antigua and have booked Virgin Atlantic premium economy. Anybody know what that is like?

BMI have greatly improved their Premium Economy product if it comes to seating. We have travelled MAN-ANU-MAN in October 2007. The old C-class seats have been moved into the Premium-Economy section whereas in C class, they now have new (lie-)flat beds. It is now a 2-2-2 seating as in C class and only five rows altogether. The service, however, was very inconsistent. On the way out, the cabin crew was not in the least coordinated. Instead of serving drinks from the trolley as most airlines do, the flight attendant on our side asked every passenger individually which drink they would like. He then returned to the galley poured out the drink, brought it to the passenger and asked the next one. The f/a on the other side made a list and then brought the drinks around, three at a time. It took two f/as thirty minutes to serve one glass to thirty passengers. The food portions were not bigger than those in Economy. It was one main dish, a salad, some crackers and one stale bun. It all looked a bit forlorn on the huge tray it was served on. On the way out, we were served a large sandwich as second mean. it was the kind of sandwich you get on bmi's European routes. On the way home, we were given a breakfast consisting of a muffin and a fruit salad made of three different kinds of melon (cheapest of the cheap). If you did not fancy melon at all, you were stuck with nothing but a muffin. If the upgrades hadn't been so cheap (150 pounds per person from MAN and 150 US dollars from ANU), we would not have chosen bmi's Premium-Economy product