Tired of being crammed into an airline seat? You have options

Tired of being squeezed into smaller seats with inadequate legroom, more and more passengers are opting for the more expensive and expansive seating option known as premium economy. This year, experts agree, will see the ongoing growth of this class of service — generally available on wide-body aircraft — most notably at United. Although the meaning of premium economy can vary from airline to airline, typically the tickets are priced above economy class and below business class and often feature amenities such as more comfortable seats in a better location on the airplane, better dining and drinking and a more generous checked baggage allowance than economy class. Airlines based in the US have been the slowest to catch up to the trend, which has long been offered by competitors based in other countries. American Airlines was the first carrier in the US to offer premium economy service, introducing it in late 2016; Delta did the same the following fall. United is the last of the three to follow suit, and is expected to roll out its premium economy product on select routes later this year. These carriers have been late to the game in part because of financial constraints that prevented investment in a premium economy product, according to Jamie Baker, a New York-based airline analyst. One advantage American carriers have by being late with their offerings is that they can learn from the longer-standing premium economy experience of their partners in other countries — such as Delta’s ties with Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic, and American’s with British Airways.<br/>