I was upgraded to premium economy. I wish I’d stayed in cattle class

Picture this. I’m flying from London to Sydney on a Qantas flight and to my great delight, my points upgrade comes through. Hooray.

I’ve requested a business class upgrade, but I have also indicated I’d accept premium economy if it were available.

You can still end up in a middle seat in Qantas’ premium economy cabin.

I don’t get a business seat in the end, but I do find myself in the premium economy cabin. And that’s fine. Anything is better than economy on the long haul. Right?

I’d carefully chosen my economy aisle seat before the flight. But when I claim my upgraded premium seat, it’s not a spacious aisle seat. It’s in the middle.

That means I will have to clamber over sleeping people whenever I need to go to the loo or want to stretch my legs. And I share my personal space with two others, jostling elbows on both sides. This is a scenario I’ve painstakingly avoided when booking my cattle-class seat earlier.

Help! I’d rather be in economy.

Premium economy on an Emirates A380 features a 2-4-2 layout.

With millions of people flying every year in multi-class aircraft cabins, and many choosing to pay a bit extra for comfort, I don’t think it’s too presumptuous to ask – is premium economy all it’s cracked up to be?

It might not be. In addition to my Qantas experience, I found myself in premium economy seat 35D on an Emirates A380.

Emirates does premium economy extremely well, justifiably winning raves for its sense of luxuriousness and service. If you’re in a couple, the double seats by the window are snugly and private. In a design sense, it’s all very chic.

But if you strike seat 35D or 35G, it’s like trying to nap in the middle of aviation’s equivalent of Swanston or George streets.

Emirates, like many airlines with premium economy, has a 2-4-2 configuration in that cabin. On A380s like those operated by Emirates, the end seats of the first row on the middle bulkhead float in the aisle. Not on the aisle, but in it.

I struck this seat last year on my way to Dubai. You’re like a shag on a rock jutting into the aisle, which is a popular route for the whole lower deck to go back and forth to the forward toilets. It’s also where food carts are manoeuvred, and they careen directly towards you with every drink and food service.

You are not facing the bulkhead but the open aisle, so there’s no pocket or underseat in front of you to put your things, and a leg rest but not a footrest to stop you sliding off the leather upholstery when you want to sleep.

The seat at the other end of the row is no better. I struck 35G recently, on route to Dubai.

Premium economy fares are a significant leap from economy but popular now that business class prices are stratospheric. I know tall people, large people, incapacitated people, people who have issues with DVT and other ailments who are relieved premium economy exists. These are travellers for whom the cramped seats of economy make travel truly difficult. I get the attraction.

Still, few travellers can afford the upgrade. And I don’t think they’re missing out on much.

When I’ve been “demoted” to economy on an Emirates A380 I’ve found it not discernibly different – roomier than most and with excellent entertainment and screen size. Skytrax highly commends the economy cabins of other full-service airlines such as Cathay Pacific, Singapore, JAL, Qatar and Korean Air. The new planes are a vast improvement on the past.

It’s the old dilemma – do I suck up a bit of discomfort on the way and have more money to spend on the ground, or do I spend my dollars on a seat where I feel a little more cossetted and perhaps have a better chance of getting some sleep?

Well, as Traveller’s Tripologist Michael Gebicki also discovered, it depends.

I’d rather spend my money on memorable experiences on the ground. Unless the flight is particularly dire, I’ll forget all about it anyway. It’s only 24 hours out of my life, or less.

Also bear in mind that bad weather, delays and other irritations affect the front of the plane as much as the back. But only the business and first-class passengers get special treatment and lounges when things go awry.

Premium economy might be the best choice you ever made – or a waste of money, where you can find yourself in no man’s land, unable to sleep and craving seat 53C at the back.