By Carly Coombs | Posted: June 27, 2025

After a recent trip traveling through several European countries, I decided to try booking a Premium Economy ticket for my long flight home and see what Premium Economy is all about.

This led me to book with Air France since I found a points and miles deal with the airline (more on that below), and here’s what it was like.

Booking the Ticket

I used some Capital One credit card points to book this flight and decided to book through Flying Blue. Flying Blue is an airline loyalty program that includes Air France, and Capital One allows you to transfer points from your card to the Flying Blue program.

Flying Blue often has promotions for various destinations, and I was able to land one of its sales for a Premium Economy flight from Paris to New York City for 25,000 miles one way, plus about $200 in taxes and fees.

For Air France, a round-trip Premium Economy flight from Paris to New York City (as of June 2025) seems to start around $1,300 for most of 2025 (one-way flights start at about $3,000, more expensive than a round-trip flight), so this deal was pretty good.

Boarding

A few perks Air France gives Premium Economy passengers are priority boarding, check-in, and security. Some airports have separate priority security lanes, and, lucky for me, the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport had priority security, making my airport experience a breeze.

For boarding, I was assigned to board with Zone 2. In my case, Zone 2 was allowed to board alongside Zone 1, so we were able to go right on after preboarding finished.

Air France provided us with an amenity kit, which included a toothbrush, toothpaste, socks, cleansing wipes, and a mint. Water bottles were also placed at each seat.

The baggage allowance for a PE ticket on Air France is pretty generous compared to economy, with it including a checked bag, two carry-on bags, and a personal item. I only had a carry-on and a personal bag, so I didn’t need the extras.

The flight

One of the biggest perks of not sitting in economy is the increased legroom and seat space. For Premium Economy passengers, seats have an additional nine inches of legroom and a wider seat.

My flight was nearly eight hours long, and I was tired from a long trip, so having this extra space was seriously so nice. I usually don’t sleep well on flights, and this was the first flight in a long time where I actually got a little bit of sleep.

For Air France PE, the seats also recline more, and there’s also a footrest (mine, unfortunately, was broken).

With Premium Economy, you get more — and better — food and drink options. For this long-haul flight, I received a full meal shortly after takeoff, a small snack in the middle, and a light meal shortly before landing. My ticket also included complimentary coffee, tea, and alcoholic beverages.

My Air France Premium Economy seat

Legroom on my flight

Air France Premium Economy amenity kit

Main meal offered on the flight

Light meal offered toward the end of the flight

Is Premium Economy worth it?

Overall, having the extra space made my eight-hour flight much more comfortable and enjoyable. I wasn’t exhausted by the time I landed, and the extra, better-quality food was a huge plus. On top of the actual flight, having priority security screening at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport made my airport experience much less stressful.

Premium Economy is definitely something to explore if you want a little more comfort on your long flight (as well as a smoother boarding process), but aren’t quite willing to spend the money or points and miles on a Business or First Class ticket.

As I mentioned earlier, I was able to book this flight with 25,000 credit card points plus $200 to cover taxes and fees. Through booking with points, my out-of-pocket cost was likely less than what I would have paid for a regular economy ticket.

When it comes to the cash cost of this particular PE flight, I personally wouldn’t pay the cash price. Round-trip economy flights on Air France between Paris and New York City start at around $500, so a Premium Economy ticket costs more than double the price of economy, with tickets starting at $1,300. If you’re traveling with your family or in a group, that really starts to add up.