You can now travel around the world in Star Alliance's premium economy — at least in theory
Happily, airlines around the world are beginning to include more seats in premium economy — a burgeoning section between regular economy and business class — for those who don't have a business-class budget but are willing to shell out a little extra for added amenities on a long flight. In a nod to premium economy's growing appeal to the market, Star Alliance added this fare class to its Round-the-World fares, allowing travelers to circumnavigate the globe in moderately upgraded style on the 28 airlines in the alliance.
Premium economy seats have already been available on many Star Alliance airlines for some time. Lufthansa and Singapore joined nine other airlines — Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, SAS, THAI and Turkish Airlines — by adding premium economy within the past year.
The reality of actually flying around the world in premium economy is a challenge, however, as the majority of planes are not equipped with the seats. For example, you can make it from New York to Paris in premium economy (although on only one flight out of more than 30 available Star Alliance routes), but forget about, say, New York to Lisbon. An example route given by a Star Alliance spokesperson in an article in Conde Nast Traveler was Chicago – Frankfurt – Copenhagen – Istanbul – Tokyo – San Francisco – Chicago, for about $7,000, but I found putting together a true Round-the-World itinerary (starting from New York) on the Star Alliance booking system nearly impossible. My search ended in frustration after 40 minutes.
Whether premium economy is actually worth paying for remains completely up in the air (pun intended), as definitions vary wildly from airline to airline; on some airlines it means nothing more than extra room, while on others (like Virgin Atlantic) you get welcome champagne and expanded meal choices and amenities. Price also varies, ranging anywhere from 15%-85% more than a seat in economy, so it's important to research carefully before purchasing, or you may have one more gripe to add to your four complaints about Star Alliance.