British Airways Premium Economy review: ‘Cured my flying fear, but one thing was lacking… and it wasn’t the food’

Metro’s Deputy TV Editor, Tom Percival, recently flew premium economy from London to Tokyo with British Airways.

It was the longest flight of his life and a nerve-wracking one, considering his fear of flying.

He wasn’t always like this. He used to be fine, but all that changed when he found himself on a plane that had to make an emergency landing.  

We’ll spare you the details, but it involved the plane being chased down the runway by fire engines, crying flight attendants, and a stay at a brothel. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this incident has left something of a psychic bruise, and Tom remains petrified of air travel.

Now, after braving a more luxurious flight (courtesy of Yotel) than he’s used to, he gives his verdict on whether nicer nosh, more leg room, and being trusted with an actual knife can ease even the most anxious aerophobe.

Tom, over to you.

Set the scene. What does it look like? Imagine your bog-standard airline seat, but slightly wider and with a bit more leg room. That’s what I was greeted with when I boarded the plane.

Oh, and there was a pile of ‘goodies’ (a courtesy bag with an eye mask, toothbrush, toothpaste and noise-cancelling headphones) to help us through the flight. 

How much room do you actually get? A seat in Premium Economy (or World Traveller Plus, as they like to call it) offers about 7-8 inches more legroom (38″ pitch vs ~31″) than a traditional seat.

It’s also an inch or two wider (around 18.5-19.5″ vs ~17.5″), plus you get a bigger TV screen, and your chair reclines more. 

I did enjoy the extra room. I felt less claustrophobic than I normally do, and this definitely eased my existential dread as we zoomed around the Earth at 575mph.

What about the service? Once we were buckled in, we were offered a pre-takeoff glass of fizz or a fruit drink as well as an oddly smelly bag of sour cream and onion pretzels. 

Which did you go for? If you’re offered fizz, always take fizz. It helps with the nerves, although it didn’t pair well with the pretzels. 

What did you think of the food? Airline food has a bad reputation thanks to Jerry Seinfeld, but I thought the in-flight meal was delicious.

It was a braised steak and veggies served with an apple tart. Even better, I had an actual knife so I could cut my beef. 

What didn’t you like so much? There was one thing a comfy seat and decent meal couldn’t help with: the boredom.

I found the selection of TV and movies rather lacking. They had several sitcoms listed as box sets, which I thought would have been perfect for the flight, but these ended up being only one or two episodes long. 

This was a bit of a nightmare because, as my fellow nervous fliers can attest, the worst thing about flying is having time to think.

Thinking is what turns every normal thunk, clunk, and bang into a mechanical fault that will doom their flight to be the topic of some air disaster podcast one day.  

I knew then that keeping my mind off the fact that I was trapped in an aluminium tube was key to not having a panic attack, and the poor selection of TV distractions made this difficult.

So how did you cope? BA did come to my rescue here.

Their onboard Wi-Fi, while not strong enough to let me download my own shows, kept me in contact with friends on the ground, which stopped me from spiralling.  

Admittedly, there was the occasional stretch where the Wi-Fi cut out, and I had to fight off a bout of mental anguish, but a book took care of that.  

How much does it cost? A non-refundable Premium Economy seat on BA from London Heathrow to Haneda Airport will set you back a minimum of £2,284.

Final thoughts? I thought Premium Economy was good, if not life-changing. My main issues with the flight were the lack of entertainment – this would have been the same wherever I was sat, and I can’t fault the service we got. 

I think the highest praise I can give the flight is that I fell asleep for an hour or two, which is normally impossible for me.

Did it cure my fear of flying? Well, I’ve been on two trips since and didn’t feel the familiar pang of panic or anything.

Now, if that’s because of Premium Economy or just exposure, I wouldn’t like to say. But it certainly makes my life easier.

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