Is paying for a premium seat on a WJ Dreamliner plans for a long haul flight worth it? Specifically looking if worth it with kids. What are the ‘perks’ aside from seating that I should consider?

We flew from Calgary to rome on the WJ dreamliner and it is totally worth every penny spent. We had bigger seats, pre boarding, drink offered to you upon arrival at your seats. Not was good as business class but a good second choice.

Leslie agreed!

Leslie love the Dreamliner. We upgraded going to London and felt it was totally worth it. The cabin is separate and cozy, if you will. There’s is also straps to put your feet in the elevate them slightly. The meal service was on china dishes and there are no carts used (at least not on our trip). We had bulkhead seats which added to the legroom. When we got to London I felt more like I had flown from Calgary to Toronto. We had no problem being up all day. I can’t sleep on a plane so only dozed and I still felt rested and not a bit frazzled.

Debbie yes the same with us when we arrived in Rome. The service was excellent

Debbie

Leslie and no bathroom lineups like economy

Danielle
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How much on average

If you can, book row 9 in economy, all the legroom you want, way cheaper than premium economy.

A meal, wine/beer, snacks, 2 bags, extra room and a bottle of water. It’s nice, but depending on price it may not be worth it.
Scroll down on this site to see all the benefits: https://www.westjet.com/en-ca/inflight/premium-cabin
WESTJET.COM
Premium

The Dreamliner is nice! I wouldn’t pay for premium unless I had a ton of extra cash to spare!

We flew in the Dreamliner coming back from Mexico. We originally booked in economy and the Upgraded when we checked in. Way cheaper

Tammy how much was the upgrade at check in versus prior?

Fizz about 1/2. Still pricey but so worth it

Tammy we flew WJ and it was recommended by one of their FA’s to book econoflex. Much less $$ and food service was good. Comfort was good. Probably not like premium. But very doable. Also don’t book past row 13.

They recline. That’s nice. Worth it!! From what I remember better meal too!

The Dreamliner offers a few rows of economy seats with amazing leg room I always upgrade to those for 55 Calgary to Toronto not sure the price for long haul but they don’t come with other perks but the leg space is very worth it!!!

Lindsey econoflex is the one to book

Flew YYC to Frankfurt (return) on the Dreamliner in premium seats. Worth every penny. Arrive feeling refreshed and ready to hit the vacay ground running. If we ever have the opportunity on a flight more than 4 hours we will definitely be booking those seats again.

Def worth the money. Way better seats. You get a meal & drinks.

Kids in economy and you in premium or business class

In my opinion 100% yes! Another perk is getting to skip the lineups at the airport when you’re checking in. Personally I feel it makes the whole traveling experience feel less chaotic and more enjoyable.

My son is 6'4". This is in economy in the WJ Dreamliner LHR to YYC - loads of space! Note the woman across with legs crossed. Economy was super comfortable.

Cat thanks for sharing the photo…gives the talls in my family a good idea of how they would fit…

Lorann this is row 10. Row 9 was bulkhead, I believe.

Cat there are about 5 rows that are not premium but are a few inches more leg room up near the front of economy. The back is normal. Hubby 6'7 and has space towards front and back ok for him but not as good as those front seats. The slim seats do seem to make a difference though

Marie-cl see my comment above, we were in rows 10 and 11.

Travelled in both premium and business on the Dreamliner. Definitely recommend it. The only downside when travelling with kids is that the arm rest is fixed, so you can’t lift them up as you can in economy and get a bit more space when sitting with children. Or if they choose to lie on you ! The food is the same as business class food. If you are going to Gatwick, you get priority security check in and access to the lounge . Two bags for free per person too.
Look at the RBC westjet card for a free companion voucher - which can be used on premium as well as economy.

Rhona thanks, good tips. I do have the WJ MC so this makes it more ‘affordable’

yep.. in a darn heartbeat... but beware.. it ruins you for life...

Melanie I second this! Lol

Melanie agreed. I’ll never be able to convince my husband to fly economy again

FYI the regular economy seats on a WJ Dreamliner are wider with more leg room. So you can consider saving money and not paying for premium economy.

Liaqath not really. westjet economy seats are 17.5 inches wide. Pretty much the narrowest in the industry. Seat pitch is also tight at 32" for most seats. Boeing designed trh plane for 8 seats across but had a tight 9 seat option. Guess what, most airlines chose the 9 seats. ANA is the exception. The dreamliner also has its foot space compromised by In flight entertainment boxes. The A350 has none of these issues. Personally I'd much rather fly in a 777 even the ten across versions. Even air canada's humble a220 has a 19" wide seat. That all said premium economy is typically twice the price. Would I put up with 9 hours of discomfort for $1000 saving a seat. Yep. That's the equation.

Keith that's not my experience on the WJ Dreamliner. Economy seats were super wide and loads of legroom (see my photo in another post). My son is 6'4" and my husband 6'1"- they were very impressed

Cat just quoting airlines own stats. I'm 6'3" I've flown the dreamliner multiple times with westjet (8 I reckon) and also with air canada and United. There's nothing dreamy about it unless you are in premium economy or business. The competing a350 is nicer. But I still fly on Dreamliners, can't avoid it. If you get an empty seat next to you it's fine. And the in flight entertainment is superb these days. I can remember flying 747s to Asia in the 70s/80s and all you got was one movie. But the seats were bigger!

Did both premium and business class to/from Europe. Premium economy is 100% worth it. Just to have a little more room. I arrived feeling great. Business on the Dreamliner is pods so if you are traveling with kids I’d do economy plus. Taking the kids to Hawaii later this year and we’ll do economy plus. Just for the snacks and room alone it’s worth it. Have fun!

We flew the WJ Dreamliner to Hawaii in economy seats and they were plenty big enough and quite comfy. My husband is 6’4 and 250 and was comfortable. No need to upgrade unless you want to. This plane, in itself, is luxury compared to normal planes.

Totally worth it. I found the economy section on the Dreamliner to be soooo cramped for an overseas flight. I’ve flown on many different airlines for international flights and this was by far the most cramped

We loved premium economy. We will never fly regular economy again for long flights.

OHHHHHHH so amazing.

Not sure how little your kids are but I’ve flown a lot with my 3 year old and bringing the car seat on the plane is way better then without!

How much more does it cost?

I will always do it as long it’s not 4x the price. This can be the case. But honestly double the price I would!!

Yes

I think premium is great, have done business class which is always nice if you can afford it. I flew economy one time on the Dreamliner and found if you sit in the middle row on the end you have tons of room. If flying with your family then book the middle row front the three seats that are easy to move around in and get in and out of. Premium is 2 seats together and business class is one seat. So depending on the ages of your kids and how close you want to be with them factors in. If an overnight flight there is very little perks as they turn off the lights on there is no service in premium or business class until the morning. The free drinks are nice in premium and business and seats are bigger and it’s a nice to have but as far as extras for kids it’s meh.

We did the premium economy and even that was totally worth it

Also you can check seatguru.com to see the best seats in your flight.
SEATGURU.COM
Airline Seat Maps, Flights shopping and Flight information- Best Airplane Seats - SeatGuru

I’ve flown the Dreamliner in economy and was envious of the bigger seats.

My tip is to bring head/earphones with the “old” round plug instead of the flat lighting plug the new iPhones come with. I’m sure you can buy from WS but why not just bring your own so you can watch their movies.

is it better to book premium initially or book economy and take a chance and upgrade later - is it any cheaper to upgrade later

We flew Calgary to Maui in the Dreamliner. We are now spoiled!!!. It's so worth it. My hubby is also 6'4 and the legroom itself and drinks are so worth it!

If you can splurge , sure.
I was fine in a regular Dreamliner seat.

Definitely worth it

Yes, upgrades on flights over 2 hrs are always worth it...