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This Is Why We Skipped Business Class to Europe. Was It a Mistake?

Thrifty Traveler

123,467 views

Is Delta Premium Select or KLM Premium Comfort the better way to fly to Europe? Plus, do you really need business class? We put these two premium economy cabins head-to-head to see which delivers the better seat, meals, service, sleep, and value.

Join Kyle on Delta’s Airbus A330-900neo and Gunnar on KLM’s Boeing 777-200 as we compare the experience from check-in to landing. We’ll show you the seats, legroom, recline, amenities, food, and entertainment, explain what we paid, and share which airline we would book again.

Delta Premium Select and KLM Premium Comfort are both premium economy cabins, with larger reclining seats than standard economy. Neither offers a lie-flat bed—but is that a dealbreaker on an overnight flight to Europe?

At Thrifty Traveler, we don’t accept freebies. We use our own points, miles, or cash to pay for every single flight or hotel you see reviewed here, including these flights.

In This Video
0:00 - Delta vs. KLM: Do You Need Business Class?
1:18 - Check-in & Lounge Access
2:13 - Seat Tours
5:04 - Service
8:01 - Can You Really Sleep Better In Premium Economy?
9:00 - Landing
9:35 - Ratings & How Much We Paid
11:54 - Was It Worth Skipping Business Class?

💡 Want more comfort on your next flight for less? Get alerts for cheap flights and points deals, including premium economy and business class with Thrifty Traveler Premium. https://thriftytraveler.com/premium/

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✈️ Reviews & booking guides:
• Gunnar’s KLM Premium Comfort review. https://thriftytraveler.com/reviews/f...
• Our Delta Premium Select review. https://thriftytraveler.com/reviews/f...
• How to book cheap premium economy flights. https://thriftytraveler.com/deals/fli...
• How to book flights with Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles. https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/po...

🎥 Is business class to Europe worth the upgrade? Watch Kyle’s Delta One flight review to London.
Flight Review: Delta One to London + New D...

#PremiumEconomy #DeltaPremiumSelect #KLMPremiumComfort

20 Comments

@DragonPilot 6 days ago

We’re in our 80s. These guys are just kids! They can sleep anywhere. My bones need to lay down!

@tgunter101 3 weeks ago

Anyone who focuses on anything other than seat comfort is kidding themselves. Do people seriously care about a toothbrush, eye mask and cafeteria quality food? Just give me enough recline so that I can actually sleep without the head bob and enough leg room to completely straighten out my legs. Anything else is just marketing bs.

@patrickkfoy 3 weeks ago (edited)

My wife and I have flown to Europe from our base in SFO several times and love KLM. Their service and food are amazing, and the Premium Economy product is the best we have experienced. It’s better than most domestic first class flights in the US. Delta premium select is much more pricey and less of a value for us from here.

I’m a DL Diamond Medallion customer. Since we are not in a Delta hub, KLM and AF are great options to get to mainland Europe (AMS or CDG) as if we were in a DL hub city, and then ultimately to our final destination.

@jeremypearson6852 3 weeks ago

I’ve flown PE on Virgin between Miami and LHR for about twenty five years and never had a poor experience. The staff have always been friendly, seats comfortable and the meal choice decent. At 64, I don’t want to be cramped in economy for a nine hour flight. I also got spoiled working for airlines many years ago, sitting up front for very little money. I would recommend it if you can stretch your wallet. A Brit in Florida.

@VisitorsWelcome 11 days ago

Suggestion: Since this was a comparison, I was hoping to see a table of metrics like pitch and recline. Reading off the numbers separately for each flight didn’t make it east to compare.

@MichaelBoelton 3 weeks ago

delta today is charging for premium select what they used to charge just 4-5 years ago for delta one. they've lost their mind with these stratospheric prices. a business class seat should never cost 10-12x of what an economy seat costs.

@evp-nyc 3 weeks ago

We fly to the EU often. Flying for over 4 hrs will always suck, unless you’re rich. We’re also old. We fly non stop economy and just endure it. Save the additional $4/5,000 which pays for 10 days of hotels and meals.

@Marc-nc9yv 10 days ago

Nice job guys. We fly American Airlines only but same idea. We do first class to Europe on overnight flight to sleep well and arrive fresh. Premium economy is fine for Europe to US as it’s a day flight. Also as a physician I can say never drink alcohol on long flights. Ruff on body.

@jimmyjames6492 3 weeks ago

PE is the sweet spot for international flights IMO. Thanks for the info + video!

@WrldExplorer 3 weeks ago

We have a trip to Europe next month. We are flying into Paris Air France 🇫🇷 Premium Economy which I find great, but our return flight from Madrid is KLM Buisness Class which after looking at the seats, I have to say, it’s very dated. Both flight were 120,000pts each way for 2 people from Colombia 🇨🇴. I prefer the lay flat seats after our 3 week trip. We’re gonna be done.

@semsemeini7905 3 weeks ago

On a day flight no need. But a night flight it's great.

@Nikki-sf6bs 3 weeks ago

These seats were the same price as my business class

@steves1749 3 weeks ago

Thanks for the video. Timely for me. I’m fly JFK to BCN in 4 weeks and booked PE.

@tanikawilson3580 2 weeks ago

Thank you, this confirmed my decision to fly KLM premium to Amsterdam. This price was lower than Delta with the perks of still getting delta miles and mqds

@Walkinthepark_travel 9 days ago

I’m just tired of taxes being $500 a seat!!! 😢

@brianjones9898 10 days ago (edited)

I like the middle ground “Premium Economy” option for routes between the US East Coast and Western Europe, so long as the price stays around 2x standard economy (not the super restrictive fares).

On the overnight eastbound, I’ve found that I get a couple more hours sleep in Business (vs PE) but it’s not enough to make you fresh for the next day. I typically make these trips with my wife, so having no third / outside person in our row, double the recline, and a video screen that seems equal to that in Business and a smaller cabin with a small number of people are the selling points to me.

@johnflack4241 2 weeks ago

Flew BA business class to London and back in August. For the overnight trip to the UK, the seat was wonderful, and both ways, the lounge was a nice perk and meals were great. For the trip back, I probably would have been just as happy with premium economy for almost half the price. And the price was HIGH. More than the price of the 14 night cruise I took from the UK.

@parksbpknit 2 weeks ago

I'm flying American PE to Barcelona shortly and will hopefully have the same experience as you, great video and I plan to clean my seat for sure!

@Ann-tf2cu 3 weeks ago

Great video guys!

@sjrp 3 weeks ago

Flew business on Virgin and got one of those old cocoon type seat where my shoulders barely fit between the walls. It was a miserable. 6 hours. I wish i had flown PE.