Premium economy is getting better, but is it actually worth the price?

Emirates has just announced its premium economy flyers will get adjustable privacy screens between seats, the first of its kind for PE flyers. The electrically operated screen rises from the armrest to the full height of the seatback.

In a major upgrade, the Safran-designed seat now comes with wireless charging plus a USB-C socket, a slot in the tray table that lifts your phone upright for easy viewing and a U-Dream headrest which splits into three, with side wings that fold down for improved head support. The seat reclines into a cradle, which means you can recline anytime, apart from take-off and landing, without annoying the passenger seated behind. The leather leg rest is also electrically powered.

It’s not a game changer, but privacy when you’re eating or snoozing is a plus, and you can watch your video screen without being distracted by your seat buddy’s screen. It’s an example of the incremental changes that nudge PE slightly closer to business class, but no hiding the fact that there’s a gulf between PE and business class.

Emirates is trumpeting the sliding screen as the world’s first electrically powered screen, and that’s true, but Japan Airlines already has a privacy screen that extends horizontally rather than vertically, and it’s a pull-out rather than powered. So far, the screen only appears on the airline’s A350-1000s.

Australian travellers won’t be sitting in Emirates’ new seat for some time, at least not on flights departing from home. The privacy screen is not being retrofitted, it will only feature on newly delivered Airbus A350 aircraft. The only Australian city from which Emirates operates an A350 is Adelaide. From Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth, all the airline’s flights are aboard superjumbo A380s. Something else that Emirates isn’t saying – seat pitch gets shaved in the new seats. Emirates is promising “seat pitch is up to 39 inches (99 centimetres)” in PE on the new A350s. However, that’s 2.5 centimetres less than the same seat on the airline’s A380s.

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Emirates was a late adopter of PE, launching the class in January 2021, almost 30 years after Virgin Atlantic introduced so-called “Mid Class”, rechristened premium economy two years later. Taiwan’s EVA Air launched its own version, “Economy Deluxe” just a few months after VA. Since its debut, Emirates’ PE has become one of the best performers in its class. In the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards, Emirates’ PE was rated third best, taking the gold award in the Best Premium Economy Class Airline Seats category.

More legroom, and that’s the single reason most travellers are prepared to pay around 60 per cent more for a PE fare compared with an economy class fare.

Seat pitch in PE is generally in the range of 86 to 91 centimetres. That’s about 15 to 20 centimetres more than in economy, and 15 centimetres is the height of the current Apple iPhone 17.