Sherman's Travel

As an avid traveler and native German living in New York City, I have endured many long hours crammed into a tiny seat in the economy section of the aircraft. Every time I board a long-haul flight, I look with envy at those passengers in First and Business Class, sprawled out on their big seats, knowing that, unfortunately, this style of travel is well beyond my financial means.

On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I was invited by Cathay Pacific Airways to sample their new Premium Economy Class on the 12-hour maiden voyage of their new Boeing 777-300ER from the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington. We were welcomed with champagne and orange juice as we settled into the intimate cabin, as one might expect when enjoying first or business class travel. As part of the Premium Economy experience, we enjoyed wider seats with a bigger recline, a footrest, and more leg- and storage room – a great improvement on regular economy seats. A 10.6-inch personal television featured many popular movies, TV shows, and other entertainment – and noise-canceling headphones made sure that I didn’t have to strain to understand the conversations (however, I found on the return trip that some of the older headphones are not as efficient as the brand new ones we received on this delivery flight). The seats are also equipped with a power outlet and multi-port connector compatible with most popular gadgets. Read more