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Here at Head for Points we’ve been expanding our coverage of premium economy since I joined, back in 2019, and for good reason. This popular cabin is often people’s first experience of an upgraded onboard experience, with a price-point that’s easier to stomach.

Whilst premium economy experiences vary from airline-to-airline, it generally includes:

I have now reviewed premium economy on 16 airlines – you can see all my reviews here.

But what you might not know is that premium economy, as a concept, is not as old as you might expect. In fact, it was invented in the 1990s when both Virgin Atlantic and EVA Air launched similar ‘in-between’ products simultaneously.

But before we delve into the history of who invented what, it’s worth taking a look at what airlines offered in the eighties and nineties, because it’s quite different from what we see today.

For a start, there was no such thing as lie-flat seating. British Airways first introduced a lie-flat First Class seat in 1995 followed by business class in 1999; but up until that point (and, on other airlines, for many years after) both cabins featured upright recliners that had more in common with an armchair in your living room than a folding seat-bed.

By the late eighties and early nineties, most international long haul airlines offered up to three cabins:

Virgin Atlantic, famously, only had two cabins: Upper Class (marketed as a blend of First and business) and Economy.

At the time, the comfort gap between economy and business class was smaller than it is today. Both featured similar seats, although clearly the food and service in business class was better, as was the service at the airport – including lounge access.