The carrier we used to bring us to Athens, Greece, for the start of our 11-day Mediterranean cruise was Delta Airlines. After looking at our options as to the starting point of our flight (San Francisco, Seattle, Portland), European hub and final destination, we chose Portland (PDX) for its nearest proximity to our home and Delta for the most convenient flight times and connections. We had hoped to find a carrier which could offer a reasonable premium economy fare from any of our potential embarkation airports, but the prices and our travel budget didn’t match up.

We did book what Delta calls its Economy Comfort seats. These offer 4 inches of extra leg room, a seat back which reclines 50 percent further than the regular economy seat, priority boarding (this merely meant we were in the first group to board the economy section of the plane) and free beer, wine and liquor. On our flight, we paid $119 more than the standard economy fare. Having sat in an economy-class seat on a 9-hour-plus flight in the past, I was happy to give this option a try.

While the Economy Comfort doesn’t match the perks of a standard premium economy seat, it certainly makes a long-haul flight much more tolerable than the cramped economy seats. We didn’t sample the alcoholic offerings (hoping to minimize jet lag) but really appreciated the additional space and opportunity to get our carry-ons stowed before the rest of the cabin boarded. I passed the nine-hour-twenty-minute flight to Amsterdam catching up on films I’ve missed in the theaters, enjoyed a full hot meal plus a couple of snacks and napped a bit.

I’m glad to know I’ve got that extra space to make my trip home more comfortable. For those on a tight budget but wanting just a little more space, Delta’s Economy Comfort offers a good option.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor