I was SO excited to see some Smitten pants in chocolate brown - thank you thank you thank you for that! (Now if only you'd do some brown leggings...)
These are very comfortable, will be perfect for travel, and due to the extra fullness, look a bit dressier than the palazzo pant. I'd prefer without the elastic waistband as I find the waistband on the palazzo pant more comfortable, especially when sitting for long time periods.
However, I'm so exited about the chocolate color that I'm thinking about buying a backup/spare pare to keep safely packed away for when this pair eventually needs to be retired.