Location: Orange County, California: Current UA 1KMM, LH Senator, SQ QPPS6, and BD Gold; Starwood Platinum
Posts: 3,865
NRT-IAD Going to 2-Class???
I just tried to book a revenue ticket in first class from Tokyo to Washington DC (NRT-IAD) for mid-October and was told there is no first class cabin then, that it will be a two-class of service aircraft, and they are only selling business and economy.
Sure enough, I looked at KVS from 10-20 October and it is F0 A0 every day, although the business class seating chart on Amadeus appears to be that of the 777-300ER (77W). Sabre only business and economy--doesn't even show F or A.
Hard to believe ANA would go to two-class on that route.
Hard to believe ANA would go to two-class on that route.
Not too hard to believe NRT-IAD would go for 2 class. UA is not doing so good on this route. NH always has F availability for award travel on this route also. I would think NRT-SFO may go for 2 class as well.
Sad to hear that, was saving some miles to uprage to F on that route, when not in Asia am in DC (work+family) and thats the route I always use. Haven't tried their F product yet, guess I better get on it!!
Will it still be Biz/Premium Eco/Eco, or will they scrap the premium economy as well? I mean i almost never see those seats have any more than 2-3 people in the whole cabin (although being plat i do like the free auto-upgrade from normal economy to there, especially w/ a full plane)
Programs: AMC MovieWatcher, Giant BonusCard, Petco PALS Card, Silver Diner Blue Plate Club
Posts: 19,752
For F just fly NRT-ORD (or NRT-JFK, but ORD gives better options) and connect. Still far better than UA F. And with the ORD flight you can connect to DCA which if you actually intend to be in DC is a far more convenient and hassle-free airport.
__________________ View from the Wing blog: everything you need to know about earning/redeeming miles & getting the most bang for your travel $$
For F just fly NRT-ORD (or NRT-JFK, but ORD gives better options) and connect. Still far better than UA F. And with the ORD flight you can connect to DCA which if you actually intend to be in DC is a far more convenient and hassle-free airport.
F Awards on NRT-ORD and NRT-JFK are much more difficult to come by than NRT-IAD.
I did a quick dummy booking check and it looks like they are selling Premium Economy seats on this route.
Discount C was around $7K for a trip I was checking the other day to BKK. UA's fare for the route in C is about $5500 all in. Granted NH's product is better, but is it $1500 better?
I think some airlines are really going to need to make some adjustments to their fare structures if they are going to survive. SQ for example charges an arm and two legs for even their economy seats IAD-BKK via LHR and SIN. Yesterday when I was checking it was around $4K in Y, about $7350 in C. Roundtrip to BKK via the EWR-SIN all C A345 is over $8K.
I can't imagine too many corporate travel offices are authorizing business class travel at these fares. I suppose some people score upgrades from Y fares.
What are premium cabin load factors like these days? Isn't it sensible for airlines to reduce those fares a good bit to put people in the seats instead of flying empty? Cut those fares in half.
Sad to hear that, was saving some miles to uprage to F on that route, when not in Asia am in DC (work+family) and thats the route I always use. Haven't tried their F product yet, guess I better get on it!!
Will it still be Biz/Premium Eco/Eco, or will they scrap the premium economy as well? I mean i almost never see those seats have any more than 2-3 people in the whole cabin (although being plat i do like the free auto-upgrade from normal economy to there, especially w/ a full plane)
I would LOVE to see them give regular Y more room. Before they instituted Premium Economy, Y had a 34" pitch, which was a great reason to fly with them, not to mention the attentive service, the IFE, and the decent food.
Since I travel to Japan once every year or two, it takes forever to accumulate enough miles for a C award, and the thought of spending 12 hours in a seat 16.5" wide (the narrowest in the industry, I think) with a 31" pitch is enough to put me off NH for the duration. Unfortunately, my travel needs never seem to coincide with sales on Premium Economy.
Let's see, if they eliminated F, they could push C forward (maybe give it a couple of extra rows), keep Premium Economy, and give us poor shlubs in regular Y a bit of room.
Does this mean full C fare pax and NH Diamond members travelling in Business class (regardless of fare type) will get to sit in the F section then? I know NH does that when it flies NRT-HKG-NRT on a 3 class aircraft sold as two class. If so, that may even be a plus for people paying the full C fare. When flying ex-IAD, the catering between F and C are not that much different. So the benefit of being able to sit in F at the C price would be great. Anyone knows if NH will apply the same procedure here on this route after July 1st?
and the thought of spending 12 hours in a seat 16.5" wide (the narrowest in the industry, I think) with a 31" pitch is enough to put me off NH for the duration.
They have the standard 3-3-3 layout on the 777, which means that they have the same width for their Y seat as on other carriers with 9-abreast seating, and much wider than EK and AF/KL that have 10-abreast seating on their 77W.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guava
Does this mean full C fare pax and NH Diamond members travelling in Business class (regardless of fare type) will get to sit in the F section then? I know NH does that when it flies NRT-HKG-NRT on a 3 class aircraft sold as two class. If so, that may even be a plus for people paying the full C fare. When flying ex-IAD, the catering between F and C are not that much different. So the benefit of being able to sit in F at the C price would be great. Anyone knows if NH will apply the same procedure here on this route after July 1st?
Unfortunately for you, they already have a 3-class longhaul 772ER with New C, PY and Y. They often take ages to update seatmaps on changed equipment, so it's most likely the 772ER will be used.
When flying ex-IAD, the catering between F and C are not that much different. So the benefit of being able to sit in F at the C price would be great. Anyone knows if NH will apply the same procedure here on this route after July 1st?
