All Nippon Airways Mileage Club - Chicago -> Tokyo, ANA or UA?

I am a CO platinum member, and going to use my CO miles to book a reward flight from Chicago to Tokyo. There is a flight operated by UA (Boeing 747-400), and another operated by ANA (Boeing 777-200ER). Not sure which flight will be better. The ANA flight does have better departing/arriving times for me, but I can't select seat on Continental.com. Not sure if I can get one of those extra legroom seats, or other UA/CO elite member benefits on ANA flights.

Thank you for your advice.

In General NH in specific NH beats UA. Your status on CO will not help you much on NH when it comes to seats.


UA744 is not good for a long flight. No AVOD/Old interior/no power.

ANA metal will be better equipped and service far exceeds US-based carriers. You should get lounge access in Y if you are *G on ANA, but I'm not sure if a codeshare holds in terms of US-based carriers refusing their elites lounge access.

Not sure if I can get one of those extra legroom seats, or other UA/CO elite member benefits on ANA flights.

I've never had a problem selecting a exit row seat regardless of status and there is no charge for this in Y. You can view seat availability by doing a dummy booking on the ANA website and you should be able to call ANA to pick your seats if you can't do it via the ticketing carrier.

exit row in Y on NH is free????

Take the NH flight

exit row in Y on NH is free????

Yes.
Never been a problem getting assigned one. The concept of paying to be assigned seating, or to check bags, or for alcohol on board is all a bit foreign to me.
Drawback is the narrower seats. The central bulkhead seats are better in this regard as you get a normal liftable arm rest on one side (this is only on the new layouts - though which doesn't yet apply to ORD flights). But these don't have the unlimited legroom of the exit seats and are blocked as bassinet positions.

Thank you everyone.

My final destination is actually Chengdu in China. I can connect through Tokyo with ANA or UA, or through Seoul with Asiana. How is ANA compared to Asiana? Both flights are 777-200ER, but according to SeatGuru, Asiana flight has better width and legroom. (width 17in vs 16.5in, legroom 34in vs 31in for standard seat. I am assuming I won't get premium seats on those flights.)

Thanks again.

ANA all the way!

Thank you everyone.

My final destination is actually Chengdu in China. I can connect through Tokyo with ANA or UA, or through Seoul with Asiana. How is ANA compared to Asiana? Both flights are 777-200ER, but according to SeatGuru, Asiana flight has better width and legroom. (width 17in vs 16.5in, legroom 34in vs 31in for standard seat. I am assuming I won't get premium seats on those flights.)

Thanks again.

ANA is 777-300ER ORD-NRT old version

OZ is 2 class 777-200ER with no AVOD, or 3 class 777-200ER with AVOD (depends on when you are travelling) ORD-ICN

The concept of paying to be assigned seating, or to check bags, or for alcohol on board is all a bit foreign to me.

Really ? Isn't ANA is the leader of full service airline with buy on board menus outside US ? Or you forget ANA My Choice menus ?

ANA domestic, only thing free is green tea or apple juice, anything else you have to pay.

ANA international, ice cream for Y got cut and you have to pay, they brought it back for free just because many people complain, they also sell business steak meal in Y for ultra expensive 5000 yen, and business class snacks in Y too like the Parfait. They sell lounge access too for a long time already like the US carriers.


ANA metal will be better equipped and service far exceeds US-based carriers. You should get lounge access in Y if you are *G on ANA, but I'm not sure if a codeshare holds in terms of US-based carriers refusing their elites lounge access.

ANA metal is good for service and food, but really bad for seats in Y ! Codeshare has nothing to do with *G accessing lounges.


I've never had a problem selecting a exit row seat regardless of status and there is no charge for this in Y. You can view seat availability by doing a dummy booking on the ANA website and you should be able to call ANA to pick your seats if you can't do it via the ticketing carrier.

If one book NH as UA codeshare, you can't call ANA to change the seat, and you can't call the ticketing carrier to change wherever you want neither. Codeshare mean a carrier bought a few rows of seats in the plane, you can only change within those few rows.

Really ? Isn't ANA is the leader of full service airline with buy on board menus outside US ? Or you forget ANA My Choice menus ?

ANA domestic, only thing free is green tea or apple juice, anything else you have to pay.

ANA international, ice cream for Y got cut and you have to pay, they brought it back for free just because many people complain, they also sell business steak meal in Y for ultra expensive 5000 yen, and business class snacks in Y too like the Parfait. They sell lounge access too for a long time already like the US carriers.

ANA domestic is apples and oranges. The points about ANA international are correct, but you are forgetting that for the most part they are simply allowing a la carte upgrades of what they already offered in Y rather than sticking separate prices on previous offerings. Even if you don't buy the 5000 yen business class meal you still get a pretty good coach meal included with your ticket. Downright gourmet compared to UA, actually.

And as far as I know, you can't buy ANA lounge access. There isn't even a paid membership option. It's either included in your fare class or status, or you can't get in at all.

ANA metal is good for service and food, but really bad for seats in Y !

But still better than UA 744 seats, which are basically the worst long-haul economy seats remaining on the planet.

If one book NH as UA codeshare, you can't call ANA to change the seat, and you can't call the ticketing carrier to change wherever you want neither. Codeshare mean a carrier bought a few rows of seats in the plane, you can only change within those few rows.

Last time I checked, it is possible to select any available seat on the plane if you book a codeshare. You just can't do it on the website, you have to call reservations and possibly give them your ticket number (the ANA and UA systems use different six-character PNR codes).

exit row in Y on NH is free????

and probably is true on all flights operating in/out of Japan. It requires regulatory approval according to Singapore Airlines Economy Class Preferred Seats (http://www.singaporeair.com/jsp/cms/en_UK/plan_and_book/preferredseat.jsp)

cheers!

and probably is true on all flights operating in/out of Japan. It requires regulatory approval according to Singapore Airlines Economy Class Preferred Seats (http://www.singaporeair.com/jsp/cms/en_UK/plan_and_book/preferredseat.jsp)

UA and DL must have gotten regulatory approval, then, because they certainly charge for preferred seating in and out of NRT.

The 773 exit row is free on NH long-haul flights and is available to non-elites -- I have prebooked it several times without status (though others have claimed that you need status to get it).

And as far as I know, you can't buy ANA lounge access. There isn't even a paid membership option. It's either included in your fare class or status, or you can't get in at all.

Well you obviously not flying NH enough, they had been selling lounge access in NRT and HND for several years now.

http://www.ana.co.jp/wws/us/e/asw_common/promotion/ana_my_choice/lounge.html

"ANA My Choice" offers you new options such as airport lounge access and meal selection from flight classes other than their own. Personalize your travel experience with ANA's this new service.

But still better than UA 744 seats, which are basically the worst long-haul economy seats remaining on the planet.

Don't think so, LH basically has the same seat and same legroom on their 744 in Y. Not to mention UA's Y seat width on the 744 is 17", NH's Y seat width on the 77W is 16.5", so how could NH Y seats better than UA's 744 seats in Y ? I had seated in both many many times, I know better than that, it is about how narrow the seat is that I can't tolerate both NH's 77W and 763.



Last time I checked, it is possible to select any available seat on the plane if you book a codeshare. You just can't do it on the website, you have to call reservations and possibly give them your ticket number (the ANA and UA systems use different six-character PNR codes).

Nope, everytime I called everytime same answer, NH for sure can't do it as they said it is codeshare, UA actually had an agent specifically told me what rows they booked as codeshare on NH, and that you can only move within those few rows. I did that UA codeshare with NH on average twice a year, the last time was a month ago, same-o story that I can't move other than those few rows, also don't remember how many times I was being lied to at NH lounge that other seats were occupied so that I can't move.

I made the reservation over the phone with CO elite desk. The lady gave me the 6 digit ANA confirmation number. I went to ANA's website, and was able to pick my seat. I can actually pick any seat in any row in the economy section, except for the first row of the economy section (maybe this row has a little more leg room?)

On the flight from Tokyo to Chengdu, there seems like a few rows are blocked off from selection. But just a few, maybe the first 2 and the last 2 rows, or something like that.

However, by flying ANA, I loss my UA/CO elite member's ability to select economy plus seat that has more legroom. Not sure if it is a good tradeoff. Will see. Thank you everyone.

I made the reservation over the phone with CO elite desk. The lady gave me the 6 digit ANA confirmation number. I went to ANA's website, and was able to pick my seat.

This is also my experience when booking ANA with a UA code, so I don't know what ORDHKG is doing differently. The trick is that you need a separate six-letter locator code in order for ANA to see your reservation. But once you have ANA's locator code you can even go to their website and change your seat there.

I can actually pick any seat in any row in the economy section, except for the first row of the economy section (maybe this row has a little more leg room?)

They seem to block bulkheads until the day of departure (or sometime around that) so that passengers with babies get the first pick. I just booked a transpac with our young'un and the bulkhead was showing up as blocked online, but my travel agent put in a bassinet request and got ANA to release the seats that way.

ANA... hands down.

Coach on a UA 747 is awful - overhead screens on a 12 hour flight? What is this, 1992? J isn't bad but ANA will likely have a better soft product.

This is also my experience when booking ANA with a UA code, so I don't know what ORDHKG is doing differently. The trick is that you need a separate six-letter locator code in order for ANA to see your reservation. But once you have ANA's locator code you can even go to their website and change your seat there.

The last time I tried to get the code from UA the woman spent 5 minutes coming up with excuses for not giving me the code (it would have taken her a lot less time to simply give me the code). So I simply called NH and said I wanted to confirm I the booking was made properly and asked for the code to do it (and was given it).

I've found the service on NH to be quite overrated. The food isn't good and the entertainment options are targeted to Japanese tastes.

The last time I flew NH overseas I had it where the FAs were speaking perfect keigo with the Chinese person next to me (who rather clearly didn't understand a word of Japanese) yet they were shoving a menu card in my face when I speak Japanese (that never changed throughout the flight).

The last time I flew NH overseas I had it where the FAs were speaking perfect keigo with the Chinese person next to me (who rather clearly didn't understand a word of Japanese) yet they were shoving a menu card in my face when I speak Japanese (that never changed throughout the flight).

Well, the last time I flew UA overseas, I went to the galley to refill my glass of water after the FAs wouldn't answer the bell, and they chided me for filling my own glass -- the reason being that they drink directly from the big bottle sometimes, and only they know which bottle doesn't contain backwash. :eek::eek::eek:

This was in C, mind you.

Getting weird customer service is an ancillary occupational risk of being a white person in Japan.

This is also my experience when booking ANA with a UA code, so I don't know what ORDHKG is doing differently. The trick is that you need a separate six-letter locator code in order for ANA to see your reservation. But once you have ANA's locator code you can even go to their website and change your seat there.

The difference is I am buying UA codeshare on NH (e.g. UA 9678 as NH 11, and UA 9727 as NH 911), whereas OP is ticketing from CO on NH flight number on NH metal. (no codeshare whatsoever on award ticket) There is no trick to the 6 digits PNR record locator, I already well aware of that, as once I bought the ticket, it would already show both UA and NH record locator on my UA itnerary.

I have also done UA award ticket on NH, and of course no problem to choose any seats I want, it is when I bought as codeshare, that it is always the problem.


ANA... hands down.

Coach on a UA 747 is awful - overhead screens on a 12 hour flight? What is this, 1992? J isn't bad but ANA will likely have a better soft product.

UA fly mostly 777 to Asia nowadays, and when there are those few routes operated by 747, you can always connect somewhere to get 777.

Half of LH and TG 747 also use overhead screen like UA, so what's your point ?

In my experience, bulkheads are not blocked on NH booked NH flights - I have been able to choose them as a base NH member when booking online.

In fact, that's one of the reasons I've been booking NH flights over UA or CO lately. I can see the seatmaps while I'm booking and when I see bulkheads empty, I do tend to choose NH even if they're slightly more expensive.

I guess NH might somewhat change that too - I do not necessarily see why their elite members would not get them. LH does it, I am Frequent Traveller (Silver) with them and they block exits and bulkheads for booking but usually get them with an early airport check-in (the check-in agent usually calls the supervisor though).

And of course, I do get an occasionally baby crying next to me, because of the bassinet location, but such is life!

Well, the last time I flew UA overseas, I went to the galley to refill my glass of water after the FAs wouldn't answer the bell, and they chided me for filling my own glass -- the reason being that they drink directly from the big bottle sometimes, and only they know which bottle doesn't contain backwash. :eek::eek::eek:

This was in C, mind you.

Getting weird customer service is an ancillary occupational risk of being a white person in Japan.

:eek:

The difference is I am buying UA codeshare on NH (e.g. UA 9678 as NH 11, and UA 9727 as NH 911), whereas OP is ticketing from CO on NH flight number on NH metal. (no codeshare whatsoever on award ticket) There is no trick to the 6 digits PNR record locator, I already well aware of that, as once I bought the ticket, it would already show both UA and NH record locator on my UA itnerary.

I have also done UA award ticket on NH, and of course no problem to choose any seats I want, it is when I bought as codeshare, that it is always the problem.



To clarify a bit further on the codeshare seating question, there are actually two different types of codeshares. The more normal type is when the airline just puts their code on the flights--this is what 99% of us think of when we think of codeshare.
UA and NH, however, have (at least on some flights) a funky codeshare that is actually a group seat purchase by UA. Therefore, only certain rows are available to UA code booked customers. I've run into this on the HKG-NRT flights as well, but didn't know that they did it on the transpacs.

The last time I flew NH overseas I had it where the FAs were speaking perfect keigo with the Chinese person next to me (who rather clearly didn't understand a word of Japanese) yet they were shoving a menu card in my face when I speak Japanese (that never changed throughout the flight).

This sounds familiar. I remember a flight I had to translate the FA's Japanese questions for my Korean seat mate. The FA then turned to me and spoke in reasonable english. I replied in Japanese, which she understood, but would only reply in English. This went on all flight and we found it pretty funny.

This sort of thing is pretty common in Japan in my experience. Along with shop assistants/receptionists turning away and addressing the Japanese accompanying me, I continue to answer and we have a whole conversation with me talking to the back of his/her head. All rather surreal.

If you enjoy an overhead screen or tight seats, go for UA. Otherwise, ANA is a better option.

Most of the above discussion was about ANA vs. United in Y. What about in C (buying a z fare ticket). Any comparisons of the product on NH vs. UA? Seat guru shows that the ANA plane may be a two-cabin 777-200ER without 180 degree lie flat seats. . .hopefully that's not the case. I actually like the new United biz seats which would likely (although not guaranteed) be the product on the other flight I'm considering.

Seat guru shows that the ANA plane may be a two-cabin 777-200ER without 180 degree lie flat seats. . .hopefully that's not the case.

Depends on the route. NH flights to ORD and IAD have the older, not-really-flat biz class seats. If you fly out of JFK, SFO or LAX you will get the new flat seats which are significantly better than UA's flat seats.

Depends on the route. NH flights to ORD and IAD have the older, not-really-flat biz class seats. If you fly out of JFK, SFO or LAX you will get the new flat seats which are significantly better than UA's flat seats.

Ok, thanks. That is what I was afraid of. So would you recommend NH's not-really-flat biz seats over UA's new biz seats? Unfortunately, the other airports just don't work with my itinerary.

Most of the above discussion was about ANA vs. United in Y. What about in C (buying a z fare ticket). Any comparisons of the product on NH vs. UA? Seat guru shows that the ANA plane may be a two-cabin 777-200ER without 180 degree lie flat seats. . .hopefully that's not the case. I actually like the new United biz seats which would likely (although not guaranteed) be the product on the other flight I'm considering.

The old C seats are lie-flat (at an angle to the floor), but not full-flat (i.e. parallel to the floor). If you're flying to/from ORD the plane will be a four-class 773.

If you're flying to/from ORD the plane will be a four-class 773.

Interesting. Well, it certainly wouldn't be the first time Seatguru was wrong if it is in fact a four-class 773. The flight is not until November though, and so perhaps I'll get lucky and they'll switch planes for some reason by then.

If you enjoy an overhead screen or tight seats, go for UA. Otherwise, ANA is a better option.

Well, the UA seats are wider, plus you have the option of E+ for a reasonable price which makes all the difference. The entertainment on United's 747s in coach is extremely outdated.

The service on ANA is mediocre at best compared to 5 years ago and if you want decent food you have to pay for it. I did not find the food any better in coach that UAs on my recent LAX NRT flight. They do beat United in inflight entertainment, but I prefer the E+ option as I value space more then movies.

Well, the last time I flew UA overseas, I went to the galley to refill my glass of water after the FAs wouldn't answer the bell, and they chided me for filling my own glass -- the reason being that they drink directly from the big bottle sometimes, and only they know which bottle doesn't contain backwash. :eek::eek::eek:

This was in C, mind you.

Getting weird customer service is an ancillary occupational risk of being a white person in Japan.

What an unusual statement.

The service on ANA is mediocre at best compared to 5 years ago and if you want decent food you have to pay for it. I did not find the food any better in coach that UAs on my recent LAX NRT flight.

Really? I find the food in NH in Y to be pretty good (http://www.kinaishoku.com/archives/cat_nhana_11.html) these days.

But if you're still unconvinced, you can have things like beef bowls (http://press.jal.co.jp/ja/release/201203/002049.html) or hamburgers on JL.

What an unusual statement.

:confused: What is unusual about joejones' post? :confused:

Well, the UA seats are wider, plus you have the option of E+ for a reasonable price which makes all the difference. The entertainment on United's 747s in coach is extremely outdated.

The service on ANA is mediocre at best compared to 5 years ago and if you want decent food you have to pay for it. I did not find the food any better in coach that UAs on my recent LAX NRT flight. They do beat United in inflight entertainment, but I prefer the E+ option as I value space more then movies.

I have to disagree with you here. I took a UA long haul flight for the first time recently and I was shocked by the standard of the food. Maybe I was unlucky, but the two meals were almost inedible and far more basic than the Y food on NH. I think the NH meals are quite good, and I don't think the enhanced food is worth the money - has anyone ordered it?

On my UA flight, I was in an E+ seat (free upgrade) and it was pretty nice and better padded than the new NH Y seats; the space was ok and had I an empty seat next to me which helped, but I'd still rather an exit row seat on NH - although the restricted width there would not be a good choice for someone of more ample girth. So, if width is an issue, I can see why some people would prefer UA's Y seating. Also, the AVOD screens on UA seemed tiny and there was no power points by the seat.

On my UA flight, I was in an E+ seat (free upgrade) and it was pretty nice and better padded than the new NH Y seats; the space was ok and had I an empty seat next to me which helped, but I'd still rather an exit row seat on NH - although the restricted width there would not be a good choice for someone of more ample girth. So, if width is an issue, I can see why some people would prefer UA's Y seating. Also, the AVOD screens on UA seemed tiny and there was no power points by the seat.

I think you were actually on a old config UA 777. Was the config 2-5-2 ?

The tiny PTV screen is because it is non-AVOD, movies run in a loop and indeed had no power outlet. The new config 777 has AVOD and come with much bigger PTV, also there are 2 power outlets for every 3 seats, and the config is 3-3-3.

I think you were actually on a old config UA 777. Was the config 2-5-2 ?

The tiny PTV screen is because it is non-AVOD, movies run in a loop and indeed had no power outlet. The new config 777 has AVOD and come with much bigger PTV, also there are 2 power outlets for every 3 seats, and the config is 3-3-3.

Thanks. That makes sense. Hopefully UA is faster than NH at updating fleets.
Also - anyone else in Japan having trouble getting the new UA to work? I keep getting stuck in loops where I get redirected to links on the .co.jp site that don't exist.

E2A: Not sure if this true across the whole UA fleet, but the overhead bins were a lot smaller - the plus point of this was the cabin seemed much larger and lighter than ANA's 777s. But then could be tricky if people are bringing the kitchen sink with them.

Same here.

Also - anyone else in Japan having trouble getting the new UA to work? I keep getting stuck in loops where I get redirected to links on the .co.jp site that don't exist.

Same problem. Tried a couple of days today and it would never work out. Hopefully they fix this bug soon.

Same problem. Tried a couple of days today and it would never work out. Hopefully they fix this bug soon.

It's improved for me since yesterday. Before United.com would redirect to unitedairlines.co.jp which redirected back to united.com. Very useful. Today it does go to the new home page - but loads of links still try to redirect to non-existant pages. So still basically unusable.