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I am behind on writing notes on my * RTW in F, but wanted to provide a quick snapshot of my latest sectors, with the hope of catching up on others later. These are two tag leg flights, LH from BKK to SGN, and UA from SGN to HKG, each on the 747, and each 1 to 2 hours long. While both flights were excellent experiences, the contrasts are fairly interesting.

LH 772 Bangkok to Saigon

I had arrived in BKK on CX around 1030am from BOM, but needed to exit customs to retrieve my stored luggage (my ticket to India was separate and had a 30kg allowance, not the 3pc allowance I had on my RTW). This ended up being a huge hassle, as immigration lines took a full hour, LH did not open check in until 1215pm, and immigration to exit BKK took another 45 minutes. Still, given I was flying with 55 kg, I dont even want to think about how much it would have cost if I had tried to take all my luggage to India.

LH 772 is the continuation of BKK-FRA on certain days of the week, and is operated on a 747-400. It was great to find this flight, as I didnt want to waste sectors of my F RTW flying C on TG, and this is also a good preview of the F sector from MUC to ORD I have coming up on LH (albeit on the A330).

Checkin for LH 772 was supposed to open at Noon, but agents were being slow, so I could not check in til 1215pm for the 305pm departure. In all fairness, there were only two other passengers waiting. Upon checking in, the agent informed me that LHs bag allowance to SGN is 20 kilos, and that I was 35 kilos overweight. I then told her my ticket was on the piece concept, and she told me it is not if I am just flying to SGN. I then have to ask her to please read my paper ticket, which as a RTW, clearly states the 2pc allowance, and that I get an extra piece for being *G. The irony here is that even if I was on a BKK-SGN F ticket, I think I would have a higher allowance than 20 kgs, but whatever.

After clearing immigation, I go to the Senator lounge and ask if there is an F lounge.?I am told the LH F lounge is only open in the evenings, and that I should go to the TG lounge, so I head over there.牋 The TG F lounge (the one near the 50 gates) is like an oasis, beautifully decorated, and peaceful, as I am the only passenger there. First stop is to take a shower, and I am given some fancy toiletries (I think LOccitane). I have trouble getting the shower to turn hot, it is just lukewarm, but still feels excellent. (I woke up at 145am to catch a 450am flight out of BOM)

After the shower, I check out the food spread - there is a variety of open face sandwiches (salmon, shrimp, vegatable), desserts, fruits, sandwiches, cheeses, etc. There is also a freezer full of Haagen Daazes! A server then appears and offers to serve me what Id like - I actually prefer self service, but I liked the thought. There was also an internet terminal and magazines, it is a shame I couldnt spend more time in the lounge!

Security check and ticket collection were done upon entering the gate, which made boarding a bit quicker.?While we didn't begin boarding til around 245pm, we still managed to push back close to on time.牋 As many of you know, the LH F cabin is located on the upper deck, I believe with 16 seats.牋 There were 4 of us in the F cabin today, so service was quite attentive.?The seats are lie-flat and were really comfortable and spacious, but with a full load I think it wouldn't feel quite as private as downstairs F.牋 The seats also seemed a bit tired, but definitely good enough for the 1 hour flight to Saigon!

Pre departure drinks and a small menu were distributed before take off:

Cold Specilaties

Marinated Feta Cheese, curried Rice Salad with Red Bell Peppers and grilled Tomatoes

Smoked Salmon, Breast of Chicken and Papaya Salad

Bread Rolls, Butter

Dessert
Fresh Fruit Tartlet

Following our climb out, beverages were offered, along with a plate of canapes (spring roll, and a potato based appetizer), and then our tables were set with a tablecloth, silverware, bread plate, and butter. No trays!Then the refreshments were brought around so you could see both and choose, the presentation was really nicely done.?I went with the vegetarian option, and it was flavorful and delicious, nice pieces of cheese and a large serving of vegetables. About 6 different breads were in the basket, including pumpernickel, and the crew encouraged me to try a few.

BTW, at no time did the service feel rushed at all, and refills on beverages were consistently being offered. After the main course was cleared, a hot beverage was offered with the fruit tart.?I had a nice cup of green tea, and the tart was really nicely presented, with real pieces of fresh fruit. Everything was cleared about 15 to 20 minutes before landing, but only after offering another refill.

The approach into Saigon was a bit bumpy due to some storm activity, but we touched down a bit early around 4:20pm. The crew held back Business and Economy passengers from deplaning until the F cabin could disembark, which I thought was quite nice. Unfortunately, 4pm is a busy time in Saigon and several flights including a VN plane from SYD had just landed. Vietnamese immigration procedures are very slow, and I waited in line for a full hour. Just before I was to be served, the immigration officer serving my line had his software crash.I also noticed the software took a long time to "process" certain arrivals, where the officer just sat and waited for a response from the computer. Seemed like some government built application for tracking visitor arrivals, which took a few minutes to fix, so I didn't get out of the airport til 5:30pm. So on this travel day, I spent 3 hours in immigration lines, and less than 5 hours on planes.

Overall the LH F experience was excellent, my only complaint was the flight was too short! Can't wait to try it again on MUC-ORD later in August.

I spent a few days in Vietnam (this was not an overnight turnaround), and then continued my journey on UA to HKG, connecting on OZ to ICN.

UA 862 Saigon to Hong Kong

Knowing that SGN was not busy in the morning, I arrived around 430am for UA 862, the 610am departure to Hong Kong. The terminal was bustling with the activity for this flight, as the next international departure was not until 855am. Customer facing ground staff in SGN are all UA employees (or at least were wearing UA uniforms), and my checkin agent was friendly and had no problem understanding my luggage allowance. After being quickly checked in with a BP for my connecting flight to ICN on OZ, paid the $14 departure tax, cleared customs, and spent some time in the lounge. This is a shared lounge, with no separate area for F.

I would say it is a notch above the lounge in PEK (which I thought was a lousy lounge until I went to BOM), with a variety of noodle soups, sandwiches, fresh fruits, and drinks.?It was also not too crowded, so fairly comfortable, but nothing worth waking up early for. Security and ticket collection is at the gate entrance, similar to how it works in SIN, so I headed there a bit early so I could be in the gate area for boarding, which began around 530am.

I was expecting a light load in F (as has been reported on the board), but today the load was fairly heavy, I believe all F suites were occupied, although I could spot at least two obvious non revs who were chatting up the crew. The lower deck C cabin looked full as well. I was in 3A which was quite private and comfortable, just as good as 2A which I have had before. A full choice of pre departure beverages were offered, and breakfast orders were taken before take off. Choices for breakfast (no menu was provided) were a chive and vegetable omlette or fried noodles with shrimp.

After an on time push back, we taxiied out to the runway, interestingly following a guide car. The sun had already come up and there was very little cloud cover so we had a beautiful view of Saigon after take off. After departure, hot towels were handed out. These were standard issue UA hot towels, but after flying CX, 9W, TG, SQ, and LH, the towel felt so skimpy and cheap. Next, tablecloths were laid, coffee cups distributed, and coffee/tea served.

Meal trays then came out - yep, trays in Intl F. I dont recall if this is the case for the pre arrival meal on the SYD flights, but definitely the main meal has plates individually served on the tablecloth. This was a one-course breakfast, a fruit bowl (papaya, watermelon, dragonfruit, melon), and the main (the omlet had a sausage, and some small whole potatoes). I personally prefer a fruit/bread course, and then the main. The bread basket had pineapple danishes (very tasty), croissants, and bread rolls, but there was only one pass of the bread basket. No juice service was offered at all (standard procedure for the pre arrival breakfast is to bring around a tray of juices), so I had to specially request an OJ, where no refills were offered. Trays were cleared about 45 minutes after takeoff, so those who wanted to sleep could get some rest, but I felt the service was incredibly rushed and did not feel like First Class.

That said - the crew kept water topped up throughout the flight - unlike my flights on CX and TG, where the crews just disappear after the meal service, never to return, but unlike CX and TG, there was no pre-arrival towel service. I also felt the crew was reasonably friendly, but definitely not above average. The seat was very comfortable and turned into a flat bed, not a lot of use on this flight, but definitely more comfortable than Business!

The flight path took us north to Da Nang, and then east across the South China Sea, where we encountered some bumpy air at the top of descent. We landed at HKG early around 930am (1 hr time diff, ahead of SGN), and had a really panoramic view of the city skyline before touching down. One of the things I love about F is the number of windows you can look out, and the 747 has the bonus of the narrow nose. Overall, I cant complain about Intl F, and am glad I got to try out UA on this sector (and visit one of their newest intl stations), but definitely UAs product isnt up to par of other intl carriers.

I will be trying out ICN-NRT on the 777 later this week, we will see how it compares!

SEAUAKID

Thank you very much for this mini trip report! I was unaware of the LH BKK-SGN flight.

Teacherflyer

It's nice to see UA serving Saigon. Great report!!

sftrvlr

Excellent. Thanks for sharing. I've taken the LH flight in first between BKK and SGN, and it was just as good as you reported. I returned on TG in C class on one of their nasty old A300-600s. What a difference! The last time I flew ICN-NRT on UA in United First, they offered a really tasty sushi platter. The lounges at ICN are worth a visit, too.

WindFlyer

Thanks for the report ^

I expect you'll enjoy LH F on MUC-ORD a bit better... for one thing, the flight is long enough to allow you to savor the experience. Most important though, being on an A330, the seating is 1-2-1 so it feels more private and less cramped, even when full. Unfortunately, it is still a seat rather than a suite. Service, however, mostly makes up for it.

gleff

Thanks for this report which I just came across, I realize it's rather old but still useful to me as I'm taking these flights in reverse... HKG-SGN on UA (likely new F) and SGN-BKK on LH. Short flights of course, but I hope UA will do a bit better with dinner than they do with breakfast

Flyingfox

Ha ha ha.
This report is from 2000 and it appears that United has never changed in employee class!
Their so-called F product? Trays in international F!
Who in their right mind would actually PAY for such an inferior product?
The 1 hour LH flight sounds better than what you get on UA in SFO-SYD!