ThatAdamGuy

Hi there,

I'm grateful that I finally have enough points to send my parents on their first-ever trip in a premium airline cabin . I'm treating them to Singapore Suite Class LAX-NRT, and now need to decide on what to book for them NRT-LAX with my UA miles.

I'd love your input / suggested ranking on the following:

• Eva business class (777-300ER)
• ANA business class (777-300ER)
• Asiana business class (A321 to Seoul, then A380 to LAX)
• United business class (Dreamliner)
• United first class (747-400, not Dreamliner)

I haven't flown any of these (I've typically flown economy myself), so your comparative impressions would be really helpful here.

Thanks much in advance for your help!

TennisNoob

I would take Eva

For convenience you might want to take the dreamliner since it's a direct flight.

They might get a better experience on the 787 if they haven't flown on this aircraft yet.

I wouldn't look into the rest other than UA , ANA(direct flight) or EVA connecting in TPE

benzemalyonnais

I don't think any of these products are better than NH and that's the non-stop route.

Seems like a pretty simple choice to me. I wouldn't connect in Taiwan or Seoul for basically the same seat.

farbster

I would consider that your parents might not care 100% between the flights as long as they're in first or business. Therefore, as suggested above, I'd pick the flight that has the best schedule (and all things being equal, the fewest points).

aBroadAbroad

This topic will probably get more replies here I'm the TravelBuzz forum. Responding FlyerTalkers will please note that this thread originated at the flame-free Information Desk, and reply accordingly.

Thanks all!

PLeblond

ANA J is tough to beat of those choices. But you may want to prepare them mentally for a serious downgrade from SIN Suites, regardless of the final choice.

Ocn Vw 1K

As all carriers being considered are in the Star Alliance, I'll move this to the dedicated forum on that Alliance, for more discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.

Kacee

1. NH
2. OZ
3. BR

99. UA

I'd put NH and OZ pretty close, with NH getting the nod based on convenience. But ICN is a very easy transfer and the OZ service is really amazing. The BR connection involves serious backtracking.

dvs7310

I'd give UA some thought only because it'll cost significantly fewer points if using UA miles. If your parents aren't used to flying international that much then they may not even notice the drastically reduced service quality.

Aside from that, any of the NRT departures on NH will be quite good, I agree with the others that I wouldn't connect in ICN or TPE for anything different. Avoid the NH flight ex-HND though (the UA seats are MUCH better than the NH 772 used from HND).

planetshakers

1. ANA direct
2. EVA Hello Kitty
3. Asiana (provided the A380 is ready by the time your parents are flying )

Service wise ANA is great.

But if your parents are fans of Hello Kitty, you can put them on 2 Hello Kitty flights and get them to order the Din Tai Fung food on the TPE-LAX leg.

But if you think they will have problem with doing the connection, take ANA.

GordonGordon

Eva beats the rests hands down! The business class seats are better than UA international first class seats!

Kacee

You guys need to look at a map.

Routing through TPE adds 6.5 hours of flight time to this itinerary, that's not counting the connection.

ThatAdamGuy

Hey everyone, thank you very much for the thoughtful and kind responses, and apologies that I haven't replied until now! And aBroadAbroad, thanks for amplifying the reach of my post . And Ocn Vw 1K... ah, you're right; since I'm using UA miles for this, I hadn't even made the connection in my head that all these are *A... nor did I even know we had a *A forum here!

A few notes in response to everyone's helpful feedback:

• My parents have pretty much just flown in economy, and mostly UA at that. So -- as crazy (and, I admit, un-environmental) as it sounds -- I believe they'd actually enjoy more time flying in the sky when it includes tasty food and friendly service.
• Yes, none of the proposed flights can compare to SQ Suites... but the flights to/from NRT are my treat, and so given this + the improvement over flying Y, I think my parents will be very happy .
• With this said -- it may be that, at the end of a packed vacation -- my parents just want to get back home sooner. So I think I'll ask them their preference on this!
• Oooo... planetshakers, there's Din Tai Fung food on the EVA flights? Man, I may have to fly those silly Hello Kitty planes myself sometime!
• I wish a stopover was possible on one-way UA redemptions! 'cause then I'd have my parents stop over in Taipei, a city I really enjoyed visiting!

Of course, a bit of a wrinkle is that I've learned my parents (who want to book a small-group tour for their Japan visit)... may actually be flying out of KIX, which changes the options somewhat (for one, no direct flights to LAX). Still, I think there's mostly the same choice of *A partner airlines KIX-LAX.

Thanks again for all the rankings and feedback! I welcome any additional thoughts, and I'll also make sure to post back here with what I decide and again with how the trip goes with my parents. As you can imagine, both they (and I!) are super-excited to have them experiencing Japan and premium travel for the first time in their lives :-).

Kacee

This is a major change. There are no nonstops KIX-LAX. The reasonable *A options are:

1. UA KIX-SFO-LAX
2. NH KIX-HND-LAX
3. OZ KIX-ICN-LAX

I would vote strongly for number three, flying OZ 202 on the new 380 (but only after 8/26). NH option should be eliminated immediately b/c the HND-LAX flight is NH's 772 with angled-lie flat.

JVPhoto

If they fly from KIX via ICN on OZ in the A380 they may enjoy the onboard bar for J/F pax.