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NH or LH for long haul in Y?

NH or LH for long haul in Y?

Old Apr 4, 2015, 2:34 pm
  #1  
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NH or LH for long haul in Y?

I'm planning a trip to Hokkaido from OSL at the end of April. I want to book an open jaw from OSL to HKD and return from WKJ. I'm *Gold with SK, but I can't use them as they fly into NRT and I need to fly into HND for the Hokkaido connections I want.

So that leaves me with either LH or NH for the long haul segment. I've flown LH before but would like to try NH. Is it superior to LH? I also wanted to try the 787, but after reading the comments here, it seems like that's not a good option in Y with NH because of the 3-3-3 configuration. I see that NH has a 77W from Munich to HND, so perhaps that's the best option with NH?
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Old Apr 5, 2015, 6:35 am
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Originally Posted by Amexpat
I'm planning a trip to Hokkaido from OSL at the end of April. I want to book an open jaw from OSL to HKD and return from WKJ. I'm *Gold with SK, but I can't use them as they fly into NRT and I need to fly into HND for the Hokkaido connections I want.

So that leaves me with either LH or NH for the long haul segment. I've flown LH before but would like to try NH. Is it superior to LH? I also wanted to try the 787, but after reading the comments here, it seems like that's not a good option in Y with NH because of the 3-3-3 configuration. I see that NH has a 77W from Munich to HND, so perhaps that's the best option with NH?
The 3-3-3 configuration on a 787 is not super comfy, it is quite narrow. Some of the 77W are with a 3-4-3 configuration, which has the same issue. I do not know if they do any Europe runs though. Looking at some test booking for FRA they seem to be doing the 2-4-3 config. These are sliding seats rather than reclining seats though. There are also 77W on FRA, not just Munich.

The hard product in economy class can be discussed a lot, but the soft product of NH is far better than LH. And despite the hard product challenges, I would take NH over LH any day in economy. Quite often the loads are lower, meaning the chance of getting an empty seat next to you is not too bad.

The transfer from NRT to HND is not that bad, there are busses running every 15 minutes, taking between 1.5 to 2 hours if you end up arriving in NRT after all.
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Old Apr 5, 2015, 7:38 am
  #3  
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Originally Posted by CPH-Flyer
The transfer from NRT to HND is not that bad, there are busses running every 15 minutes, taking between 1.5 to 2 hours if you end up arriving in NRT after all.
Thanks for the info. I think its easier to stick with one airport for a connecting flight. Also, ANA has a 00:50 flight out from HND, and with a 9-hour transfer time, I could take the monorail and get a few hours in Tokyo before flying on.

Last edited by Amexpat; Apr 5, 2015 at 7:43 am
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Old Apr 5, 2015, 7:11 pm
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Originally Posted by Amexpat
Thanks for the info. I think its easier to stick with one airport for a connecting flight. Also, ANA has a 00:50 flight out from HND, and with a 9-hour transfer time, I could take the monorail and get a few hours in Tokyo before flying on.
That would definitely leave you a good option for sone hours of sightseeing and good food in Tokyo. Shiba Rikyu is a very nice little garden right next to Hamamatsucho Station. A good place to see a traditional Japanese garden in Tokyo.
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Old Apr 6, 2015, 1:48 pm
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Since you're *G, I would take NH. If you wind up on a day that has a heavy load in Y then they are somewhat liberal about upgrading. When paying for Y tickets on NH, I've sat in C as often as I have Y. Other major benefit of NH is that if you are booking with NH flight numbers (not codeshare) then you can select your seats at time of booking. You'll pay for that privilege on LH these days on bargain fares, its only free there when OLCI opens, so any decent seat may be well gone. Service in NH Y is quite good, western meals quite average (I don't eat Japanese food, so can't speak for the quality of Japanese meals in Y). NH seat pitch on 763 is atrocious, but you won't be on one of those, most other planes are fine. I don't mind the sliding seat since no one can reline in your face but it does press my knees into the seat in front more than I'd care for... it's a decent tradeoff. On the flip side, I've never heard anyone say anything positive about LH long haul Y.

If you do wind up going to NRT then there are 2 trains that will get you to similar parts of downtown in short order if you want to explore a bit before the HND flight. SK gets in pretty early in the day, but I can't say I'd fancy flying them in Y, everything is paid for pretty much, I think you get free food and 1 free drink with meals, but aside from that only water is free. The only thing I'd consider SK for is if you think you can get an upgrade to SAS Plus or Business through Optiontown (however that is not allowed ex-NRT, only ex-CPH).

As far as ease of connecting, if you're planning to leave the airport regardless then frankly it doesn't matter. Every train station has coin lockers and major stations have quite large ones for about 4 euros per day that will fit about any size luggage. Depending on where you want to go in the city, Narita to there may not take much longer than Haneda to the same place, but it will be more expensive to take one of the faster trains out of NRT vs the monorail from Haneda.
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Old Apr 7, 2015, 11:43 am
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Originally Posted by dvs7310
Since you're *G, I would take NH. If you wind up on a day that has a heavy load in Y then they are somewhat liberal about upgrading. When paying for Y tickets on NH, I've sat in C as often as I have Y.
Thanks, the prospect of a decent chance of getting an upgrade sold me and I booked with NH. I paid a bit extra for W class instead of L because that gives me 100% status points with SK instead of 25% and I need that to keep *G. On the return, I have a 9 hour layover at HND which is perfect for some time in Tokyo via the monorail. The only concern I have is that I'm booked with the 787 outbound in the 3-3-3 configuration, but I wanted to give it a try despite the negative comments at the ANA forum.
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Old Apr 8, 2015, 11:03 am
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Originally Posted by Amexpat
Thanks, the prospect of a decent chance of getting an upgrade sold me and I booked with NH. I paid a bit extra for W class instead of L because that gives me 100% status points with SK instead of 25% and I need that to keep *G. On the return, I have a 9 hour layover at HND which is perfect for some time in Tokyo via the monorail. The only concern I have is that I'm booked with the 787 outbound in the 3-3-3 configuration, but I wanted to give it a try despite the negative comments at the ANA forum.
I've only sat in front of the NH 788, so can't say 100% but I have been in Y on the UA 788 a few times, same 3-3-3 configuration. The main thing I note is that the seats and tray tables are noticeably narrow. I'm a thin person, so when a lot of people complain about narrow seats, usually I don't even notice, but I definitely prefer a UA 772 flight over a 788 flight for that reason. The tray tables are so narrow that if I have my laptop out then I have to put my drink between my lap, on other planes I can move the PC a little over the edge to one side to make room for a drink but not on 787 with 3-3-3. I wish airlines would have went with a 2-4-2 config on these like on A330 & A340s, otherwise they seem to be quite nice planes.
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Old Apr 8, 2015, 5:30 pm
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Originally Posted by dvs7310
I've only sat in front of the NH 788, so can't say 100% but I have been in Y on the UA 788 a few times, same 3-3-3 configuration. The main thing I note is that the seats and tray tables are noticeably narrow. I'm a thin person, so when a lot of people complain about narrow seats, usually I don't even notice, but I definitely prefer a UA 772 flight over a 788 flight for that reason. The tray tables are so narrow that if I have my laptop out then I have to put my drink between my lap, on other planes I can move the PC a little over the edge to one side to make room for a drink but not on 787 with 3-3-3. I wish airlines would have went with a 2-4-2 config on these like on A330 & A340s, otherwise they seem to be quite nice planes.
Japan Airlines only has 2-4-2 on their international configuration 787.
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