alanliao89

Hi,

I have been accumulating points for a trip to Hong Kong and now I finally have enough. I will be flying from SFO to HKG and have the option to either fly Global First Class on the 747-400 or Business Class on a Star Alliance Partner (Air Canada/ANA/Asiana are available). This will be my first time flying on a flight that is not ECONO and I wanted the best experience possible.

United Global First Class (Boeing 747-400)

or

Air Canada Business Class (Boeing 777-300)
ANA Business Class (Boeing 777-300)
Asiana Business Class (Boeing 777-200)

Thanks for the help!

mduell

For the best seat, UA GF on the nonstop.

For the best service, NH or OZ, despite the connection.

JVPhoto

I think you'll get more of an "experience" flying ANA Business Class SFO-NRT-HKG.

2 business class segments
United Club @ SFO
ANA Lounge @ NRT

goodeats21

Hi alanliao89

Welcome to FlyerTalk !

Congrats on amassing the necessary miles to enjoy this experience. I would disagree with JVPhoto a bit and would choose the nonstop United flight SFO->HKG.

You will be able to access the Global Services check-in at SFO as well as the Global First Lounge before your flight. Both are major steps up from an economy experience and much nicer then Business Class would provide.

The GF seat on United 747 will be much more comfortable then any of the Business Class options, which is of prime concern on a 14hour+ flight.

The service can be inconsistent, depending on the crew you happen to get, but I have mostly been pleased with the FAs in Global First. For a "first-timer", the food will be passable. (For many of us, the options have become stale as they have not updated the menu in a long time).

If you are a wine drinker, you will be disappointed with the selections. Their liquor selection is adequate, with the exception for lacking a good scotch. Coffee is presently horrible, though promised to be upgraded to illy later this year.

Combined with the advantages of the non-stop, I would book the United flight over the Business Class options.

JVPhoto

The GS check in is hardly that exciting...in fact when I checked in there flying GF but not being GS it threw them for a loop.

I think the NH J lounge is better than the SFO GFL which seems like any generic mid-range hotel lounge with a bunch of Chinese ceramic guard dragons.

br2k

I took GF from US to HKG and it was a great experience.

I flew ANA business (admittedly intra-Asia) and it was "meh", in particular because flight attendants appeared to pay a lot of attention to local businessmen (men in suits, anyway), and were neither very helpful nor particularly nice to me. Food was not great either.

YMMV

Goaliedad30

I would definitely go for GF on UA for that length flight. The difference in food and wine isn't THAT large, relative to the far more comfortable seat. I've had good service and poor service on both UA and NH, so it's a crap shoot.

PVDProf

If your objective is to arrive in HKG well rested, then UA GF is the way to go. If you want the flight to be fun and interesting and part of the experience, then I would seriously consider taking NH or OZ. If this is a roundtrip, I'd take UA GF to HKG to arrive well rested, and then NH on the return. The flight experience is interesting and different, with good service and better food, though th sleeping space is smaller. NRT is a good place for a layover: I'd visit the ANA lounge and sample the sakes, and buy some Nikka at Duty Free to bring home.

Bruin1K

Global first lounge itself is enough of a reason to go united. Also I love the nose of the 747. Very private and relaxing.

porciuscato

The Global First Lounge in SFO is a sad joke. I often don't bother to even go there because neither the food nor the alcohol is that good. And the regular UC lounge actually has better soup.

In-flight, your odds of getting a decent flight attendant in United GF are 50-50 at best. Most likely you'll get an ancient crab-apple who is surly and hangs out in the galley most of the flight. You'll need to get your own water &etc.

Business class on just about any airline (except maybe Aeroflot) is superior to anything United has to offer.

absolu7

pick anything but united.. youll be glad you did.

5khours

Depends what you want.
The seat in UA GF is much better. The food and service will be slightly better on OZ and NH. The flight is direct on UA. Assuming you have enough miles, you might try UA on the way out and NH on the way back....or vice-versa.

helvetic

See if you can find availability on EVA Air (BR). Business in EVA is *far* better than First in United.

If you have to stick to ANA/Asiana/AirCanada, I'd pick Asiana or ANA. United First is not worth it… all you get is a slightly nicer seat and an extra soup. The food and the service are still crap. If you have to fly United, the Business seats are nice enough that I don't think the upgrade to First matters much, unless you really care about not having too many neighbors.

UA_Flyer

I have not been sold on ANA.

I have found their IFE contents to be below average and still not used to the Japanese style of services. I actually prefer CX, OZ and SQ services than ANA/JL.

UA GF has the best seats. Services and food are inconsistent.

Lounge: GF Lounges at SFO and HKG are quiet, which is what I like.

I have found the OZ and NH business lounges to be too crowded to find seats sometimes.

Some may say there is a great noodle bar at NH lounge in NRT. I am older now, so the last thing I need is to load myself on carbs between long flights. Noodle bar at an airport lounge is great if one gets to stuck with Y food.

The most important deciding factor for me is the 744. Catch that bird before it is gone.

artvandalay

^ and I would add that if you are determined to take UA, the upper deck (BF) seating will please you...more so than GF.