c1ue

While I haven't taken this 18 hour flight, I have taken United from SFO to SYD - which is only 1 hour shorter.
This was accomplished in Economy Plus, and the flights were actually just fine. The late night departure plus early morning arrival worked very well outgoing and the return was equally pleasant. More importantly, I didn't have the expected discomfort from "too long" haul which I was concerned about.
Early in my flying career, I evidently had a roughly 12 hour limit on how long I could handle being in a plane: the DFW to TPE flight of 14 hours saw each second beyond the 12th hour double in discomfort.
Either I have gotten tougher or Premium Economy makes a world of difference, but to say an 18 hour flight in economy is torture seems very DYKWIA.
I say this as a million miler on United, roughly 2m BIS overall, who has never paid for a biz or first class seat even when entitled to by my corporate sponsor of the moment.
Those of you who only fly biz or first, cheers.
But don't expect much sympathy from me regarding theoretical discomfort in economy.

schley

Why? Paying for your travel in premium cabins is supposed to make you a more refreshed and motivated employee who can concentrate on work, not some boondoggle or junket connotation.

PaulInTheSky

For those of you who like to connect through HKG, this new launch is a terrible option. I don't think UA gives any reasonable fares of EWR/SFO/ORD-SIN. If you want to transit HKG, you almost have to just get two separate tickets and wish UA that they checked all the way through. Connect through NRT basically loses out 3300 LT miles, which is a big loss. I did see the fares of EWR-ICN through NRT and the OZ feeder to be much more affordable now.

Let's hope there will be some new fare basis to still allow people to get to SIN late at night.

goodeats21

Checked bags isn't the only problem. Two tickets is a big risk in case of irrops.

If not on all UA metal, I am sure United wants to keep passengers on ANA for the Joint Venture income.

This is the same situation BKK travelers have been facing, with the added kicker that there is no UA metal at all; on any route.

Hipplewm

Just finished CHS-EWR-HKG-SIN-HKG-ORD-CHS (well, technically still in ORD with rolling delays on CHS flight)

HKG-SIN - flight was half full, EWR-HKG was 2.5 hours late and they held it for roughly 20 of us on that flight

SIN-HKG - OMG - 8/8 in FC (Was booked 0/8 and everyone sitting there was on both the business and FC upgrade lists) 8 people sitting in Business and FA said 43 in economy

Those are rough numbers to continue that flight. FA did mention they fly this route often and weekends are packed, mid week is pretty bare - has seen as few as 14 people total on the plane

FlyHighInTheSky

Does anyone think that UA will order a few 778's to be able to do ORD/IAD/EWR-SIN in the future?

DA201

IAD-SIN? No. Maybe ORD/EWR-SIN in the distant future. UA isn't focused on the 778 or 779 right now because they can get 77W's at a cheap price and they will probably announce an order for more within the next year. They will not be like SQ and order a couple of a plane specifically for one route. If they do get 778's, it will be because they are replacing their 772s/77Ws down the line and order a few more for growth.

melmike

Qantas Dallas to Sydney is also 18 hours. My daughter just did it in premium economy, said it was ok. But she's 21....it's always ok if you are 21!

John Aldeborgh

I think this is the most relevant point for East Coast travelers. UA1 is a red eye and that is something, when flying coach, that makes this a no-go for me. I've taken UA2 a number of times and it's doable in coach. If the LAX-SIN flight is a red eye then I'll still fly EWR to HKG and use Dragon Air to SIN, the connection isn't too bad.

As for the folks who can't tolerate 16 or 17 hours in coach, I have two words, will power. I'm almost 61 and I've already made 11 Asian trips from BOS this year, all on heavily discounted coach tickets. We do what we need to do in life, the human sprit is remarkablely adaptable. Plus, I never ask my team to do anything I'm not willing to do myself, in actions not words.

CappuccinoAddict

You're completely right that it's a matter of will power. But when it comes to flying in coach for that amount of time, I just don't have it! The other thing about the human spirit is once we experience something better than we're used to, that new thing becomes what we're used to! After flying J or F to Asia the first few times there's no way I can imagine doing it in Y. And in fact I got out of a trip to PVG next month because it would have been in Y and I didn't really need to be there.

drewguy

Was that on a 772? The 789 used on the SIN routes has even narrower seats.

Exleftseat

I did UA1/2 a dozen of times in C and while stretching my legs walking through the Y cabin I have never ever seen anyone who looked comfortable and relaxed in those seats. And to my surprise the flights were always almost full. C is bad enough for this trip length but it's the only way to go. Good thing on these planes there are no window shades, there still is a little light coming in through the darkened windows. Otherwise it would be 18 hours in a completely dark tube. Now that's torture.

c1ue

That's the theory.
In reality, jet lag and culture shock exist no matter where you sit on the plane.
And even worse: having a customer walk past you on the way to economy.
If a company feels it can spend $3000-$6000 or more in order to get a "refreshed" employee, happy for them.
Especially in this day and age of power connections and premium economy seating, biz class is a luxury.
Lastly, I'd note the difference between premium economy/economy and biz class even at $3K is easily much more than a full day's salary for all but the most highly paid employees. Why not just fly them economy and have them sit in a hotel to recover for a full day? Probably cheaper.

c1ue

I was on a 772 in premium economy.

c1ue

Cheers to that!