FlyertalkTW

I am planing a trip (LAX-LHR) for which i will be using my last SWU on the outbound flight on United.

Now, on the return flight i dont show any non-stops or United only flights and i have the following options (both are stop overs):

- Continental on M
- Air Canada on M

Alternative would be to fly either BMI or Air New Zealand in Q and B (outbound/return respectively) both non-stop/economy.

Question is whether i should just go with non-stops on non United flights and try to upgrade at least the B return or fly Continental or Air Canada on M in economony.

I have recently flown Continental and i twas like a zoo (from boarding to flight).

Any suggestions? How is Air Canada compared to Continental in economy?

rankourabu

fly BMI to LAX??

Air Canada's coach product is far more comfortable than Continental's

Connecting in YYZ is preferred to connecting in EWR. You pre-clear US customs at YYZ, and arrive at LAX as a domestic flight.

FlyertalkTW

The LHR-LAX BMI flight is a code share between United. I called United and asked if i can apply my SWU on this flight and they said no.

The Air Canada is stopping over at YYC and you are making a good point regarding customs.... way easier to clear US customs their as oppose to LAX.

Never flown Air Canada but i am sure it wont be much worse than Continental. What are the upgrade options on Air Canada on M (if any)?

Thank you!

Derek

Upgrade chances on AC = zero (I have been op uped 2x on AC in 15 years, as a 1P or 1K on UAL; never transatlantic, even though I fly YYZ or YUL to LHR about 5 times a year).

Free booze on transatlantic flights on AC = priceless (or at least = $6*x, where x is the number of times the FA walks down the aisle with the drinks cart).

Clearing US customs in Canada, well, it will save you a bit of time at the end of your journey and will probably be less congested.

And you get IFE, VOD in every seat on AC. Hundreds of hours of tv and films. (though I've seen them all, both English and French). And a great selection of cd quality music to help you doze off and ignore the screaming childrens in the row behind you...

I believe only on LH can you use SWUs, and for them you have to get a paper copy. Definitely not with AC or BMI, anyway.

Bon voyage.

1kBill

I have transited both YVR & YYZ coming back to the USA on AC. Clearing customs at YVR was fairly painless, however at YYZ, I waited over an hour for my bag to show up.

YGKid

*A Priority tags, and baggage in general, don't seem to work as well in Canada as you guys are used to enjoying at UA stations. Transiting in Canada is always a risk, since waiting for bags and queuing to preclear customs is just one more thing that can go wrong towards making you miss your connection.

On the other hand AC's hard product is much more comfortable than CO, free drinks en route are a bonus, and if you have lounge access, drinks are free in the MLL.

However, if you can direct on NZ, you may as well just do that. NZ is comparable to AC. What do you gain with the stop-overs?

weero

NZ has more legroom though than AC. And I fond Canadian immigration to be a consistent hassle.

But AC or NZ are definitely the carriers of choice.

lhrsfo

Air New Zealand is the one to go for. Legroom is somewhere between E- and E+, but with free booze, better food, better IFE.

Beware that if you do AC via Calgary, there is no lounge after you have cleared US customs and security.

apachekeith

Connecting in YYZ is preferred to connecting in EWR. You pre-clear US customs at YYZ, and arrive at LAX as a domestic flight.


How does this work? You clear customs in a foreign country @ YYZ(Toronto) but not in your own country @ EWR(Newark).

mre5765

At many airports in Canada, the US customs and border patrol (CBP) has set up clearance lanes for pax. Once you are clear, you are effectively in U.S. territory once you get to the departure gate of the Canadian airport (albeit still subject to Canadian law ... e.g. if you murder someone before boarding the plane, you'll be tried under Canadian law). It's been this way since at the least the 1970s. Airlines love it; if a pax doesn't get through US CBP, they don't have to pay to ship him back to his origin. So for a flight arriving from Europe to YYZ, you clear Canadian CBP and then US CBP. YVR does it better: you clear either Canadian CBP or US CBP, albeit, depending on the airline and connecting destination. Oddly, YVR has a huge shopping mall after clearing US customs.

CorSter

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.51 Beta (Microsoft Windows; PPC; Opera Mobi/2723; U; en))

both YYZ and YVR (and perhaps even YUL now?) allow you to go International->US without ever clearling through canadian authorities

Kiwi Flyer

NZ uses T2 at LAX and at the time the flight arrives from LHR immigration queues are generally light.

If you can go on NZ I would (and remember B booking class on NZ is upgradeable with *A miles).

FlyertalkTW

Ok, just booked my flight on AC via YYC.

Now, subsequently i dropped the non-stops via Air New Zealand (both ways) in favor of being able to apply my last remaining SWU on the outbound leg on UA from LAX to LHR (non-stop) and guess what.... i am wait listed.... I am flying the same route one week later as well and this upgrade cleared immediately when i applied for it.... i will never understand UA's inventory management.

I really hope that UA will clear my upgrade as i would be otherwise really quite disappointed.

As far as my initial question goes (AC vs Continental) i will post my experience once i am back.

WineCountryUA

perhaps UA has already upgraded a number of passengers prior to your recent booking of the earlier flight???

FlyertalkTW

I really dont know and dont understand their logic in accepting upgrade requests. I checked availability in business on this flight prior to booking and just now and the cabin is quite empty (not sure if that is a decision factor at all though).

Having said that, i recently flew LAX-GRU and was wait-listed without being cleared. Once in the cabin (nice and cozy in economy), i checked on business and to my big surprise business was not full. When i asked a flight attendant, i was told that they can not do anything even though she recognized that seats were unoccupied.

In my opinion, this creates great customer dissatisfaction and UA should re-consider their approach. On the other hand, i do understand that they want (need) to make money on selling business seats.... its a gap they have to manage better going forward and provide more transparency.