Its been years since I flew Y on the SYD-LAX/SFO flights (been in the lovely new J the last couple of times) but I've got two mates that will be making the trip early in 2013 and I was wondering if the new UA had made any attempts to implement the planned WiFi on board or Audio Visual Streaming that Mr Smisek discussed here
Just had one of the most uncomfortable flights of my life in 19E on one of the 747s. No legroom, magazine racks continually falling off the bulkhead wall, very bright tv screen flickering above my head preventing sleep, overhead light not bright enough to permit reading. Worse than any third world airline I've ever flown on.
Just had one of the most uncomfortable flights of my life in 19E on one of the 747s. No legroom, magazine racks continually falling off the bulkhead wall, very bright tv screen flickering above my head preventing sleep, overhead light not bright enough to permit reading. Worse than any third world airline I've ever flown on.
....and that was E+ too! In response to the OP, no, and in my opinion most likely never.
Yes - given the competition (all three others) and their product (all very good) I really don't know WHO would want to fly with UA? Any idea what their loads are like?
No... Avoid like the plague!!! Unless in F or J. I fly CX in premium economy Sfo-hkg-Syd for 2 reasons, better arrival time to cure jetlag and a better product. Sure adds 10 hours to the trip but well worth it. Plus as a loyal miles nut the 23k eqm and 43k rdm in AA program are worth it.
Just had one of the most uncomfortable flights of my life in 19E on one of the 747s. No legroom, magazine racks continually falling off the bulkhead wall, very bright tv screen flickering above my head preventing sleep, overhead light not bright enough to permit reading. Worse than any third world airline I've ever flown on.
I am not a COdbaUA apologist, however it's not that bad.
Don't pick the bulkhead row. Simple as that. Don't pick the last row either.
I would go for row's 24 through about 22. Any closer than 22, and you get the bright light from the TV screen and you can't sleep. The reading lights are plenty bright for reading (as long as you're far enough away from the TV screen).
Legroom is decent and I'm 6'1" or 6'2" (but a slim build).
Just remember to build in a decent connection time because the 744's are notorious for going mechanical.
BTW, don't even bother flying if you are in E-.
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Between the late ops / cancellation rate and the decrepit 1970s-era Y environment, I would never book the SYD 747s. Not even award tickets. United should be ashamed of this service. SMI/J has conceded it's substandard but done nothing.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rkaradi
No... Avoid like the plague!!! Unless in F or J. I fly CX in premium economy Sfo-hkg-Syd for 2 reasons, better arrival time to cure jetlag and a better product. Sure adds 10 hours to the trip but well worth it. Plus as a loyal miles nut the 23k eqm and 43k rdm in AA program are worth it.
Wow, that's hardcore.
Personally I've switched to NZ for this route. One interesting thing to note about NZ is that premium economy gives you 1.5x United EQM, so flying SFO-AKL-SYD you get a whopping 23,582 EQM while still keeping the length of the journey relatively reasonable.
You'll never catch me onboard a UA 747 again if there's any other alternative.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Airbumps
Hey guys,
Its been years since I flew Y on the SYD-LAX/SFO flights (been in the lovely new J the last couple of times) but I've got two mates that will be making the trip early in 2013 and I was wondering if the new UA had made any attempts to implement the planned WiFi on board or Audio Visual Streaming that Mr Smisek discussed here
I had a look in the 'fleet update' thread here but couldn't locate the answer.
Cheers,
AB
The only change to the 747s was a refresh of sorts a few years ago. I think all they did on the customer-facing front was replace upholstery and replace the old CRTs with flat screens. Although there were early noises about bringing the 747s up to snuff, the recent reliability problems may have changed their assessment of how much to invest in them. And given what they've done with the 787, I'm not sure I want them to. 11 across, anyone?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ORDnHKG
Well you must not have flown much of non-third world airlines then.
Do you know that even some TG, LH, and CA's 747 still look exactly like UA's 747 ?
And as far as I know, TG and LH are certainly not "third world" airline.
The three worlds are the capitalist west, the communist bloc, and everybody else. The nomenclature is a bit dated given that the Soviet Empire is defunct (as is ours, arguably). TG certainly is a third world airline, given that it's Thai. Same goes for CA (PRC). Domestic CA is ridiculously tight, their 747 combis are about as bad as UA. Thai 747s also have nothing to offer over UA. Worse food, though. LH is certainly not a third world airline. LH depends on which A/C. The Y seats in the new 747s are actually pretty nice, and I think I heard they are retrofitting their older 747s. Could be wrong about that last part.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Nov 8, 12 at 12:33 pm..
Reason: merge
The three worlds are the capitalist west, the communist bloc, and everybody else. The nomenclature is a bit dated given that the Soviet Empire is defunct (as is ours, arguably). TG certainly is a third world airline, given that it's Thai. Same goes for CA (PRC). Domestic CA is ridiculously tight, their 747 combis are about as bad as UA. Thai 747s also have nothing to offer over UA. Worse food, though. LH is certainly not a third world airline. LH depends on which A/C. The Y seats in the new 747s are actually pretty nice, and I think I heard they are retrofitting their older 747s. Could be wrong about that last part.
Not for nuthin but if you're going to get all technical and what-not, wouldn't CA be 2nd world (communist bloc)? PRC is a communist old-Soviet ally of course.
The 744s WERE improved in Y with the IPTE mods too. However, the improvements - similar to SMI/J changes you will like - actually made the experience worse.
Prior to the IPTE mod, the E+ cabin was behind the lavs at door 3 and there was a mini E- cabin in front of those lavs.
With the IPTE mods, the J cabin actually shrunk because they went from a 2-3-2 config in the barcolounger seats to 2-4-2 lie flats.
Following the installation of the lie flats, the back part of the J cabin and the mini E- cabin were combined to form the new E+ cabin. In the process seat pitch went from 35-36" to 34".
Also, seat covers were replaced and the monitors throughout the Y cabin were replaced with the brighter LCD monitors (I believe Panasonic).
In SMI/J's $0.5B aircraft improvement project, they will add streaming entertainment for tablets, laptops, etc. (which I am sure you will have to pay for).
The Y cabin on the 744s remains a human rights violation. I flew QF premium economy earlier in the year - so, so, so much better that UA. I won't make Platinum this year because of it, but so what.
