Originally Posted by
fly18725
Where there ever proof that paid C is what drove the change back? I heard this was more about aircraft and crew utilization.
And where is your proof of that? Why not run the other 747 from HKG to SGN then instead of the 737? One thought is there is no C traffic on that route therefore it has gone away as well.
Just because the "company line" is "crew utilization" or some other reason doesn't make it so.
All I know is I used to live on the SIN runs as did a lot of others and when that went away, I started seeing the same people on CX, (especially after the J class seats were upgraded from the coffin ones). Some people told me (that I would see in the lounge in SIN) they moved over to SQ.
All I know (especially with the O&G boom and mining), the traffic to OZ from the US is a significant amount of J class buyers, because I see them (some on the non-stops, some via SIN/JKT) and that is just one industry.
If UA wants to claim leisure travel, utilization, fine....they can think/feel whatever makes them feel good in their own mind, and who knows....maybe it is leisure travel for them....but its not for others. Why do you think SQ has been trying to penetrate the OZ to US market? To get the leisure travelers? I think not.....
YMMV....
Originally Posted by
stevenshev
While lovely in theory, they simply don't exist 2-3 weeks out when I'm normally booking.
Kudos to greg99 for perfectly describing my scenario, so I won't rehash it too much here, but long story short is I will not fly less than business on the route, have a business/personal travel policy that is flexible enough to allow me to pay business, and therefore have choice among all the carriers. UA is great in that it allows me to travel F. If I'm paying C to travel C, for starters it will be on the cheapest fare I can find on an acceptable airline and it will most certainly will not be on a PMCO 777 (or 757, or 764, though I find the 763s and 787s fine). On that plane, there are at most four acceptable seats to me, which are all guaranteed to be gone by 2-3 weeks out, and no air vents (which is a huge portion of why I fly UA - I like to be able to sleep, not be cooked). Simply will not happen.
One question is do you have business in Asia as well? The reason I ask is OW has great Circle Pac fares in J and has a lot more flexibility than *A on O/D points in the US (can use them anywhere in US not just West Coast specific like on *A) and has higher mileage thresholds as well.
I use them all the time now and ticket them out of HKG for a lower price under $8K. I fly QF and CX with them. And if you are in and out of JFK, you wouldn't even have to step foot on a US carrier.