hello again,

this may be of interest only to me (or to anyone that is considering a mileage run to and back from SFO to SIN)--have a couple of hours before the returning segment of the trip so i thought i would write about the experience so far. i have to say asking for advice on the forum was super helpful in planning the trip.

a couple of observations
1) HKG UA lounge was as advetised--food quality ok but a lot of it, and shower was great. lots of space to sit, but it had appeared that EVERYONE on my flight also was in lounge
2) when did they get rid of free EtOH on trans-acific flights? that was a shock to me. and how can the united say with a straight face that this does not compromise their quality compared to other carriers, all of whom have free alcohol in economy? i am just curious, even though this is probably not the appropriate forum, as to how to go about making change on this front. ridiculous, in my opinion, esp given how crappy UA metal general is compared with other carriers to asia (EVA, SIN, ANA, you name it)
3) SIN airport is hot, even at 2-3 AM in december. access to lounge is a must, even if youre not planning on showering. the hot food at the kris gold lounge ends at 230am, apparently, as i just found out, and restarts up at 5.
4) going to see if i can swing a pass to the SATS lounge with *G, but not hopeful
5) forget about getting a chair on the sleep lounge--full full full
6) avoid 747 transpacific flights if you can. crappy plane, stuff doesnt work, and again, FULL. customer service on the flight is nonexistent

off topic, but have folks been successful in getting refunds for Wifi that sucked? i paid for full access from SFO to HKG and could not get the wifi signal to stay more than 30 secs. of course, when i went online to fill out the form to complain to united it couldnt go through. classic.

thank you to everyone who provided hints and advice for my trip. hopefully wont have to be doing this too often!

best
kcw