I took a different routing back to Hanoi today from North America. Flew United in C from LNK-DEN-SFO-ICN and then Asiana for the final 4 hour leg from ICN-HAN. I've made this trip many times before but not lately (for the past 9 months I've been transiting HND flying on ANA because I like the 787 for that route and the nice seats for star gold fliers).

Well tonight I was pleasantly surprised-- although I was booked into Y for the OZ flight, I was ushered upstairs into a very nice seat, that although not business class, definitely beats ANA's "economy plus" product, hands down. Reminded me a lot of ANA's "business cradle" seat.

So my question is: did I get this seat just due to star gold status? What is this seat called? Can I expect the 747 to be running the ICN-HAN route from now on? Any more info is very appreciated!