Don't have high expectations for GF, given my experiences. There is only a marginal difference in catering, and service is totally dependent on the flight crew--but never comparable to a REAL international first experience. On a recent GF flight from Beijing on a 747, the aging flight attendants refused to help a passenger (or find help from a taller or younger flight attendant) put her roller board into the overhead bin. This GF passenger sought help because she could not reach the overhead bin. The GF flight attendant told her that "if you bring a bag on the airplane, you have to be able to stow it yourself". In first class. On Singapore air in coach, the flight attendants practically knocked me down to grab my bag and store it for me. You can only imagine the shock and disbelief of a paying GF passenger being treated like this. On the same flight, my special meal was not boarded, headsets are hardly noise-cancelling and IFE had nothing of interest whatsoever. On a previous leg of this itinerary, I had flown SWISS and AIR CHINA in business class. They trumped UA GF in everything except the physical seat and its storage cabinets.