Originally Posted by
bergamini
How likely is an equipment change for a medium-haul 777 that's showing flat bed F seats 5 months out? I'm buying a 1-way ORD-->SFO first ticket and am debating between VX and UA. Narrowbody, the choice is easily VX but if UA is flying a heavy with flat beds, the ability to earn miles and have more back-up options in case of disruptions makes them a bit more compelling. Both airlines are $423. If there's a good chance I'll get downgraded to a non-flat bed 777 then I'll probably book VX but if people say these have stayed true to what was advertised, I'd book United.
It's flight 769 on 6/20 ORD-->SFO and configuration 5 on this map:
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...0/default.aspx The seat map shows this as "Polaris" but not sure if that's true on a mid-range Intercon, doubt it. But it's definitely not config 6 which shows it as a domestic first.
The chance of a swap is pretty small. They are converting the domestic 777 fleet to the configuration with flatbeds in F (called "77G"), and almost all of them will be done by then. Their standard policy is to use the 2-3-2 recliner F (77H) seatmap if they're not sure which plane will fly.
Until the schedule locks in at 3 months, anything is possible (including a swap to a 753 or 737), but unlike a currently scheduled 77H, I think the chance of a 77G staying put is pretty good. Also note that the 77H recliner seat is comparable to the VX F hard product (and much better than 737 F), although it's a little more worn and tired.