UA has been adding more direct flights to Asia ever since they cut all their fifth freedom flights, so there really isn't a need to do the NRT stop anymore.
Originally Posted by
HkCaGu
And I'd rather go through one (SFO) or two (GUM/HNL) TSA Pre checkpoints than a regular NRT check. ...
It's been almost a year since I've done the X-GUM-HNL-X route, but it seems like there was a some extra form filling involved at both airports even with GE - something to consider if you're not a fan of lines/forms.
On the bright side, Asia-GUM and HNL-USA are CPU/RPU flights.
Originally Posted by
HkCaGu
As I said I haven't tried/am not sure how much seat/bag trouble westbound UA-NH can be, zero checkpoints after LAX surely beats one.
The airline you fly makes no difference in regards to security (UA-UA/UA-NH). You still have to clear security when connecting through NRT in either direction. This is the same as when UA used to fly NRT-HKG. I actually prefer this style of securing the whole departure area vs security at the actual gate.
FYI they do have a Gold Track line for international transfers in NRT, but it's sometimes longer than the regular line.