winnipegrev

I don't know about that... if you ask me there's definitely no sexier way to start a honeymoon than a stop in SFO or LAX in E+

^

After Burner

If nonstop is important for YVR-HNL, I would be inclined to just book WestJet Plus seats. September fares are under $600. Compared to premium rouge, that would save over $800 for two people. I don't believe there would be an appreciable comfort difference between the two options.

PLeblond

Well, if a 2 day stopover in SF is in the cards, then by all means yes. I'd tolerate a UA 757 "F" with no footrests, no IFE and the return with what is possibly the worst excuse for a cheeseburger I've ever seen.

why fly

Since you LOVE AC you would PAY to fly ROUGE Premium... LOL... sucker. AGAIN the OP is using HIS money$$ and he could buy something with real value with his savings.

so your advice is to trick the OP to support your own personal views and not try to help the OP.

why fly

PLeblond would spend the OP's $800 for this because he blindly supports anything AC.

Also i am sure the OP can find some $400Y flights and have $1200 to spend on something other than Rouge Premium!

Also to the OP if you have a friend on UA they will have upgrade certs to get you to First, or you can trade for certs for aprox $50 on FT.

So for $800 + $100 for UA certs you might explore some other options. ( ps fares should be less than $400)
Perhaps PLeblond could point you in the right direction

yul36

I flew it from HNL to EWR last month. Full lie flat, slept for 8 out of the 10 hours. Could not have been a better flight.
Btw, we are talking about under 6 hour flights here. So I would have no prob on WS,AS,UA if I end up with money in my pocket. And FYI some of the DEN and SFO UA flights on the 757's do have lie flat. But premium rouge for a premium price is a zero value proposition.

PLeblond

I'm not sure where you came to the conclusion that I blindly support everything AC. Is it because we do not see eye to eye on the airline? I will freely agree that I obviously don't have a visceral dislike for AC as you seem to. (from my interpretations of your posts here). If I am wrong then, please by all means, feel free to correct me on that point. You seem to prefer UA, and I respect your choice, though I disagree with your assessment.

Please note that in no way am I disparaging UA in these comments. I also did not tell OP to use Rouge over the direct WS+ suggestion by After Burner. It was an excellent suggestion.

I am curious to know if you have every flown Rouge J in the 767, but I digress.


Now, to get back to the point at hand:

OP is looking for the cheapest way to get to NHL for a cruise, however the SO appears to not be a comfortable flyer. Flying Premium Rouge offers lounge access and extra baggage, which OP seems to want/appreciate.

OP is also cognizant that Rouge is not mainline, as he referenced the QF/JQ. Having flown AC/ACRouge/UA/QF/JQ among others, I thought OP's comparison was fair. OP seems to know what the expectations are.

If I were on a leisure trip, with an SO who does not appear to be excited at the prospect to making multiple stops. I don't think that driving (or taking a bus) to a secondary airport, to take a product that is basically the same as AC Rouge and require a connection.

There appears to be 1 flight a day out of SFO on UA that has a better seat to Hawaii from the Left Coast. That would require an A319/320 to SFO on seats/service that are no better that the Rouge 767, finding someone willing to sell/trade upgrade certs, and adding several hours to the trip.

why fly

Just PLeblond thinks the extra money or Premium Rouge is worth it, however he is hardly a unbiased opinion.

superangrypenguin

Everyone's opinion is biased!

Since we're now talking opinions, I am +1 with Mr. Leblond. Having now been scared to death about Rouge (thanks to FT), and having been in Premium Rouge and Rouge Plus, I have no reservations about flying either (especially Premium Rouge). Unlike him however, I have not been in the front end of a UA flight for a while now (and thank GOSH my best friend's wedding is now in YVR and not CUN so I don't have to be). //substantiated or not, I'd rather fly with the devil I know. (my entitled opinion ) //Plus I much prefer a direct flight...not sure about UA, but if it's PR direct or UA indirect, that would be the proverbial icing on the cake!

And I actually like the service on ACr...i'm not kidding either (sometimes even over mainline!). I like the enthusiasm, amongst other things.

PLeblond

Again. Where did I say extra money was worth it? OP wanted J in the first place for many reasons, and found the fare reasonable himself.

If OP wanted to save money, then flying Y on WS is an excellent suggestion. Much better than driving to Billington or connecting via SFO/LAX/DEN. But to my knowledge, that was not the OPs original request.

OP appears to have a choice between non-stop Rouge J, or AS J with a connection and no lounge, or UA/DL/AA J with a connection. My understanding between those, the price is pretty much the same. People here suggested to OP to save money and not pay for J. That's great, but its not what the OP was interested in, I believe.


Now, I also believe there is whole 1000 page thread of people poo-pooing on Rouge. So if you have nothing more to offer to the OP, I suggest you wander over there and go to town on it. You should be right in your element over there.

But if you are only here to call me out for what you (wrongly*) perceive as an adoration for all things AC, then that isn't really helping the OP.

* Feel free to look through my posts. You'll find many dozen occasions where I suggest people use other airlines than AC. There are many, many times when AC does not offer the better choice and UA, TK, NZ, NH etc. are better choices for the same, or often less money.

BlondeBomber

remember A319 premium rouge is diff than 767 premium rouge. I too am not a fan of A319 premium rouge seats -- everything else is OK (although my scrambled eggs were stone cold yesterday--but quick great service recovery, new batch to me instantly and hot!).

Once they switch out to real business class seats, I am ok to fly rouge. Just flew YYC-PHX yesterday and back not happy with Premium Rouge on A319 (oh well just one flight back to finish of the sun pass and then wait for new seats in fall). But for Hawaii, I think the premium rouge should be OK. If you are willing to pay J for AS or UA, J on rouge should be similar (but I haven't flown 767 yet--others have said J seat is OK). Service and food should be better than UA with entertainment not great on either.

PS. did find a way to make back feel a bit better on flight yesterday by kind of lying on my side on flattened dividing pillows, occupying 2 seats--takes pressure off back. Mrs. BB wasn't happy either but we'll live (first world problems I know!)

why fly

Well a few things you "forget" to tell the OP.
Perhaps he could save $1200 flying other airlines.
UA International flights have far superior conditions over Rouge J as others have pointed out.
Next if he is not willing to waste the $1200 to fly Rouge J, then Rouge Y is a horrible product that only an AC "pusher" would recommend to a flyer.

really are you that worried the OP wont blow $1200 to fly your love of the aviation world, Rouge?
Anyhow the OP has enough info to look at some options, other than what you offered.
So lets go to another thread.

PLeblond

Agreed, on that point. OP should have all the information needed to make a good decision. I just wanted to make sure the OP had all the information needed to be able to put the appropriate weight on each person's input.

Thank you for making that possible.

echino

YVR-HNL daytime flight is perfectly fine on premium rouge. I think I would actually prefer it to mainline AC if flying as a couple, because you are sitting together on premium rouge (and seating together is important on a honeymoon), while you are separated in the pods on the mainline.

Overnight flights HNL-YVR is completely different thing. I would book a mainline OGG-YYC or KOA-YVR, or route via USA to get a daytime flight.

After Burner

OGG-YYC has a very limited schedule. There are zero flights in September, the OP's timeframe. Also, although the schedule shows AC43/44 will resume in December 2015 as a mainline flight, I find it hard to believe it won't be rouged.