for either, we would continue to ITM as suggested and is available!!!. we would use either ua F or nh in biz. both are available. since we have no status with anyone, just a ton of miles, we will be ua global first,(available) or nh in biz(i presume nh first is very difficult for poachers). how much of a step down (or is it a step down) is nh biz compared to ua gf? the cost of ua miles are a bit more for me. the ua beds gf on both the 747 and the 777 are fabulous.

The last time I was over, I went UA F outbound and NH C (787) coming back. I found the UA F seat to be much better and the UA IFC lounge is quite nice but the service and food were superior on NH.

I just flew ANA in J (787) trans-Pacific. Lie-flat bed seats with no one right next to you or directly behind you, all aisle seats in 1-2-1 config (middle two seats are completely walled off and apart from one another). So the seats are configured very well. On the flip side, the cushioned padding that they give you is fine when you're sitting up/reclined, but not very comfortable when lying flat and trying to sleep. It's got a weird texture, it's not wide enough or long enough and tends to move about. Their pillow is not fluffy enough. Was not impressed with their food, especially in terms of the quantity and the dessert. It is, however, nice to be able to request Ippudo ramen on demand. Service was very good.

But I've not flown UA F internationally in a long time, so I can't compare and would defer to what abmj-jr says above.

That was my impression as well, plus the lie flat seat just wasn't long or wide enough for my 6'-5" frame to get comfortable enough to sleep well. Not bad, mind, but not really great either.

i plan to go to iad-itm-iad in sept or oct(big window) for 10-12 days. being retired is nice.

i have points to burn, but absolutly no status with anyone. there are many windows of availability in biz class on nh during that time frame. there is no F available. i presume that is held til last minute, as there are only 8 seats in F(and 2 may be for crew). if i book in biz, and waitlist F, and F comes through, does it really cost me 45K miles each way for the upgrade, or does it cost me the differential between biz and F, which is 35K for the round trip. i asked on the ft ana site, and never got an answer.

I prefer NH business even in the old plane compared to UA F. IAD-NRT sometimes operates the old config but that might change. I don't mind because it departs too early to sleep much. The NH cabin is huge and airy whereas the UA business and first cabins are very claustrophobic with 8 people across in business. The F cabin is much smaller and the seats are wedged in there with narrow aisles on the 777.

With business staggered in NH business you effectively have 4 people across in the cabin whereas UA packs in 8 people!

Note that UA is increasing its miles required starting Feb 1. If you change anything after that then you pay more points. Note that including TYO-OSA will increase mileage requirement in future even if you fly UA IAD-NRT because there is an upcharge if you include *A flights on an award ticket starting Feb 1.