rizrizriz

@nichelle, I will be interested to hear about MU flight. I thought I might do one of those this year just to keep DM (had MQM but was gonna need MQD's)
Wondered if there really is smoking by the pilots on those flights. In the end I grabbed a few flights from AM that is gonna get me the MQD needed.
I still remember we met (boarding) on a SIN run last year (or was it the year before) when you were also booked for another one later. Glad I took a few of those SIN run and got the 74 UD a few times. Well worth it for sure.

nichelle

Hey, yes I remember you! I hope you're doing well. When we met I hadn't yet flown on the UD. I eventually did a run as much for the upper deck as for the miles. And I'm really glad I did too! What an awesome plane that was. And to top it off, last year I went to Vietnam on a great fare and received an operational upgrade to the upper deck on the return flight when they were oversold. To say the least, it was a pleasant surprise. I actually received an op-up both directions (different plane type on the way over) so I flew Business class for about $500. Those are the things that make keeping Diamond worth it. I understand that it's not worth it for all, but if I can manage to keep it, I'll give it a shot.

As far as MU, I read about the smoking. But the more recent reviews I found said it was less of a problem so my fingers are crossed. I'm booking a May trip so I'll let you know how it goes.

Travelomania

Has anyone been able to get a GUC to work for the D1 Suite on the A350 ?

rizrizriz

@nichelle Great news on an OpsUp (going both ways) That would have been a great trip. One of these years husband and i are gonna go back to Vietnam. last time there was 2007. Likely gonna way a few years til daughter also might remember the family that is there. My only overwater OpsUp was ATL-MAD, (and was other half's first time sitting up front) Before he thought it was a "waste" to sit up front. Since then, he realized how much better can be, in particular making the most out of time on vacation.

nichelle

@rizrizriz That's right! I remember that you were expecting an addition to the family. Congratulations!

Zorak

There have been success reports, including directly from Y to Suites, in the GUC thread in the DL forum.

rizrizriz

Thats good to hear. I sorta wondered also. Guess need to pay attention to that thread.

bdschobel

Yes, I did. March 8: A350, DTW-NRT, two people.

Bruce

Csfing1

How long did you have to wait after making reservation before UG was confirmed and how was the experience? Thanks for your comments and I am looking forward to the experience. Currently in India SMF LAX AMS DEL ATQ and than by car to Jalandhar missing 2 checked bags but they have been located and should arrive this evening. Return ATQ DEL FCO LAX SMF Fri Mar 30 . Used twitter for DL and KLM to trace bags. OB about 33 hrs and ret will be about about 40 hrs as we have to allow extra time for travel to ATQ via car. Long mission trip to help people improve their lifestyle and health and their vision as primary purpose is corneal surgery to treat corneal blindness done by our son and we come along to teach Lifestyle Management of common health problems - Diabetes, arteriosclerotic Heart Disease, high blood pressure, weight management etc. Your lifestyle has a profound impact on your health and quality of life. It’s the food, activity and your outlook or attitude that make a huge difference. Have made similar trips to Micronesia - Ebeye in the Marshall Islands and Chuuk or Truuk. Have made similar trips to China, Singapore and Philippines without the eye surgery portion but they have gone to Palau, Fiji and other locations. Life is more fulfilling when you are helping others. This our third trip to India and with God’s blessing there will probably be others as the needs are great. Have a wonderful week and help others in the journey of life and you will receive many blessings as well! Blessings and safe travels to all. Questions and comments encouraged. There are organizations that plan trips like we mentioned that you can volunteer your services. If you want to go to Micronesia it is Canvasback and See International for missions to save sight throughout the world. Helping others is a wonderful way to enrich your life by being a blessing to others.

bdschobel

I had to wait 11 months! The whole experience was not fun, even though it ended well. First of all, no upgrades were available at time of purchase. That's not unusual, but it was the beginning of a long journey. I called several times to make sure that everything was properly in place, especially after a couple of schedule changes, one of which left a permanent (and wrong) warning on the record that we were at risk of misconnecting in Tokyo. Everything was fine, but the upgrade never cleared. Secondly, whenever I called, I was told that we could upgrade into Premium Select but not Delta One -- that upgrading to Delta One would require TWO GUCs (and who would be crazy enough to do that?). That was simply incorrect, and every time I had to go to a supervisor to get past the bad advice I was getting from front-line agents on the Diamond line! We simply held on to our main cabin seats (29B and C) and hoped for the best, not accepting upgrades to Premium Select that were offered a couple of times. Finally, on the day of travel, March 8, there were two open Delta One seats, and we were numbers 1 and 2 on the upgrade list. I had the usual fear of shenanigans, but actually, everything went as it should have, and we got the two open seats, 1A and 5B. I persuaded the person in 5A to take 1A, so I could sit near my companion.

The actual flight was terrific. The A350 is exceptionally quiet, which I wasn't expecting, and the food and service were great. The compartment doors do not function very well, swinging off their tracks too easily and not closing completely. That seemed to be a universal complaint, not limited to our seats. Anyway, I'm glad that we got to experience this, but using GUCs introduced waaaay too much drama and suspense, and I wouldn't do it again. Frankly -- and Delta will be happy to hear this even if my kids aren't -- I would just buy Delta One rather than trying to use a GUC again. The whole experience was really miserable, up until the actual flight, which was great. (I'm unlikely to be Diamond next year, anyway, so using GUCs may not be an option for me.)

Bruce

Csfing1

Bruce, thank you for sharing your experience with the readers and it more or less is what I would expect. Am glad it worked out but those last minute waits till you are boarding are a real pain but it does happen more frequently than I want to think about! Any other comments by readers encouraged and welcomed!

dannycee

China Eastern is not half bad. I can't believe it, but they had a special from Cebu (I usually fly out of Manila which is a lot further for me). I got a RT in business class thru PVG to LAX for $1208.... MQMs23,770MQSs4MQDs$6,338BASE MILES15,846BONUS MILES28,522= 44,368
Shocked at the value, I quickly grabbed two more.... one thru Chicago and another thru LAX which is basically a mileage run.... 2 days in LA to run some errands. I am a Plat Med and figured I had no shot at Diamond. but if this value holds up.... My 3 RTs will give me $20,000 in MQD and with my Amex spend... I have a shot.

I own a small call center over here so I don't do any domestic travel almost at all....

Oh, 3rd flight on MU in business class in the past 6 months already and I have never smelled smoke from cockpit....

dannycee

3 MU flights in the past 6 months. Never smelled smoke from cockpits. Had good service. The lounge second floor has reclining couches which I have passed out in for 7 hour shots on the 2 with long layovers. Shower kits in lounges decent - lockers are new and big with thumb print technology for access always many available. Lounge food is good fruit, 5 food dishes (all 3 two of which were baked beans and purple sweet potatoes) like chicken, beef, etc. The last time, they served 2 pork meals which kind of was my only issue. They also have a shabu shabu soup station with various options. Drinks normal. If you have China visa, free hotel courtesy of the airline.

The first time I was there for 12 hour layover 4 months ago, they gave me a stamp and I could leave the airport. The second and third trips (2 and 3 weeks ago), they said they changed their policy and if your layover is under 24 hours you can't leave.... Even though I had a hotel voucher from the hotel. The airline apologized and gave me 2 food vouchers. Even though I had the lounge food, I went to one of the restaurants and had a nice beef curry with one of the vouchers and handed the other to a pretty girl who didn't have lounge access....

I tried to catch 1 more of those cheap Biz flights to assure my DM status, but no longer available.

ULDB65

Danny,
Welcome to FT, and thanks for the info.
I am taking my first MU biz class long haul (JFK-PVG) next Sunday. Their schedule and routing worked with my schedule so I thought I'd give it a try...

dannycee

Enjoy it! For me it was quite good, although I don't have a lot to compare it with as up until last year, I wasn't a business class flier much, except for a round trip to Tokyo on American a few years back. Last flight I had the duck, slept well. Flight was a bit bumpy but there was bad weather in Asia on the news. I felt like the pilots could have been a bit more communicative with that, but what can you do? Nice movie console. Decent food. Attentive Stewardesses. The lounge is somewhat busy, but decent. Ah, for the wifi in PVG, it asks for a phone number (and of course mine didn't work in China), but if you go to the second tab, username 123 and pass 123. That's how it is in the lounge anyways.