Almost routed myself on this flight for next year, wonder what they are doing yo accommodate passengers.

On a related note, the nrt-icn flight is now a 737.

Didn't this route have a lot of business contracts? Or have those all gone to DL?

Not sure but most of my MSFT friends moved from UA to DL in the past couple of years(I think they get ridiculously low business class fares). From what I have heard AMZN just books people on the cheapest possible flight per route for each trip.

Fits with what I've heard about the spending ethos of both companies.

Upgraded SEA-NRT leg for Feb just disappeared from my itinerary (connecting to SIN). I guess I'm supposed to swim to Tokyo?

Nothing by the looks of it

No email ....

The rest of the itin is there, with no way between SEA and NRT ..... ya, ya, call .....

Any idea how long it takes for these flts, namely IAH-MUC to be available for award bookings?

A further move to strengthen the Continental side of the business? (eg the new routes out of IAH)

Bit by bit the old United is fading into history

This stinks. Looks like my trips to Asia will be through SFO. I WILL NOT ride ANA, not after the pain (physical) they inflicted on me last year. It took my knees a month to stop hurting after being jammed into the seat in front of me on three legs. I will avoid DL if at all possible, no legroom in coach on them, too. Nothing new, I first rode them in 1976 and that DC-8 was a sardine can, too. I typically fly out of SEA, so losing the SEA-NRT flights will hurt. Well, there's always the Q400 to Vancouver, followed by Air Canada...

DL has E+ to Asia now from SEA for Plats and higher (I think a 1K can match to plat). I am going to give it a try. The crack of dawn flights to connect through SFO are brutal and then being stuck in E+ on a 747 is at least as bad as ANA.

I am not disagreeing but was it on the 787?

EWR arrives 7:20am and leaves 9:20am
IAD arrives 7:40am and leaves 11:40am

If IAH-MUC arrives at 9:50am and MUC-IAH leaves at 9:25am, it can be served by the EWR or IAD planes, as you said.

But that leads to issues downstream.

1) EWR plane is used for MUC-IAH:
- The flight to EWR can't be served by the inbound IAH plane (not there yet), so the inbound IAD plane is the only option.
- If you then try to use the inbound IAH plane for the IAD leg, you undercut the two hours turnaround time United have deemed as their minimum in MUC, likely leading to regular (expected) delays on the MUC-IAD route.

2) IAD plane is used for MUC-IAH:
- You undercut the two-hour turnaround for every flight to IAH, likely leading to regular delays on that route.

It'll be interesting to see how this shakes out.

What? SFO has been one of the big winners of the merger with more frequencies and routes since 2010. IIRC, SFO was a PMUA hub

those NRT fifth freedom rights are worth their weight in gold. Remember when Six took the Air Micronesia contract to get his foot in the door from GUM? Well now CO has the whole banana and they are going to fritter it away. I feel sorry for the NRT and other Asia based employees who will be let go.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Six

1969 saw the introduction of service from Los Angeles to Honolulu/Hilo; Continental's first Boeing 747s arrived in May 1970. DC-10s were added to the fleet in 1971, affording Continental the ability to carry its burgeoning traffic on key routes between Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, and Seattle.[1]

During the Vietnam War, Continental provided cargo and troop transportation for the United States Army and Marine Corps to Asian and Pacific bases. Continental's 707s were the most common non-military aircraft transiting Saigon Tan Son Nhat airport. As a result of Continental's experience in Pacific operations, the carrier formed subsidiary Air Micronesia, picking up island-hopping routes between Yap/Majuro/ Saipan/Guam and Honolulu, which were served by 727 aircraft. One of Six's long cherished goals was for Continental to become a major player in the Pacific basin, something the airline would achieve only after his retirement.[2]

All that is left is NRT-SIN?

Just sell the NRT slots and give it up Jeffrey.

NRT-GUM. I bet the NRT-SIN won't last long with a widebody. That was their first experiment with the 737 along with Saigon. That 777 NRT hub was a crown jewel. I bet they will shrink that lounge in no time.