BOSNRTSFOICH

Need to get to Japan in November and looking at EWR to TYO. Using 11/10 as an example and have a few questions. It looks like they have flights to HND and NRT leaving 10 minutes apart.

1) What are the odds of those both actually going out and how far out has UA been updating schedules w/ COVID-related reductions?
2) If I book a MUA to PN class, is there an option to later bump up to Polaris again later?

WineCountryUA

For November, I would expect this weekend or at the latest the next
Do you mean RN, Premium Plus upgrade? You can request an upgrade / waitlist for both Premium Plus and Polaris or just one.
How does PlusPoints/GPU/ Mileage Upgrade waitlist for business work with PremiumPlus?

zombietooth

I hope you are a Japanese citizen, married to one, or are a resident because, even though I have a work visa and contract pending, I still can't fly there according to my prospective employer. I am supposed to start a job in December and indications are that it will have to be delayed.

EWR764

Plan for NRT only. Odds are United won't launch any of the new HND flights until next March. The EWR/LAX/IAD-HND routes were supposed to launch for the start of the S20 schedule this past March and have been kicked down the road, month by month, to the current schedule.

If you book a MUA into PN, that's a Polaris booking class, so a Polaris seat. Same advice as always, upgrade inventory is never guaranteed nor predictable, so grab it when its available, especially if you are looking at the HND flight. It's a safe bet that in a week or two, the November EWR-HND flights will be merged into a single EWR-NRT flight. So, if you see upgrade inventory on EWR-HND now for November, I would grab it, and either it will roll automatically into NRT when the flight changes, or you'd have a great argument to get your upgrade restored following the change.

I have very little confidence of the EWR-HND launching in November.

EpsilonZer0

100% agreement. Those HND flights were primarily negotiated for the Olympics. I was in the same boat, hoping to catch the first ORD - HND flight last April but covid put the kibosh on that. I was really excited about the route too, been traveling to Japan NRT twice a year for the past 10 years from ORD. One year I even went out of my way to fly to LAX and grab the Red-Eye to HND because I was so tired of the NRT - Tokyo commute. Sorry man, my money is on that HND route is going bye bye until May next year.

worldtrav

UA currently operates ORD-HND, it left a few hours ago as UA881.

EWR764

Good catch... will edit.

That said... I don't see EWR-HND launching any sooner than the start of the S21 IATA season.

dkc192

ORD-HND has been shelved for October. The placeholder schedule has it coming back in November, along with EWR/SFO/LAX/IAD, but I'm skeptical we'll see any UA metal in HND in November once the real November schedule is published this weekend or next.

Dublin_rfk

Ditto: I have a customer that has been working with the Japanese Health Ministry for several weeks and my potential arrival date (without 14 days of quarantine) changes almost every day.

zombietooth

There is a lot of confusion among businesses in Japan. Just last week, my customer informed me that I was "go" for an arrival in the 1st week of December and would only need a negative PCR test before I left the US and another on arrival in Japan, and that they, as my sponsor, would be responsible for my condition and controlling my travel. However, they had a Japanese translator read the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website in Japanese and contact me. The translator said that the official policy is that no one who has been in the US within the last 14 days will be admitted, essentially ruling-out the possibility of quarantining in Japan for 14 days, so I don't even think that is possible.

Textile

Yes - as long as you don't qualify for the very limited exceptions (i.e. be a spouse) Japan is still technically all but closed to foreigners.... Our family in Japan tell us that next steps ultimately depend on the fall "flu / covid" season severity....

Dublin_rfk

That follows how my contacts put it. Politics and irrational fear seem to be ruling all.

tylerdurden4543

A bit off-topic but breaking news in the last 24 hours is that things may open for long-term visitors (i.e., foreigners coming to work or study) in October - though from limited countries (below article says approximate 16 countries, mostly in Asia) and I'm not sure the US will make the cut.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...s-entry-curbs/

I agree that the policies may seem discriminatory (and that's from a foreigner living here for the past 3 years) but to fair, Japan has COVID pretty well controlled and I don't necessarily blame the government for being conservative about allowing in huge numbers of entrants from countries where things are not quite as...stable.

bocastephen

There is no way the OP will be flying to Japan without Japanese citizenship or PR in November of 2020. I would say entry to Japan by non-Japanese citizens/residents from the USA is a non-starter for at least early 2021, and potentially into next spring. I know a US citizen married to a Taiwan citizen, and who was added to their household list, who still cannot get an entry permit for Taiwan even with a negative test and 14 day quarantine, and Japan is even stricter.

Maybe the OP would like to return to the thread to explain how they intend to enter Japan so we can provide some guidance before they buy a ticket that United will likely refuse to refund, and which they likely will be unable to fly.

tylerdurden4543

I get your point but this statement isn't even factual as of today, let alone 2 months from now. The rules here are continuously evolving and but even today short-term business travelers from certain countries (Vietnam, Thailand, for example.) who are not Japanese citizens or permanent residents are being allowed in, albeit with PCR tests and 14 day quarantines. And, the guidance is changing weekly. Based on the article I posted above, this list of eligible countries and reasons for visiting will grow but I think tourists will be last and certainly not from countries where COVID is deemed to be out of control (UK, for example).

Back to the question at hand, I don't know what will be the catalyst for UA to start up all the new HND service but open borders at least for short-term business travelers from the US seems to be a reasonable assumption. Will that be November? December? January? Who knows at this rate