NH or OZ?
 

Flying in C ex NYC, should I pick NH or OZ?
Ticket price is the same (buying Y/B ticket, using UA miles to upgrade).

NH: daytime flight, connect via ORD
OZ: redeye, connect via ICN

Suggestions please?

First, I'd choose whichever I can confirm an upgrade at booking.
If both are available, then I'd choose OZ because I don't like ORD connection.

Actually, a 14-hour flight westbound isn't a redeye. In any case, NH is superior to OZ in all respects, both in the air and on the ground.

cheers,

Henry

Well, for all intents and purposes, it is. Leaves JFK at midnight, arrives ICN at 5am.

Either way, looks like I'm sticking with NH, or should I do UA?

Yes, but as I said, (because of the time zones) it's 14 hours later. If you can't get any sleep on a 14-hour flight, it's not because of the hour at which it departs. Redeye means a medium length, overnight eastbound flight (e.g., SFO->NYC or London->Moscow), where the time zones cheat you out of any decent sleep opportunity.

cheers,

Henry

Yeah, but we're picking on technicalities here. OK... I guess I should change it to "overnight".

Where is your final destination that requires a connection at ORD? NH still as JFK-NRT as far as I can tell, so why fly NYC-ORD before hoping onto NH? If the NH option requires an additional stop, I would suggest OZ.

LAX

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My final destination is NET. Either way, I have to connect. I can't confirm an upgrade in the NH JFK flight.

Given the booking class requirement for a *upgrade, have you considered attempting to get a Business class award on NH or OZ using your United miles?

Explore

B fare on NH costs less than H fare on UA... around $1800, which is not too bad compared to what B class goes on most other *A carriers. The only thing that kinda worries me is that NH doesn't consider B to be a full fare class, only Y and E.

Much more fun at ICN when you arrive. Nice shower and computer set up. Much better shopping. Food is acceptable in the lounge. The service in C on OZ is wonderful. Always with a smile, and Johnny on the spot.

Last time I flew NH was several years ago, so I can't make a fair comparison.

As for UA, don't even think about it. ;)

I would pick OZ over NH any time in C. NH most probably will have the better IFE but OZ will have better service. The only time I would not pick OZ over NH is when OZ has scheduled their only non renovated 747 which has a business class from the early 1990s.

How do I search for OZ availability? seatcounter doesn't seem to show anything...

That's been my experience as well.

If you would fly UA new C all or most of the way, then the seat is definitely better though service is inferior. I would personally opt for UA under those circumstances, but it hinges on whether you value seat quality (UA) or service quality (NH) more.

Perhaps one other small factor in UA's favor is that you might accrue more miles on UA than on another airline.