PilgrimsProgress

Flying for first time ever in business class. Have a few questions:

1. When flying economy I have almost never used the FA call button. Is it more acceptable in business to use the call button?

2. Are lounge access and expedited security lines automatic at departing airport or should I enquire at check-in for lounge pass?

3. Silly question but how hard is it to figure out the operation of the business class seats and is it fine to ask FA for help in figuring out?

4. What requests are acceptable and what requests are not? For example, is it okay to ask to keep the robe as a souvenir?

5. Any tips on fitting into the business class atmosphere? Usually I dress down while flying but would it be a good idea to dress business casual or better?

Any tips on obtaining the best experience at airport, lounges, layovers, pre-flight, inflight, etc. is appreciated. I want to enjoy the experience without coming across as overbearing. Posted in UA forum because it is UA award ticket though very little UA metal involved. Please move if necessary. Thank you very much; FT has been awesome!

Itinerary:
SNA-IAH UA 737-800 (1 hour 47 min layover in IAH) 2A
IAH-IST TK 777-330ER (3 hour 35 min layover in IST) 2A
IST-BOM TK 330 on UA but showing 777-300ER on TK (destination) 2A
BOM-NRT NH 737 (8 hour 25 min layover in NRT) 2K
NRT-LAX NH 777-300ER (home) 8K

Jaimito Cartero

fly747first

You are not flying United on the long-haul flights. You will be on Turkish (THY) and ANA Business Class, which are both excellent. ANA generally has nicer cabin crews than THY. However, in my experience, THY offers far better meals than ANA.

Make sure you visit the Business Class lounge in Istanbul, for it is one of the best Business Class lounges out there.

fly747first

United never, ever gives pajamas in J, or even in F.

The OP is flying THY, which doesn't offer pajamas in J, and ANA, which provides light sleepwear in J, though not a full pajamas set.

SEA1K4EVR

Since when? There are no pajamas in any class on UA unless you bring your own.

UTex09

THis made me laugh. Enjoy, OP. You will like both TK and NH. ^

SunLover

Wear long pants with a collared shirt (no wife beater t-shirts please) and keep socks on your feet; and you will blend right in. Add a dark blazer in tow and you would be considered rather snappy.


SunLover

CCIE_Flyer

1. I personally would steer clear of the use of the call button for most situations. With luck you will have an attentive crew and the ratio of crew: pax will be much more in your favor than what you're accustomed to in Y.

...

5. You will likely see the full spectrum of attire but I would encourage you to dress comfortably but also at least moderately fashionably. I don't believe that a collar is strictly required; hopefully you will be doing some good snoozing and those can be bothersome. The key to me is quality. Tommy Bahama, Ralph Loren...stuff like that can be at once both very cozy for napping and also very presentable for your fellow J pax.

Be prepared to loathe Y a lot more than you used to for the rest of your flying career!

andyh64000

Wear whatever is comfortable. If I am going to try to sleep I usually wear shorts and a t shirt (if I am connecting through SFO I will wear a Seahawks jersey )...or nice sweats and a t shirt.

JBord

+1

Comfortable but not sloppy. Many years ago I used to consistently see attitudes and different levels of service for people dressed in shorts and T-shirts, but it's common these days, especially on overnight flights. The world is a more casual place in general. In the summer I usually go with shorts or jeans, and a T or polo shirt. A good rule of thumb might be to wear something you'll be comfortable in at your destination (unless you are going right to a meeting...no one expects a suit and tie on an 8 hour flight!). My rule is no gym shorts, sweats, flip flops, or anything that casual.

More importantly, it's about your attitude not your dress. Be polite to the crew and your neighbors. And a good piece of advice a football coach told me nearly 30 years ago (when scoring a TD)..."Act like you've been there before".

Ocn Vw 1K

As the OP has a number of Star Alliance carriers to be flown on this itinerary, and none of the international segments are operated by United, I'll move this to the Star Alliance forum for more discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, United forum.

PilgrimsProgress

Thanks everyone for helping me benefit from your experience and wisdom!

CCIE_Flyer: Definitely thought about whether this experience would spoil economy travel for me in the future, hope not!

Regarding the attire I tend to be conservative when traveling internationally owing to cultural sensibilities in other parts of the world. The plan is to wear a buttoned-down shirt with collar and trousers, maybe a blazer. If I was travelling domestically (esp to Hawaii) the answer would be different.

1) What is the protocol in business class if you need to get out and you are in the window seat: can you climb over the sleeping passenger in the aisle seat (prob there is no need to "climb over" with a 60+" seat pitch)?

2) Is there ever VDB or downgrade situations when travelling business class?

PS: the lack of UA metal is no coincidence, UA's concept of service is not competitive IMO.

giceh

Regarding #1, I had to climb over my seat mate when he was in the recline position. But since the arm rests are wider, I had plenty of room to step on those and not touch him when I climbed over. This was many years ago and I can't remember the airline - either United or an older Singapore airline plane that didn't have lie flat seats.

Now when I look back at this, I don't advise doing this because if you lose your balance, you'll fall on your seatmate! Definitely not business-like, and I only got away with it because I'm on the small side. This is why I book aisle since I need to drink lots of water on an international flight to avoid situations like these!

But if you have a lie flat configuration seat, it's usually 1 / 2 / 1 seating so you don't have this issue. The flight attendants are super nice and won't mind showing you the seat positions either (lie flats can be tricky!).

JBord

1) yes, step over if you have to. I prefer the window. You just have to move cautiously . Depending on the configuration, you'll either have aisle access too, or you may just have to step over legs, which isn't that difficult for most people.

2) I'm sure there is, but I've been pretty lucky so can't comment further.

Artpen100

If you have an iphone and download the loungebuddy app, it can tell you all about the lounges you will have access to in each airport based on ticket class, airline status, your credit cards and every other variable. It also very helpfully tells you how to get to them and what amenities they have (which is information sometimes hard to find even on the airline's own website).