Delta "Comfort Plus" vs. United "Economy Plus" - which is better?
 

I will want to get more legroom on an upcoming U.S.-Japan itinerary. For those who have experienced both Delta "Economy Comfort Plus" and United "Economy Plus": Comfort-wise are they about the same? Price-wise do Delta and UA charge about the same? Do you prefer one over the other?

Since no one has yet commented on which option may be better, can I change the topic to ask for views on the comfort and cost of either United's Economy Plus or else Delta's Comfort Economy for a transPacific flight?

Note: Researching this question I found this comment on Delta's Comfort Economy by the Points Guy: "My biggest issue was the lack of padding on the seat. After 6 hours my bottom half felt numb."

http://thepointsguy.com/2012/02/delt...s-it-worth-it/

I've been happier with Delta, on the whole, but IFE is also a concern for me, and UA's TPAC IFE (10+ hour flight to PEK with dropdown monitors, 7+ hour flight to NRT, on to BKK with a 9-channel 'loop' on tiny tiny PTVs, very tiny choice of music) + poor personal overhead lighting tilt me towards DL.

However, I found legroom (other than possibly on the UA 777 bulkhead side rows) to be comparable on either one. On the UA 777 middle bulkhead (the 5-middle-seat config), the armrest between C-D raises (unusual for a bulkhead), so if you are on a light flight, you can get some added stretch out there.

Thank you, Chollie.
I know that upgrading from economy to economy plus on United on the SEA-NRT route costs $119 each way. Would you know if Delta's Comfort Economy costs about the same? (I was unable to determine that cost; it seems you have to go through an actual ticket purchase process - and then the price for that upgrade option to Comfort Economy will appear at the end of the process.)

For the record, the DL (and KLM) product is called Economy Comfort abbreviated EC. It's not and has never been Comfort Plus.

Never gone TPAC but have flown cross country on both. There has never been much difference in comfort nor in price. I think there is an old thread in the Delta forum that may provide some price est's.

Wow, this is really weird. I thought I could get an answer with a dummy booking, but it doesn't let you process until actual purchase time (even though you can choose to upgrade to business class for a specific dollar amount before that).

Look at the Delta forum - there's a brilliant sticky on this put together and maintained by rwoman - terrific information on specific aircraft, and also a link to a spreadsheet where people have documented the (fluctuating) EC prices. Looks like SEA-NRT has been about $100 each way in the past. To confirm, find flights/dates you think you're interested in and then call Delta to confirm.

When I tried to make a dummy booking the first flight was DL non-stop SEA-NRT, but the next one (cheaper) was SEA-LAX-NRT, IIRC. You might want to check both options. The 'metal' from LAX is an airbus, the 'metal' from SEA is Boeing. The LAX option is $155+ cheaper total. You might check Seatguru to see if there's something about one plane or the other that appeals more to you.

Last March I flew LAX to HND on Delta's A330. I flew at the front of EC. The product was not really worth an extra $120. However, the extra leg room that came along with the seat was wonderful. (Especially since it was a full flight) If I had the extra money I would "splurge" and go for it again. If I was already tight on my money, I wouldn't put down an additional $120.

Welcome to FT, thesly.^

If the cost is the same and you're not wedded to a particular alliance, I'd go with DL for the superior IFE and, if you're flying on one, the new interiors on the ex-NW 744s.