UA897 NRT-SIN First Class - another airline
 

UA 897F NRT-SIN, Seat 2J

I left the lounge rather late, so the concierge had already left to escort the other F pax. I was the last person to board the front cabin, and found it was going to be full. The FA's greeted me very cheerfully and helped me get settled in. We had one western senior FA and the rest of the crew seemed to be based in Asia. I tried to figure out which one was the purser but didn't get around to it, I guess he was serving the C cabin.

Pre departure drinks and newspapers were offered, and I noticed that the pax that had boarded first and had finished theirs got an offer for seconds. In addition, one of the FA's took out a sample of all the magazines available on board and paraded them to each passenger's seat. She also offered Japanese language newspapers. Noise reduction headsets (again, these worked too) and the menu followed. The last thing distributed before take-off were slippers/socks and eye-shades (the full amenity kits were not offered). All in all, the welcome and initial feeling of the service on this flight didn't feel like the usual UA flight - but more friendly/accommodating than all three other International F flights that I just reported on.

The menu features the following choices:

To begin:

Tender chicken simmered in Chinese wine
- jellyfish salad with sesame soy dressing

Main course:

Deep-fried snapper and king prawn with turmeric cream sauce
- spicy mango salsa with bell peppers and raisin couscous

Herb-crusted rack of lamb with curry oil vinaigrette
- cabbage, onion and mushroom salad

Breast of chicken marinated with Chinese herbs
- smoked with white rice, sugarcane and rose tea,
- egg fried rice and kailan with oyster sauce

The Early Seating Meal:

Braised sweet corn soup with crabmeat and asparagus
Chefs salad with juilienned ham, chicken, Cheddar and Swiss cheese
Eli's Caramel Brownie fudge tart

Dessert:

International cheese sampler
Red Cheddar, Emmenthal and Kikorangi Blue cheese

Eli's Caramel Brownie fudge tart

Wines:

Brut, Veuve Clicquot - La Grande Dame
Sandeman's Porto
Selected French and other international premium wines

[to be continued]

After take-off, meal orders were taken. I didn't notice any particular order in taking selections, and didn't hear any special thanks to top tier flyers. This flight had a bunch of 1K's, I was able to see at least 4 in the F cabin as I quickly glanced at the manifest during one of my bio-runs to the back. However, as the warm nuts and drink service came out, you started to notice the difference in service. The champagne was served in perfect fashion (label presented to you before pouring, napkin semi-covering the bottle to pick up any drops, bottle held from the base, etc.). Tables were set, and the bread was offered first right after you got your appetizer served (not 10 minutes later as it usually happens). The chicken appetizer was excellent. I remember this dish from my previous F flights in Asia with UA and was happy to have it again.

As the main course, I selected the snapper & prawn. It was very good, what a difference with the seafood entrée that I had been thrown at during my EZE-ORD segment. Perhaps this should serve as a lesson, order beef on outbound Latin American flights and seafood dishes on outbound Asian flights?

Service continued to be impeccable throughout the meal service, with my glass of La Grande Dame being refilled promptly. I skipped the cheese & dessert but did catch a glimpse of the service. Instead of the pre-served plates, a FA came around with a tray that included assorted fresh fruits and a variety of crackers. Warm bread from the main meals was also offered.

After the linens were cleared. I settled back & began writing this report while listening to my CD player. FA's offered water & drinks to everyone and came around the cabin regularly. The difference to the overall service compared to what I had experienced before was remarkable. It's very hard to understand how United seems to be content to have two different airlines operating under a same roof. Even from the moment the plate is presented, you can tell that UA's standards in Asia are different. It's so obvious the difference pops up in your face. Sure, the silverware is the same, the plates are the same, but the attention to detail is certainly different (and so much better that it's very difficult to describe). Lets hope the new management team picks up the good vibes from UA's Asian operations and get at least some of the same standards applied over in headquarters.

Flight time was 7'05" due to very strong nose winds during the first part of our flight (over 150 mph as the captain mentioned), and our initial cruising altitude was set at 31,000 feet. Captain also explained that we were most probably going to be around 10-15 minutes late, arriving at Changi airport around 10 minutes past midnight.

Arrived at Changi and was greeted by the Concierge. She had received the message I had requested be sent to SIN regarding my checked luggage. She took care of my requests promptly and escorted me all the way to immigration.


------------------
Gaucho100K

Thanks fo teh great report. I am an AA flyer but your enthusiasm for UA has me interested

The only time I fly UA is on the intra-Asia routes-- I agree that it is like a different airline entirely. Another FlyerTalk poster recently stated that UA had closed it's Asian crew bases; I guess the rumour proved to be incorrect.

I wonder if UA has ever considered rebranding their product? A lot of my associates in the Orient tend to steer clear of all U.S. flag carriers because of service concerns.

[This message has been edited by HKG_Flyer1 (edited 12-28-2001).]

I think the cuts in Asia based FA's did happen, only it affected crews based in BKK. The Asian crews I speak of were -to my knowledge- not Bangkok based.

Gaucho
Nice report ... I, too, have experienced the two "different" Uniteds ... friendly, smiling, knowledgable, caring on intra-Asian routes ... somewhat less so on North American flights. London-based crews come pretty close to their Asian counterparts. As for Asian flight attendant bases shut down, Singapore was closed under the terms of the union contract. NRT and HKG remain. There is no crew base in BKK.

I, too, have always been impressed with the NRT-SIN service. I've had the good fortune of flying this route in F several times this past tweleve months, and each time is a pleasant experience.

The ONLY complaint that I have is those ridiculous little booties or slippers that they have now. Shame that the full-scale amenity kits went away, but those newew little (and I stress the word little) slippers are a joke. I literally could only get them on my feet halfway, and I'm a twelve. They appear to be made for children! But I guess if that's the worst thing that happens, then I should consider myself lucky.

Thanks Gaucho for the interesting report http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Glad to hear that the other Asian based FAs are maintaining the legendary standards of the sadly missed UA Singapore-based FAs, who, IMHO, are way more professional than the SQ girls.


------------------
UA 1P
I like NZ,NG,NH,UA,SK,LH
I do not like SQ !

Hi Igel-- I just got off an SQ flight from SIN to DPS, in Economy, and will post a detailed trip report. I have a little theory about SQ that perhaps others here will echo.... I think SQ is most definetely a 'Gentleman's Airline'. But more on that in separate threads I plan to start..... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif