LAX

At nearly double the cost of miles, I would do NH. Granted I have never flown NH in premium cabins, I doubt even the old C seats are uncomfortable. I supposed if you want horizontal lie-flat and if NH's old C seats are slanted, then you may justify going for UA F.

LAX

darrenhe

True, I have thought about the miles difference a lot already. But this award ticket is a gift, and I hardly use my miles because of this never-ending qualification-chase. Just hoping to get some insight into UA F vs. ANA C service/food/entertainment/etc.

tentseller

Since you are using AP miles from YOW would not YOW YYZ NRT in AC make more sense? The Business product in the AC A340/777 is better than the F on UA 744.

The only *A F I would use going TPAC is NH or SQ.

EnvoyBoy

I respectfully disagree although will confess I have only 3 AC EF experiences (with a fourth in a few hours!) and countless UA Int'l FC experiences.

UA provides a better, larger seat with more space and storage.

UA FC comes with a higher FA/pax and Lav/pax ratio.

UA also provides the IFL, which while not great, is better than MLL.

Food on both is equally inconsistent. I had two horrible red meat meals on AC followed by an excellent chicken dish the other day. UA is also equally uncertain.

AC has far superior mid-flight snack options.

AC and UA both have on-demand IFE (although I've enjoyed being introduced to Canadian shows/movies I've never seen--AC mixes things up for this American).

UA has MUCH better (again, based on my three AC experiences; YMMV) post-meal cabin service. AC FAs disappear and don't pick up service items. If you want to have anything on AC not scheduled, you need to be proactive about it. UA FAs in Int'l F I find patrol the cabin regularly, especially when they know I'm awake (which is most the time).

ainternational

Still an interesting question re ANA C > UA F? First, depends if it's new ANA C, which I haven't experienced, but assume is quite nice given lie flat and staggered. Generally, I'd say service on UA in C/F is totally hit or miss. Sometimes better than ANA C, sometimes worse. In _general_, IMHO, I find ANA service to be a bit "cold" as in typical high quality Japanese service. Meaning don't expect over the top bubbly FA's - expect prompt and at your service, service from young, attractive Japanese ladies. For UA, expect sometimes pleasant, other times completely not so service from middle to older aged international FA's with seniority. Sorry, but it's true.

If you had to ask me right now, I'd take UA F (old or new) over ANA C, but that's just me. I can see many people on the fence on that one.

RichardInSF

A flat bed seat is a big deal to me, so I'd probably go for UA.

However, in terms of service, the service in NH in int'l Y is consistently better than UA in int'l C. As to whether it's better than UA int'l F, the question really is better put as, "Do you feel lucky?"

LAX

Now that's really sad. How can service in Y be better than C? I mean, given the ratio of crew to pax in C, I think UA should be ashamed even if people don't feel they at least get the same level of service as Y on NH, let alone worse.

LAX

YOWandbeyond

It would make more sense, but since we're travelling over the Christmas holidays, it's not an option. There weren't/aren't any rewards seats on ANYTHING except United... regardless of which direction we went in (Pacific or Atlantic, via USA or not)

As for being "worth it", the question was less one re: points and more one re: whether it's worth going at all.

In the end, we decided to bite the bullet and go. Two weeks in Japan > 15 hours on United. And maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

karung99

Why would you rate Y service in NH is better? I have ride both of them plenty of time, and I will never rate that way.

YOWandbeyond, welcome to FT 20K extra miles is worth for F class.

ordua

I always get F on TATl. You save money when you save time to go back to work the next day.

why fly

For 20k more in points its GREAT! also its useless and expensive to use Aeroplan points.. AC points are VERY expensive to use this was a great use for them.. Hopefully your on the 747's

pnsnkr

Could you please elaborate?

ainternational

Sure, glad to. First, I've never flown the new ANA "square" F. They don't fly that to/from SFO yet. But that should change in 2011.

So for their current F product flying in and out of SFO, it's fantastic, but I think the new UA F is superior in terms of hard product. Larger television screen, bigger physical seat, more storage area. I can't remember the exact seat count in the NH F, probably similar to UA. UA and NH both had two full time FA's for the class no matter the number of pax.

Electronics, meaning the interactive video setup, on the UA flight I found to be better. Good selection, faster response, larger LCD. All that said, when you look beyond the physical product, there are some additional considerations to make.

The NH F menu is amazing. Krug free flowing champagne. Caviar with fresh, hot blinis. About 20-30 options on the menu on NH. It's quite the foodie experience. Definitely superior to UA in terms of options. Quality of food I found to be fairly similar, but NH alcohol selection provided better quality, albeit the same number of options.

In terms of service, NH traditionally is very Japanese. A bit "cold" perhaps, but attentive. Not fast, but thorough. UA highly depends on the actual crew you get, but in general, I find it to be "warmer", e.g. service with a smile. They are also willing to pretty much do whatever you want, e.g. I did a wine tasting at 36K feet on UA. On NH, if it isn't part of the normal "process" or "rules", forget it.

One minor annoyance on NH in general is the inability to use your cell phone (even reading an email) once you board the plane, prior to door closing. Not a major issue and equivalent across all classes.

Finally, NH F provides noise canceling Sony headphones which are fantastic.

pnsnkr

Very good. Thank you. I won't feel too bad if F seats don't open up on NH.

scotti81

Hi

I realize that this type of thread may have been done to death, but I couldn't find a perfect reply when searching. I also realize that these types of comparisons are entirely subjective, but as a bit of a newcomer, I thought I'd ask.

In December I'll be flying one-way from EDI to IAD (likely via LHR), and was planning to burn some miles to do so. The options seem to be Y for 27500 miles, or F for 67500 (plus taxes and fees, of which there is little difference between the classes). I've never flown in an international premium cabin before, but have obviously always wanted to.

Is taking a first-class flight on United a once-in-a-lifetime/wow/ruin me forever on economy travel, or will it just leave me thinking that wasn't really worth the extra 40000 miles? Is the experience, food/drink and lounge access that good?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.