dparkinson

Anyone have any experience on UA936 IAD-ZRH in GF?

lhrsfo

Nice one!

halls120

You can thank Mark Berglund for that. He is the genius behind the "all elites are equal" strategy currently employed by United.

Mats

I flew yesterday from Paris to Dulles in Global First. I had taken this flight in the past, when it was on an older-generation 777. I'd also flown in Global First from San Francisco to Frankfurt.

This was my best experience in that cabin. The seat really is fantastic, and I slept for a bout 5.5 hours. "Turndown" service wasn't offered, and I didn't ask for it. I was completely comfortable.

The staff at Roissy/Charles de Gaulle are my favorites of any United employees worldwide. They really treat everyone as a guest, and they do make a special effort to look after first class passengers. They do escort first class from the lounge to the plane, but it's announced as "Global Services," not "Global First" so I missed that opportunity. (Not that it was a problem.)

The food is almost identical to erstwhile Continental BusinessFirst. I had tandoori chicken, which has always been one of my favorites in the Chelsea Catering recipe book.

The inflight crew was polite but not falling at one's feet. If I wanted something, I'm sure I could have had it, but they really just stayed out of the way. They made no introductions, and did not address me by name either. They really just seemed tired. On the other hand, they weren't mean, rude, and I got the impression that they cared about safety.

United lacks any Global Services / Global First representation at the baggage hall. Continental always did this, and Delta certainly used to do it for BusinessElite. There was always a designated "concierge" to answer questions, help with bags, and assist with connections. There is only a generic customer service desk.

Upon arrival, I used the Global First lounge. No showers, which has been pointed out elsewhere here. It was fully comparable to a business class lounge overseas. The staff were particularly friendly (and funny), there is an open bar, much more food than one would find in a United Club, but it was still just an airline lounge.

I flew Air Canada on the way over. I still slept well in their Executive First seat. The entertainment is comparable on both. The Air Canada crew were friendly, but not particularly personable. The food was substantially better on United. I mostly appreciated the quiet space of the Global First cabin.

As I've planned my next trip to Europe, I've noticed that the other Star Alliance options (Swiss, Lufthansa) have first class seats that are of much shorter width than United Global First (with the exception of a few new Lufthansa aircraft.) Not to say that I'm fat, but United seat was notably wider.

The key: expect the former Continental BusinessFirst, and that's what you will receive.

HKChicago

I splurged and cancelled my middle seat in economy and bought an ON saver ticket for ord-hkg today. What do I need to know to enjoy the high life? I remember reading there is a mattress pad available? Does one request that? Does it make the seat impossible to incline for lounging/reading thereafter? Anything else?

UA-NYC

It depends - if it's your first time in an int'l F cabin, it should be quite nice for you.

Make sure you it up the Int'l F lounge in Chicago
Get your mattress pad on board when you want to sleep - it won't affect lounging. The suite is great.
Enjoy it!

rankourabu

Dont set your expectations too high and you will enjoy it

cheltzel

They will set up the seat into a bed with the pad when you want to sleep.

Don't expect too much from the food/beverage service. It is pretty good, but nothing special. Basically a BF meal with more options and a better presentation.

The seat itself is great.

The catering at the GFL is better than any of the other UCs at ORD.

If your flight departs from gate C18 (the typical departure gate for UA895), you can board directly from the lounge.

bsb21

The staff at TG are fantastic!

BUT, its hard to beat zooming around the tarmac in a Mercedes S-Class (ie LH)!

5khours

Well even though I love TG, I don't think it has the best GF service of all. Sitting in the BKK lounge now so I'll agree that the lounge is top rate especially if you avail yourself of the spa/massage, but inflight service while always friendly can be a little a spotty and the in-flight food is mediocre IMHO.

As to hard product, I'm not a huge fan of the new F suites in the 380 or refitted 747s, but I do like the F suites in the leased 777s. Still a lot of old F seats flying so overall, I'd rank them only average.

Finally, I think they are way behind in terms of IT and phone support for reservations, flight changes, seat assignments, etc. If time is important (which it is for me), then this a bit of a drawback.

Certainly one of the top airlines, but enough flaws that I'd be hard pressed to say "the best service of all." Certainly one of the best, but not "the best."

EnvoyBoy

If you're alone, grab a window seat (pref row 2) for privacy, more shelf space and for three fresh air nozzles. Center seats in GF on the 747 are still better than the rest of the plane but grab a window seat if you can.

Some of my best crews in GF have been HKG-based. Hope you get one of them.

HKChicago

Thanks for the tip on the lounge with the side door - that was neat.

As for the flight - I was a bit worried that this would make me averse to sitting in business, the way business class has made me averse to sitting in Coach. But actually, I will be perfectly happy in my business seat next time. The difference seemed very minor to me. I've actually had better service in business. Food was about the same. Seat slightly wider but it both looks and feels about the same. I can't fathom paying double the price of business for this - I guess for some people the money truly doesn't matter, but even still, it's hard to understand!

cheltzel

There isn't a lot of difference between the catering and service on UA between BF and GF. Personally I find the GF seat more comfortable than the BF seat.

On your next TPAC F award flight I would suggest trying OZ235 (ORD-ICN) with the new F suites or NH11 (ORD-NRT). The nice thing about flying NH from ORD is you leave from T1 and can use the UA GF lounge.

The F service on the Asian carriers will make you averse to flying anything else.

FlytheTail

Thanks for sharing. I'm presently wondering if I should burn a GPU to upgrade from C to F on a UA 777 from NRT to ORD.

I think this depends a lot on what seat you have in business and on what aircraft. There's got to be less difference if you have a good biz seat upstairs on the 747 versus a middle seat downstairs. Similarly, the difference between biz and GF would probably be greater on a 777 than a 767.

TomA

GF is the one group (other than GS) that I think should be boarded before 1K. I think BF should be boarded with 1K.