swm61230

I fly to Bkk about 5-6 times a year.

I am based in lax.

I am dumping united because of the lost NRT-Bkk route as one reason.

I am doing the dfw-hkg. I will have an added 2hours of flying added since I need to goto dfw instead of sfo(I can't stand the 787).

In all as I have just done my first trip with AA doing this route I actually got to Bkk earlier then I have on previous ual flights. Also the 3hrs from hkg-Bkk is much easier to deal with then the 6-7hr from NRT.

Totoro

This is incorrect. BR flights accrue both PQM and RDM. I can't recall a situation where one accrues PQM without RDM.

swm61230

I think he meant you will only get PQM/RDM but no PQD unless it is 016 stock

787fan

It's WAY more than 2hrs you're adding. I did a random search of BKK-LAX in October :

JL/AA doing BKK-NRT-LAX is 17:10, very close to great circle routing

CX/AA doing BKK-HKG-DFW-LAX is 24:20 (and that's with short layovers of 1:20 at HKG and 1:30 at DFW)

You're adding 7 hours to your total travel time for the sake of MCE purity. I'll keep my 7 hours thanks.

ps : this is probably out of your realm of consideration, but TG does BKK-ICN-LAX same plane through service, which guarantees you won't ever misconnect

weero

Not my experience so far - on UA ex Asia it is however very hard to get a decent E+ seat.
Double "haha" here - that is like blaming Americans for flying those service-less American carriers. Something crappy can very well be the best choice.

And in the wake of the last few year's experience I have indeed abandoned LH but it takes 5 years to stop being an elite.
As for LH F - you aren't serious, right. How is an F product relevant when talking about E- seating?
I can relate to that. The latter is especially tragic as I flew the 787 of JR and NH ... and it is a very decent plane. Like a 767 after a futuristic makeover ... but UA outright crippled that plane with that Barbie seating .

787fan

AA is most certainly going to put 3-3-3 on their 787s too, so I don't see how it's fair you're blaming UA for this ?

ps it's JL not JR

mduell

Yes, I was explaining how AA x/HKG (where DFW is your only option) is worse than AA (or UA or DL) x/NRT (where they all have multiple options).

Kacee

The bottom line is that US to BKK can be accomplished from some cities (LAX, DFW, ORD) just as easily on AA, and from everywhere else with one additional stop.

Given UA's horrific unreliability, as well as various other issues which have been beaten to death in other threads, this is an eminently viable option (along with DL, BR, and CX) for those who are considering alternatives now that UA has dropped BKK.

787fan

Sure, if you think 24hr 2-stop is a "viable option" to 17hr 1-stop for a person traveling for business reasons.

Many posters insist free MCE/E+ is crucial, so that rules out BR and CX. And they claim the 6hours up to NRT is absolute unbearable and knee-crushing, which actually leaves DL as the only airline that can be Y+ the entire way, not AA.

787fan

Let's just pause for a second here.

UA is 100% E+ ex-Asia, between 70 and 110 seats.

How many TPAC flights AA has that has MCE at all ? That's right ... ONE. And how big is that cabin ? 30 seats.

If you fail E+, UA places you on 3-3-3 on 77E, while AA places you on 3-4-3 on 77W.

Kacee

You are completely blind to the facts.

UA is only more convenient if you fly out of one of five UA hubs (SFO, DEN, IAD, IAH, or EWR). Otherwise it's a tie.

And even then, given that UA is cancelling flights at something like a 5-10x factor vs. AA (Cancelled Flights), your odds of actually arriving on the scheduled day of arrival are much better with AA (or DL, BR, CX, etc.).

The only rational reason to fly UA right now is elite benefits or corporate contract.

787fan

Please go read some facts (and i mean ANY facts) before opening your jaw. UA flight cancellation rate does not equally apply to their TPAC ops.

Out of the OP's requirements of key destinations (LAX SFO NYC) and occasional destinations (ORD DFW ATL MIA), the methods to maximize MCE/Y+ would be :

BKK-HKG-SFO
BKK-HKG-ORD
BKK-HKG-EWR

BKK-NRT-LAX

BKK-HKG-SFO-DFW
BKK-HKG-ORD-ATL
BKK-HKG-EWR-MIA/FLL

3 out of the 3 key requirements (LAX SFO NYC) is 1-stop, with no backtracking in any option. GPU on any one of the 7 routes is flat bed.

For AA, you'll need

BKK-HKG-DFW

BKK-NRT-ORD
BKK-NRT-LAX

BKK-HKG-DFW-JFK/LGA
BKK-HKG-DFW-MIA
BKK-HKG-DFW-ATL
BKK-HKG-DFW-SFO <= really major backtracking

Only 1 out of the 3 key requirements (LAX SFO NYC) is 1-stop (LAX), and SWU on that route results in slanted J.

You're just blindly bashing UA without even considering the OP's needs.

Kacee

I'm not bashing UA at all. This is the reality. Even the sock puppets should be able to acknowledge that

(btw, I've had two forced overnights in Asia on UA this year already while trying to get to BKK. And those were both before the current epidemic of mx.)

787fan

did you book yourself a 1:05 connection at NRT ? then don't blame UA for that.

eponymous_coward

So why exactly is DL not an option?

Also.. maybe you're 5 foot 3. Maybe you're a yogi who can do lotus position in 17 inch wide 31 inch pitch seats. But some of us like pitch when we're flying because we have to actually walk off the plane and we can't amputate ourselves just to fly in what airlines give their self loading cargo these days. That's wrong exactly how?

I agree on TG to LAX being a viable option. The 77W they are using is at 32" and 18'.

I'd probably Kayak with an eye to what saves my knees (no Y- pitch). BTW BR pitch in Y can be 33-34".