harryhood

For reasons I cannot fathom, UA is charging $13k for a r/t in J doing DEN-PVG while AC offers the same trip (through YVR) for $7500. Looks like YVR-PVG is on a 787.

I am not sure I have GS locked up this year (about the same level of travel as last year, same cpm I think and I got it), but I cannot justify paying $4.5k more for a UA seat. The AC 787 J seats look pretty sweet. How are they to sit in? How is AC service?

entropy

AC service is pretty good, the international meal service is (imho) better than United, but not by a mile (the north american meal service is far better than UA).

the AC MLLs are much better than the United Clubs. the AC 787 seats are closer to United's "GF" seats than their "BF" seats.

hookthem

If I had to choose, I'd pick 747 upper deck UA over 787 anything (OK, maybe some exceptions). Just think of the hours you'll gain without the connection (that will justify $3k) and then the better seat (the additional $1.5k). I haven't been all that impressed with any of the 787 configs.

FWIW, I have had EXCELLENT UA TPAC experiences (recently) on 747... exceptional service and good food. Only negative is that your carry-on might not fit in the smaller upper deck bins.

mherdeg

For $4500 I will personally come to your home, try to close your door, realize it is stuck, and wiggle it back and forth until it un-jams; then I will randomly replace several switches and lights in your house; I will also turn the power off and on several times over the course of several hours, and I will eventually declare that everything is fine; all while you get to stay in your lie-flat bed.

That is, I will give you the full 747 experience.

I cannot fathom paying that much more for UA. There must be some cheaper routing that provides UA J or at least UA can plate a cheaper J ticket?

EmailKid

There's an understatement

My favorite way to travel ........... er, except for my last SFO-NRT where the native Japanese speaker FA on Upper Deck couldn't do enough for the Japanese speaking pax while blowing off non Japanese pax totally

The "later" answer to all my requests turned into a NEVER.

Thankfully there was non Japanese speaker FA as well that had to attend to 75% of the non Japanese speaking cabin.

Tblack15

On UA / DEN-PVG, he still has to connect. DEN-LAX-PVG or DEN-NRT-PVG is the 787, and DEN-SFO-PVG is the 747 option.

I'd still take the AC option.. although I'm more cost prohibitive than convenience.

bikenski

Definitely take AC if the connection times work out well. Their new 787 is 1-2-1 configuration with 18" monitors. https://787.aircanada.com/en/ shows how much nicer AC's 787s are than UA's.

Not sure which aircraft are running DEN-YVR-DEN these days, but you may be stuck on a CR7 for those segments, which is the only negative. I have used AC numerous times to fly to Asia, and always prefer them to UA. SQ is even better, but getting to PVG on SQ would require multiple connections.

vdostoi1

I flew the AC 787 from YYZ to ZRH back in June. Hands down - a much better experience than the UA BF. Enjoyed the meal. Did not think the service was anything special but definitely enjoyed the new plane, the flat bed and the experience of flying on a 787.

TrayflowInUK

For me it'd be a no-brainer. I'd take AC over UA in a heartbeat.

harryhood

Nope. In fact, some of the options UA.com offered me (all of which are normal, one-stop routings through LAX, ORD, SFO or even a redeye to EWR then to PVG) will cost a staggering $16-18k....for J, not F.

It's literally the most expensive tickets I have ever seen UA offer on a search. And we are more than 2 weeks away from departure, so its not like this is happening in a few days. It's incredible.

mherdeg

Hmm. What are your dates? It looks like a "correct" ballpark sticker price for UA J DEN-PVG is around $4.5k, but I think you may do better/worse depending on dates and inventory.

goodeats21

Curious. What is the cost for F on the routing for the 747? When I have seen J that expensive, F is sometimes around the same price.
Are you constrained to purchase J by policy?

roberto99

My recent international flights in AC Business class were quite good.

Good friendly service, good food, large drinks with generous refills, great seat, too.

I felt like AC earned my business.

Another plus: It wasn't UA!

SunLover

Have you looked at booking two separate tickets on UA? Something like:

Ticket #1 - DEN-LAX/SFO/ORD
Ticket #2 - LAX/SFO/ORD-PVG


SunLover

harryhood

Departing 11/8 returning 11/14. I realize these are peak outbound and return days for travel to China (leaving Saturday and arriving Sunday for Monday business, ad the departing again on Friday), but I've done this exact routing (leave Saturday, return Friday) 3 times this year, often with less notice, and usually pay $8-9k.

The best fare I can come up with on all-UA metal is $12,405 (that's DEN-SFO-PVG outbound, and then PVG-LAX-SFO-DEN -- bizarrely, cutting out the dogleg LAX-SFO jacks the price up to $16k), although if I do an alternate routing, like PVG-KIX-SFO-DEN or PVG-NRT-SFO-DEN, it can go down to $10.8k -- but that means leaving PVG early, before I want to leave.

The worst fare is $22k, in J, PVG-ORD-DEN.