ShagU

Hi all,

I'll be traveling LAX-LHR on 15 Nov, returning on 20 Nov. In doping out an itinerary, my initial thought was to force a routing of LAX-SFO-IAH-LHR to provide some relatively painless EQM, but that might rise some questions, as international travel at my company gets extra scrutiny. So, I'm going with LAX-IAH-LHR. UNLESS, The Wise Ones here have a better recommendation, based on equipment, likelihood of upgrade (I'm a gold, will be plat on the return), or something else I'm missing.

For the return, I'm trying to finagle our company's OTA to provide LHR-FRA-SFO-LAX as an option to get a ride on a 747. Haven't done that in years, and don't know when the opportunity will come again. Again, if there's a better option than LHR-IAH-LAX, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks in advance.

harryhood

I know you want PQM's but its really hard to ignore the nonstop LAX-LHR

cfischer

the IAH option is cheap because of low taxes and IAH-LHR has a decent C-class product. I'd go w/ this option both ways. On the return if through FRA I'd consider LHR-FRA-IAH (on LH 380)-LAX if in Z or higher

JVPhoto

Regarding upgrades your long flights will have nothing to do with being gold or plat. It would only matter for your domestic flights in the US (LAX-IAH) etc on getting upgraded to first. You'd still be sitting in Economy on the TATL ride.

Kacee

Economy in the UA 744 is generally considered the worst Y class in the mainline fleet, with tight seating, no power, and no AVOD.

EWR764

Although the wifi and streaming device entertainment make for a reasonable compromise. In seat power is desperately needed.

Duke787

I assume this is not paid J given that you mentioned upgrades. Otherwise NZ is the obvious recommendation for *G direct

Kacee

The beta is highly unreliable. Really no solution at all at present, IMO.

lhrsfo

On the way to LHR, and assuming you are in Economy, you really want to avoid the 747 at all costs. Also, you will be only semi-functional that afternoon in London, so I would recommend a flight that gets there as late as possible - the later you leave, the greater likelihood of more sleep on the plane, so either the n/s, the SFO or the last flight from IAH would work, as long as it's not the 787 which is too cramped.

On the return, again I would avoid the 747 and the 787. I have found changing at IAH to be extremely painful, with massively long lines for Immigration, but I will admit I've not done it since Global Entry started. SFO is variable, with lots of flights arriving at the same time, it's a lottery if yours arrives just ahead of the others or just behind. LAX is pretty good. Going via FRA can be quite painful - the airport there is chaotic with lots of bus gates (a good half of my flights on LH from LHR end up at one), multiple security checks and a labyrinthine layout. Also, it's very prone to fog delays in winter.

Finally, because of the 500 mile minimum, the short hop to or from SFO counts for slightly more than you would otherwise expect.

andrewwm

The most PQMs you could possibly fit in would probably be a LAX-SFO-ORD-IAH-LHR routing, but I'm guessing you want to avoid scrutiny. If so, the LAX-IAH-LHR is your best bet.

Pass on this if you aren't going to be in C. The ordering for Y experiences would probably be:

2 class 767
3 class 777
2 class 777
3 class 767
3 class 747

747 has a low ratio of E+ to E, no power, and flaky on-demand AVOD.

cubachao

747 still no AVOD? I thought UA has upgrade that. Remember I flew 747 from sfo to pvg couple times

FriscoHeavy

Cubachao,

The United 747s have no personal TV's or entertainment. You get terrible Wifi and that's it.

azzurro

Passport control at IAH is pretty easy with GE but the lines are often still long without it. After that part sometimes you can get in the far right lane after baggage claim with GE, too which can speed up the process. Then, exiting and reentering TSA checkpoint with Pre makes the whole thing pretty smooth. As far as I am concerned, GE is super helpful at most US air ports of entry.

wto605

Also I'm 99% sure the 3-class 763 doesn't have AVOD but instead personal TV (i.e. movies are on a loop)... better than the 744, but still.

Honestly the only reason to fly the 744 is if you want wifi (but considering there's no outlets that doesn't do a ton of good). If you'd like outlets and the chance of wifi (but no guarantees) go for 2-class 772's (50% have it right now), the 3-class 772's at least have a few (compared to 1 763 and 0 764 ) but they have a long way to go given the size of the fleet.

Kacee

Agreed. So long as you have GE, IAH is IMO the second best UA hub for international arrivals, after SFO.

Correct.