Advice Sought on the Best Option for Flying SFO-FRA in Economy
 

I will be traveling SFO - FRA in mid-January. I am UA silver and most likely this will be my only significant trip in 2015 so reaching status (unfortunately) won't be a top priority.

I have to book through my company travel site and it appears I have two options: UA 747 nonstop or LH A380 nonstop. Additionally I can book the LH flight as LH or a UA codeshare. Booking classes would appear to be in T or W. Due to possible complications with booking via our travel site I am not planning to be able to upgrade with miles to business class, etc.

I last flew a 747 international in coach years ago and it was miserable. For that reason (even with the possible upgrade to economy plus on the day of the flight) I believe I'll be better off on the A380.

Two questions:

Any reason to choose the UA 747 over LH 380 that I've not considered?

Better to book the LH flight as a UA codeshare or LH flight and ensure miles are posted to my UA account?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Lifetime miles?? But I doubt that really matters for you.

Doesn't matter.

If it were after March when the earning rules change you'd have to figure out if the fare or the miles would earn you more and then book based on that.

Actually I had not considered that - I'm stuck at about 875,000 lifetime miles and not likely to reach 1M, but of course every little bit helps....does the UA 747 flight count where the UA codeshare with LH would not count?

Thanks,
Bruce

flight must be UA-operated to count towards LT miles.

Everything being equal the LH experience should be better and pre 3/1/15 earned miles will be the same either way.

I'm not sure the "LH experience" in Y on a 380 is something any of us would particularly wish to actually experience. 10 across, with 31" pitch.

Basically, both of the SFO-FRA options suck in Y.

the free booze on LH will make the pain more palatable :D I agree, neither option in E- is particularly appealing. IFE, food, booze better on LH IMO.

The IFE on the 380 gets dreadful reviews. Poor selection and unwieldy IT. Of course, UA's 744 just has the streaming entertainment and limited aircraft with in-seat power. If I had to fly this route in Y, I would seriously look at connecting. Perhaps SFO-LHR-FRA, SFO-CDG-FRA, or SFO-IAH-FRA.

LH A380 has AVOD and UA B747 does not.
UA B747 has E+ and LH 380 does not.
UA flight earns Lifetime miles, LH flight does not.
LH has marginally better service in E than UA E

If I have to choose, I go with UA. 875K miles is so close to achieving 1MM.

Thanks for the good info
 

More to consider....and I had not thought of everything. As always, great info here. I didn't realize coach in the A380 was that bad.....might just revisit the UA flight with the possible day of flight E+ upgrade and LT miles, or a connection. For what it's worth....I don't drink...so that won't be any help :)

Bruce

Connections
 

If I do a connection to get a 777 across the pond it appears I have 3 reasonable options:

UA 1583 320 to EWR UA 968 777 to FRA 5 hours in EWR
UA 1725 757 to IAD UA 932 777 to FRA 51 min. connection
UA 728 757 to ORD UA 907 777 to FRA 1:45 connection

Any thoughts on best option? I would think getting E+ on the 777 on the day of departure would be highest priority.

I would go via ORD. IAD connection is a bit short and EWR connection is too long.

The OP is much better going on a nonstop. I've never flown A380Y, but the SFO birds should have the better IFE.

January from SFO on a domestic flight is a recipe for not making a connection. While the on-time gods might shine kindly upon you, why have the potential tsuris? Whatever you do, take a nonstop. The G gate areas are nice, once you get in the air, you know you should end up where you are going, and January from SFO on a domestic flight is a recipe for not making a connection.

Did I mention that January from SFO on a domestic flight is a recipe for not making a connection?

As a native born and raised San Franciscan I know just what you mean :) Good point!

I've flown the SFO-FRA route twice, it's a miserable experience in Y.

I do not know what the status of the new United WiFi is on that route, but the 747 looks like a relic from the late 80's, with IFE being CRT's hanging from the ceiling. If they have been upgraded, then please disregard.

The IFE on an A380 is remarkably clunky and slow, but it's better than United in this case.

The best I've done on that is IAH-FRA on a LH A380. I liked the 380.

If you are not flying E+ on United, then LH would be the better choice IMHO unless you are going for the lifetime status.

So you like the A380 flying from IAD but not when it flies from SFO? I think you meant the 747-800 flying from IAD. :D

I fly SFO-FRA-XXX a few times a year. A few thoughts.

1. Don't connect, don't connect, don't connect. If you do you'll have a much longer flight and a real risk of misconnects (both due to SFO and due to ZZZ in SFO-ZZZ-FRA).
2. I think the choice between non stops on UA vs LH depends crucially on your height. If you're over 5'9'' I'd go for UA (for the possibility of E+, even if it's less legroom than E+ on non-747 aircraft). If you're <5'9'' I'd recommend LH.
3. Another consideration is that on discount fares, LH won't assign seats. UA will (and you should check out the seat map as you book).

SFO - FRA advice
 

I concur for the nonstop sfo-fra. Even e+ sucks on the 747 (ual), but if your work (and personal schedule) allows it, try to stay an extra night before you start working there so that your body has extra time to adjust to jet lag. And get a sandwich or something yummy at sfo before you board because it'll taste better than what you receive on the plane.

If you do take the connection, do not do through EWR or IAD as the flight is much shorter...more time via ORD to get an OK night's sleep...just pop an ambien and put your head up against the window.

On that topic, doesn't the united flight from SFO leave much later in the day allowing you to be more ready to fall asleep?

I would add to that list that LH has a tendency to run cabins on the warm side. For many people, that would be OK, but I find it uncomfortable.

Thanks again for the info.....

If I were the OP, I'd shoot for a W fare, and try for a GPU upgrade on UA metal. As long as it's UA metal (easier if an 016 ticket), then it can be done. I know it can be done on LH metal with the new e-GPU request process, but I'm not as familiar with that.

Agreed.

I have flow SFO-FRA a few times and IIRC the IFE that plays on your tablet or laptop is pretty. Lots of movies. Just remember to download the latest app prior to getting on the plane.

E+ and a direct. Hard to argue with that. Lufthansa economy is painful

Any chance you can tell how full the load is?

Maybe trying to snag an empty row could make it more doable for you?

As of now the 747 is pretty open....of course it all changes as we get closer but at least it's not a full flight yet.

Betting on an empty row is a fool's errand. You might get lucky but the odds of getting such are very, very low. Best to plan on that not happening.

Regarding UA IFE on the 747, it's much improved. Assuming you have ISP, which seems to be showing up more frequently. My last flight was in BF and I actually ended up using the streaming entertainment rather that what was on my PTV because the selection was better

It would take more than streaming IFE to get me back into Y in a 747. Have the interiors been refreshed? The last two I've flown (and I admit it was 18 months since the last one) were not just "relics of the 80s" as someone mentioned, but felt, and smelled, like they hadn't been refurbed since then either.

I was initially in the camp of avoiding the 747 for the OP's trip like the plague, but reason has prevailed; the main point to the trip is not the flight but rather the destination, and a non-stop is going to be a better choice in January.

If nothing else, bad weather tends to cancel shorter flights first, even when the shorter flight is a TCON mainline. So you're more likely to "drill through" bad weather at SFO on the 747 to FRA than on a 737 to ORD or IAD.

The exit row aisle seats -- 45C and 45H -- on a 747 are excellent seats for long-haul. Infinite legroom, and the people next to you can get out without waking you up. Bring a camp stool for a footrest (or use your rollaboard), pop some Ambien, and you've got a pretty decent ride.

Of course, there's nothing else to recommend the 747 in Y... and, unfortunately, you have to be Gold or above to pre-reserve the exit rows. (That said, they open up within 24 hours with surprisingly frequency, probably because the sort of people that grab 45C/45H also tend to put in GPU requests.

Which means it's probably not relevant to the OP. However, I figured it was worth pointing out that there are reasons to choose the 747 in Y over the alternatives. (Well, one, at least).

I actually did just that many years ago - made the trip moderately tolerable. After all is said and done I believe I'll most likely book the 747 and hope for E+ availability on the day of departure. Sounds like the best, or at least the non-worst, alternative!

As a silver I was 100% on E+. I agree on the UA bird, last time I was in Y on LH I vowed it would be my last.

But the window seat has restricted leg room due to the protruding exit door exit rows on the 747, if I recall correctly. I usually pick the aisle seat in either row 45 or 33. Preference given to 33 due to proximity to lavs (which is exactly what others might wish to avoid).

I'd do UA. Roundtrip, this is 11K lifetime miles, putting you 1% closer to lifetime gold. Also, I've never seen a silver not get a decently E+ seat (decent=window or aisle) on a 767+ sized aircraft, as long as you check diligent once you're within 24 hours of departure. I'd take 34 pitch and having to use my laptop to watch movies over 31 pitch any day of the week.

Trip booked
 

I've booked the UA 747 over and back. I would have booked LH without the helpful input so thanks. Hopefully E+ will be open and the trip will be tolerable. I miss the days of 1K and business class upgrades :)

Thanks again for the very helpful replies.

Bruce

Quick Follow up
 

Flew UA 747 SFO - FRA yesterday. A kind FT member got me into Eccon Plus prior to the day of departure, I wasn't able to move to an aisle as nothing opened up, but the seat to my right remained empty so that made it nicer.

I will say that the experience was more pleasant than my memory of flying economy on the 747 years ago. Seating was bearable, food was no worse (and no better) than I remember and the flight attendants were all quite pleasant.

The beta Personal Device Entertainment service needs work - it kept stopping and disconnecting during the flight but if they can work out the kinks it's got promise.

Thanks again for all the advice - I managed to survive quite nicely :)

Bruce