SantiC

Hello all,

I was hoping someone who has flown UA from EWR to KOA could opine on the seats and aircraft options for business class. I am currently looking to connect through DEN (EWR-DEN-KOA) with the first leg being a Boeing 737-800 and second leg Boeing 757-200. The first leg it seems that these are not lie flat seats? Second leg it looks like its UA's Polaris product so should be fine there. On the return flight through LAX (KOA-LAX-EWR), the first leg is on Boeing 757-300 and second leg is Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner. The first leg seems to have pretty terrible reviews, while the second leg will be the newest plane on the fleet with the Polaris product.

I've also read that the meal / food service is quite limited. Also, given what seems to be one average business class leg and one good one, is it worth the 60k miles through Singapore Airlines versus 35k in economy? Thank you!

IAH-OIL-TRASH

738 EWR-DEN is regular domestic non-flat F seats. DEN-KOA is the old CO BusinessFirst lie-flat seats (neither Polaris seats or service, and no lounge access). The seats are fine and it's a day flight so not really a big deal. Meals to/from Hawaii on in any front-cabin seat are just the regular domestic F meals with a cookie/muffin tossed in just before arrival. If you're not a glutton, the food will carry you there. 60K for that distance and combination of a/c isn't that bad a deal.

I'd prefer r.t. EWR-HNL non-stop in F and then HNL-KOA on Hawaiian in coach vs your routing but that's just me..

bluedemon211

Your 1st leg on the 737-800 is standard domestic first class and not lie flat. The DEN-KOA is on the 757-200 and does have lie flat. That said (and not to get too pedantic) the 757-200 is NOT a Polaris seat. It is a lie flat but is the (very) old configuration. You will get a Saks pillow and blanket, but everything else (including meal) is standard domestic First Class.

Kacee

On DEN-KOA? You sure about that?

bluedemon211

Yes. We take that trip 4-5x a year and since they went to lie flat we have gotten the shrink wrapped package with the pillow and blanket. Get it both ways despite the westbound flight being a day flight.

Boraxo

To answer original question - as of 2018, from SFO<->OGG, UA offers the same crappy F seats that you find on other domestic flights. Nice and wide but limited recline and no aisle access for window seats. The meal qualify ranges from good to marginal. IMO it is not worth a huge premium but would gladly use an RPU (my over/under for TOD is $175 or so).

100% correct. See this all the time, but of course very frequently on routes to Mexico and Hawaii where people wear flip flops. Disgusting but not highest on my list of passenger complaints.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

The lie-flats to/from Hawaii (incl. West Coast) have been reliably catered w/ the Saks pillow and duvet last couple of months - day flights, too. The same planes w/i contiguous U.S. (on non-p.s. routes) are not. Flew a 777 HNL-LAX last month and got pillow/duvet. Same plane continued to IAH w/ just the thin blue blanket.

Lani1

nddomer04

Yes, flights both ways between DEN and HNL/OGG/KOA/LIH are receiving the Saks pillow and blanket. Here's the link to my post about the DEN-OGG flight in June: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/29821603-post805.html

DELee

If you pick the right LAX-LIH flight, you get a 752. Example from 04/27/18:



And you could get paid $300 by some guy for the seat, as my daughter was offered and agreed to. (I kept my seat in front, though.)

David

LAXOGG

This is definitely the exception. The normal bird is the 737-800 with the uncomfortable seats described above.

Acastus

Don't do this. Please, for your sake, spend the money and take the nonstop from EWR to HNL on the 767. Lie flat all the way. Hawaiian music and mai tai's all the way. From HNL you can connect to a 40 minute flight on a Hawaiian Airlines 717 to KOA. You can get award seats on Hawaiian on the UA website for 15K round trip. The paid seats are very cheap too.

Enjoy your trip - KOA is my favorite place to go!

Aloha,

A.

DELee

I guess. A search for today with UA's fabulous Timetable tool doing a LAX-LIH search shows a SFO-LIH (!) 752:

Anyway, there are 752s into LIH. Yes most of the west coast flights into the islands are on 738s and 739s. That doesn't mean I'm going to pick those birds if I can avoid it.

David

GlobalServiced

I was on this flight two weeks ago and can confirm Saks bedding was on the outbound and inbound.

Kacee

UA switches back and forth between 738 and 752 on SFO-LIH, not sure whether there's any rhyme or reason to it. (I don't think they assign 739s to LIH due to the short runway.)