Premium Transcon Service SFO/LAX<>EWR flights - Questions and Experiences
 

So first year being 1K and not used to using PlusPoints. I am traveling EWR-SFO and am waitlisted for upgrades to both Business and PP. There are less people on the Business upgrade list that there are open seats. Do I cancel my waitlist and save the points - will I then upgrade via CPU - or am I safer keeping as is. Is my spot on the CPU based on being waitlisted or is it only a function of my status. Looking good so far for both legs but don't want to spend the points unnecessarily.

There are no CPUs on EWR-SFO or any of the other t.p.s. routes. Use your PlusPoints and hope.

David

The "best" strategy nowadays is to apply plus points to pretty much any flight where you would particularly value being up front. For me that is pretty much any flight over 2 hours.

Familiar with route and usually that is not the case that more seats in J than people on the waitlist so I would almost be inclined to pull the PPs. Having said that I always apply them on that flight and even doing so I am less than 50% successful with upgrades. If you pull the PP you fall on the upgrade list below anybody using instruments but if I understand you correctly J seems wide open so that may not be a big deal. Given that yes you would then be eligible for a CPU. You position on the list is related to your status AND also whether you are using instruments for upgrade. There are other less important factors that also modify your position on the list such as time of booking.

EDIT: My bad per Repoc this is still a Premium Service route so yeah no CPUs, only instrument assisted ones. SFO-BOS is no longer a PS route. Thanks

Removal of PP from EWR to/from SFO/LAX would also remove eligibility for any kind of upgrade.

Personally, I only waitlist for business class and skip PE.

Thanks. The Premium Service no CPU explains why I was upgraded from SFO-HNL but not EWR-SFO in November!

Eyeing EWR-LAX for this spring. As a newly minted Silver member, would I be eligible to select a PP seat at check-in after booking economy? If so, is there a realistic chance of 2 PP seats still being open at that point?

Thanks!

No. You will be eligible for an Economy Plus seat at check in. Premium Plus seats and the lie flat seats are for mileage upgrades, cash upgrades, or Plus Points only. No member gets them for nothing,

Thank you for the quick response! Makes sense. I will book the seats I want.

Fewer widebodies on NYC SFO transcon route?
 

Hi. Is there a thread discussing the disappearance of widebodies (767, 777, 787) this Fall from the NYC SFO transcon route?

I used to read this forum religiously. My wife lives in our house in California, and I teach in New York City. I stopped flying for an academic sabbatical, then there was this pandemic. Returning to my every two (now three) week commute between New York City and San Francisco, I wanted an isolated bed for safety and comfort. I finally heeded all the advice here "If you want business, buy it" and shopped on price. The options have been United or Delta widebodies, or the "1" in a JetBlue Mint cabin (awful or best of class, depending on vintage of the equipment). United has usually been winning on price, $595 or so each way, 535 PGP, and a light bulb went off that it wouldn't be out of reach for me to return to 1K status.

This is personal funds on a professor salary, in between the masses and people who actually make money. I should retire, but if I spend a fraction of my salary on comfortable travel so I can claim another year's salary, why not. I love my students. I noticed that after my $595 return this coming September, each bed is at best $1,096 for a "2" on a 757. Huh. There goes isolation, though one hopes the pandemic is over. That would surely make me 1K, but now we're talking about the kind of money that can buy an incredible hotel room in Japan or Singapore. I may be 66, but I still have it in me to sit in coach if I must.

What alarms me is that I'd always imagined my fallback position to be Premium Economy. With most of the widebodies gone this fall, that's no longer an option. Does United not realize there's a market willing to buy Premium Economy on transcons?

There's still dates with flights for $590 past September. There's just fewer of them because of fewer flights with P bucket inventory open right now in October (leaving you with $1096 Z fares). October is pretty far out and they will likely open up P bucket inventory on more flights as dates get closer. You can configure fare alerts in Google Flights that will alert you if inventory opens up in P making $590 fare available.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0a62570a67.png

The Fall schedule is nothing more than a placeholder. Several weeks ago, there was nothing but 752s and maybe 1-2 widebodies with PE in May/June only to be replaced with the typical assortment of 77W/767/etc. after more recent schedule update.

Think the OP is talking about JFK to/from SFO. I fly in an out of JFK quite a bit, and I don't see widebodies being added back on the schedule anytime soon.

OP, lack of P fares are due to two main factors: 1) smaller seat count, with only 16 seats up front, United believes it can sell most of them by offering only a few P fares; 2) fall schedules are placeholder for now, so revenue management may not have added discounted fares (e.g. P) yet.

More than six months out, fares are meaningless. UA has absolutely no reason to discount right now.

I've been doing a fair amount of transcons during the pandemic. NYC-SFO and NYC-LAX. I have both DL Plat and UA Gold. Both airlines have widebodies. In fact I'll be on a UA B787 for tomorrow's transcon. While DL costs a bit more, the complimentary upgrade to Eco + means at least drinks are included. The other great thing about DL is that they also have complimentary upgrades to Delta One flat seats. Several times during the pandemic I've gotten upgraded all the way to these seats from a main cabin eco ticket. You can't do that on UA.

OTOH on UA you can spend 10,000 miles to get up to Premium Plus which is sort of like old domestic first. Which is a good deal if you are mile-rich versus cash-rich.

On both airlines I've been able to buy really cheap business class tickets like 5 months in advance. At least that was the case at certain times during the pandemic including for traveling the last two Thanksgivings.

The DL suite on the 767 sucks only slightly less than it did before they were refurbished. Still way too narrow and coffin-like. AA IMO has the best product on these flights, and also the most generous upgrade availability.

​​​​​​763 being operated mostly between JFK and SFO is not great. I like its 764 (mostly between JFK and LAX) better than any Polaris for the wider seating and space.

Yeah, I was including EWR since OP also mentioned 777/787, and because the widebodies have already disappeared from JFK months ago,

Yes, the DL hard product on the 767 is not great, but as a solo J traveler, I'd still take it over the AA A321T hard product (2-2 configuration) any day.

Yes, AA is 2-2 in J, but incredibly comfortable, with considerably more room than UA's layout on the 752 and really good cushioning.

In any event, I usually find my way into the F cabin :D

I also wrote a friend who flies United all the time. He has multiple conversations with United personnel to the effect that widebodies were being moved this fall from EWR/JFK SFO to new international routes.

I realize it's too soon to nab $590 biz fares on this route, but the loss of business singles is more concerning. I believe that I'm the early bearer of bad news.

He did say that in 2024 United will be phasing out the 757-200s for A321 XLRs, and those will have premium economy and Polaris pods. Dunno if that's already above; my post got moved into this thread.

They may be narrow, but they are a darn sight better than an eco+ seat. And if you are in row one, the foot area is not narrow.

With the 28J 752 fleet gone (RIP), does UA have the frames to operate p.s. with only 752s? I guess they can afford to dedicate more of the 16J frames while international flying is still a bit down, but I would still be somewhat surprised.

What is the difference between the AA and UA seat? I agree with you, but haven't been able to figure out why (it must be more than A321 being slightly wider.) I personally like the AA bedding a lot more than UA, especially on transcon; that could play a role.

Compared with the 752s, the AA seat is much newer, in better shape and less worn down. Even a slightly wider A321 makes a big difference in footwell space, most noticeably in the window seats. And yes, AA provides full bedding in J, a big step up from what UA currently offers.

I don't even bother with submitting PP anymore on 752s. Last few flights I have had the exit row seats all to myself - perfectly fine having the poor man's business seats.

Honestly, I would rather be in 752 Y cabin than J.

The space between the seat pods is variable, and AA elected to space them farther apart. The slightly wider cabin does give them more room to work with; I don't think that fully explains it either, though we'd have to see all the measurements to know for sure.

AA.com does not give any specs on the pitch or length of Flagship Business on A321T, but according to to Seatguru, the bed length is 75", with width of 19".

Compared to UA on 757, the bed length is 76", with width of 20.6". So they are basically the same seats. I think what makes the difference is the slightly wider cabin on A321, which creates a sense of spaciousness.

Last moth I booked UA2069 EWR-LAX for April 30 in Premium Economy, but it looks like they swapped 777s and now have me in Economy+. Obviously that happens, but now it's not letting me change to other E+ seats without charging me. That's an error, right?

Edit: I booked through chase into R, but it looks like they changed it to Y. I should have recourse with either Chase or United, no?

Edit 2: Called United direct and they switched me to an earlier flight in R. Thank you for letting me scream into the FT void!

SFO 1R Departure on 77W
 

SFO-EWR on UA1657, operated with a 77W, we took off from 1R. I'd heard reports of heavies occasionally departing from the 1s but this was a first for me in about 30 years of flying ex-SFO. Wheels up just as we crossed the 28s.

Most widebodies heading east on domestic routes that I've been on have used 1R. Much more infrequent on long haul routes it seems, I guess the longer 28s are needed then, although I've seen VS take off on 1R and I was once on an AY flight that used 1R.

I had thought 1L/1R are usually the runways being used for all domestic departures, including transcon flights. Always get a window seat on the left side of the plane for an opportunity to see all of SF before the turn to east.

The normal pattern is landings on 28s, takeoffs on 1s, except the widebodies use 28 for takeoff because of runway length. When lined up for takeoff on the 1s, you'll often see the heavies lined up at 28.

Occasional serious shifts in normal wind patterns will dictate a change in runways. Like at LAX during the Santa Ana winds. They take off to the east. Only happens on a few days of the year.

I think the fuel weight makes a difference. Checking my flight diary, all the 789s running SFO-IAH I've been on used 1R and every heavy going across an ocean was the 28s.

In heavy crosswind days, I have seen lines of heavies sadly camped out at the end of the 10s waiting for a break in the wind since they need the longer runway (for long flights).

The only times I’ve seen a heavy domestic take off from the 28s has been when all the other departure traffic has also been using the 28s due to winds.

All the domestic heavies I’ve taken to EWR/JFK/IAD/ORD/DEN/IAH are usually on 1s except when the wind conditions cause all departures to use the 28s.

Hawaii and International though usually take off from the 28s, though I’ve seen a few instances where they will use 1R.

Any news on the meals in E+ and alcoholic drinks that were a perquisite with Premium Transcontinental Service

Internally, there has been no news of meals being restored.

But there's hope - meals have improved on West Coast - Europe flights this month in Y and PP.

Fingers crossed, that’s a very difficult upgrade to achieve even with PP‘s. Therefore, the free drinks and a meal service was greatly appreciated (Kind bars too!)