jc94

Yeah that figures. My TB flights are AC J.

It's a shame, my friend only ever flies Y by himself and his only J and F trips with me are domestically outside Canada so he's never seen a lounge.

Thanks for confirming. It was, at least, cheap.

To be honest... nothing really. Officially Priority reservations waitlisting and Priority airport standby are listed.

I heard UA used to offer priority services, so checkin/security/boarding with at least E35 if not P25 (both are *S) and still do but don't officially acknowledge it. No way of telling unless I fly UA Y which I'm not planning on doing in the near future.

annewpayne1953

Please be kind - I am new to these boards.

We are flying first class (paid for it) from RDU to HNL. TA assures us that we will have lounge access at SFO for our long layover. Posts here and elsewhere indicate that that is not the case. We paid over $4000. RT for 2 for these flights.

Will we be admitted to the lounge?

swiftaw

No, domestic (and HNL is domestic) first class tickets do not grant lounge access. (with the caveats listed by sfo789 two posts below).

laxmillenial

No. For all intents and purposes, you're flying 'domestic United First' which does not grant lounge access.

sfo789

Only way that would happen is (1) you have Star Alliance Gold status with an airline that isn't UA -- in which case, present your card with your BP for lounge access at every point on your route; or (2) you're flying RDU-EWR-SFO-HNL, in which case the EWR-SFO segment is in PS business and you can get into the UC at EWR and SFO with your BP.

findark

Clever! And a legal routing, too. Bonus points if you pick up the 77W.

annewpayne1953

No, RDU direct to SFO. That makes no sense!

Hipplewm

If your tickets say United First - NO
If your tickets somehow miraculously say United Business - Yes (Most Likely)


That said, if you have a Platinum AMEX, go to the Centurion Lounge - 10000000000 times better than UC anyway

mherdeg

Gosh coming from the east coast and flying in a paid premium cabin, I think I would probably prefer to do RDU-ATL-HNL on Delta (or RDU-IAH-HNL on United). The SFO routing is nicely timed but if you're already paying premium-cabin prices you might as well get lie-flat seats most of the way instead of doing the transcon part in United's Big Front Seat style domestic first class.

annewpayne1953

Business is better than first, really? We have First. No AMEX.

And the trip is Wednesday - no time to reroute.

Sorry for being so naïve - we don't fly much and usually on Southwest. We thought that by paying big bucks to fly to HNL, we'd get the best. Probably need a new TA!

laxmillenial

I think so

sfo789

Business (lieflats) >>> (domestic) first with recliners (though, confusingly, "First" on SFO-HNL is lieflat).

If your fare is expensive enough, it might be changeable/flexible, so there's a chance of snagging a routing through EWR and SFO or LAX for little/no cost. For example I see 2 seats in P on RDU-EWR-LAX-HNL (1849->1295->1232, 7:20a-9:40p), and 2 in A/P/Z on RDU-EWR-SFO-HNL getting in 2:30 earlier.

That said, the extra layover and journey time might not be worth your while just for lounge access; I've always found the morning RDU-SFO to have great crews, and SFO-HNL in lieflats should be a nice ride.

txaggiemiles

Its somewhat confusing terminology but basically domestically UA only sells economy and first. On international flights UA sells economy business and first, but many planes only have two classes outfitted so it is just marketed as business. Effectively the rule becomes "lounge access with an international flight and a premium cabin ticket".

The impact of this rule is that your itenarary will not grant access to lounges. Whereas someone could book a premium cabin seat on an ERJ75 from IAH to Mexico and have access for an under 2 hour flight. Annoying, and odd, but the rules.

You could look to same day change within 24 hours of departure for a fee. Could be worth it for lounge access and more desirable cabins/planes.

findark

Yeah, it's kind of silly. Using the old pre-Polaris nomenclature...

United Global First > United BusinessFirst > United Business* >= United First

*United Business is the same service as United First, but offered on short-haul international routes (Canada, Mexico, Central America) and so comes with lounge access.

And the above only holds true "normally" - UA can sub international aircraft on any route which will not change the name of the cabin but does provide a hugely different experience. Now it's probably

United Polaris first > United Polaris business > United Business (EWR-SFO/LAX p.s. service) > United Business (short-haul int'l) >= United First

At $2,000 rt per pax, it's a pretty cheap fare (probably P) and almost certainly not flexible.

While some things might have been better in hindsight (like just flying RDU-EWR/IAD-HNL), it's not that bad as booked. SFO is an extremely pleasant airport to wander around in even without access to a lounge. Head down to E pier for decent chairs, the end of F1 for great runway views, or G pier for a nice airy hall.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Realistically, $4000 for 2 tickets in F for 10-11 hours air travel each way isn't "big bucks". But, since you've spent that kind of money, another $100 paid access isn't that much. Not sure it's worth it myself - $100 can buy better food and drink in the concourses.