malgudi

That would only matter if you have a single customer

gpeso8

This just got me back, at least for a bit. I canceled two paid J R/T BR reservations for November and switched to UA. If I can sleep in the UA J seat, I'll be doing this 8 to 10 times a year in paid J. I typically don't book tickets this far out but have hard commitments in November so need to do a bit of shuttling. The UA fares were lower than BR.

sol95

late to the "party", but only just saw this thread...

I'm shaking my head in disbelief...I pity those poor souls wedged into a UA economy seat for 17+ hours...

zdog2x

Looking to do this as a MR in November. Any thoughts on chances for GPUs to clear if buying W? Ex SFO they seem nonexistent.

bwg03

Looking like there is no R availability from SFO.. Not sure if that will change.. What is off season for SIN?

PsiFighter37

I did seen R5 on a date in February that would have worked for me if I could have changed other parts of my itinerary, but it's now R0.

I did clear LAX-SIN for mid-May.

N104UA

I think due to the length of this route anyone with GPUs has them applied to this route, so even if UA opens up space it immediately goes away due to those already waitlisted.

Also- UG space on these flights can be hard to come by as most companies have a policy where emoloyees get J if the flight is over 8-12hrs long, so UA can make a nice dime on last minute bookings, and upgrade only at the gate.

mrswirl

I wouldn't say "most" - maybe some of the bigger/older companies still allow J but a large number have changed their policies to "economy only" regardless of flight length for everyone but Senior Management.

I recall early in my career my firm would allow business for flights more than 4 hours, then it was moved to +6hrs, then +8hrs, until eventually is was "no business class without Sr. Management approval."

drewguy

Kind of remarkable with the disparity between biz and economy comfort growing every year (and suggests the big opportunity for premium economy that UA is missing).

Anyway . . . from the east coast I'll be trying to avoid the UA metal to SIN, with preference for routing through NRT.

N104UA

So it might depend on industry, and all but one company I have ever worked for had had a Trans-Oceanic and South America flights are in business and the rest in economy.

After a quick poll of my friends, most have a similar policy, except for those in the non-profit/government space.

BThumme

I worked for a very large and prominent tech company (HQ'ed in SJC/SFO), that had a large base of operations out of SIN. Y for all but the senior management. And if that company had that policy, I can't see how any company can afford J travel unless there is a very sweet discount attached. It seems like more and more companies are going away from J for trips of 6 plus hours, so I wonder how much longer these business class prices can sustain. It sure seems like something that I will never get to experience, that's for sure.

I'm flying LAX-SIN-SFO, my cost to upgrade is only $13,165.

spin88

I also know lots of people in the tech space (or those who support the tech space, such as accountants/lawyers) who can take PE or Y, but not J. Others I know allow J on the preferred provider, which is in the case of those in SF I know UA, but then they get 40+% off the rack rate, so J is not 8K, its $4500 RT to Asia/Europe.

The bigger reality is that back when these type of rules were created, their were three classes of service, First, "business", and economy. J was a seat that was similar to a domestic F seat. I can't find a picture of the first 1980's United Business product, but here is what Pan Am had in its "clipper" class:



The rack (non-discounted) "business class" prices United is seeking are very high, which is not surprising since what UA is really doing is trying to get 55-60% of that price from corporate acccounts, and they corresponse what what "first class" used to cost. PE at this point is far closer (basically a domestic FC seat with better soft product) to what "business" used to be than is business.

hondaman82

https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/con...2058055c482691

FoxFlyer

Nope. 787 is being used on that route and there are currently no plans for those to be fitted with the new Polaris seat.

There MAY be some retrofits (seems there is conflicting info, especially as it pertains to existing 787 fleet), but not sure when those are to be scheduled.

JOSECONLSCREW28

Service yes
Seats no