coolbeans202

This.

I have no idea which route you're flying or how packed economy is, but if it looks relatively empty I would watch the seatmap like a hawk to try and get an empty seat next to me, or even a whole row. If E+ is empty but E- is completely full, then you are probably out of luck as there will be a lot of people without seat assignments that will get put in E+. However, if E- has a number of empty seats, then you may be in luck. I have broad shoulders so having an empty middle is the most important thing to me to ensure my comfort. I will SDC to other flights if it looks like I'll have better luck with that elsewhere.

I think the Y meals taste better, but have gotten smaller over the last few years. I get fairly hungry so I tend to eat a meal in the terminal and then eat again on the plane. Bring an ambein or Advil PM and have a glass of wine.

mduell

Sure it's survivable, but it still sucks. It continues to be optimized for cost (see the recent densification of 787/777, padding-free slimlines on the 737s, etc), not comfort.

Artpen100

Survivable, perhaps, but there are reasons so many people hate flying, and most of it is due to flying in economy. I had a couple of really awful experiences in a row that were so bad I decided that if I could not get out of economy somehow on long haul trips, I would have to quite international travel. And then there is a bad back. So the effort to find R space or discount P is, to me, well worth it.Why be miserable when you land when it is not necessary?

halls120

MsHalls120 and I plan to do a lot of traveling once we retire in the next year or two. It will be on UA where we can get a good business fare (or UG), and if that isn't available, it will be on those carriers that offer a true premium economy.

I get it that everyone can't afford PE, but we can, and if UA slow-rolls their installation, they will be pushing us to the competition.

robbeck1

Please post one of your food albums of this flight.

StuckinITH

This is good advice except if you are flying from some Asian airports where they confiscate the filled water bottles just before boarding the flight. They open every piece of luggage looking for drinks and seize them. I have been able to smuggle small bottles in the pockets of my jacket but a 1.5L would be impossible. The good thing is that on those flights, the FAs are quite good walking every hour down the aisles with trays of glasses filled with water.

I have done 16 hours flights in Economy+. I'm usually lucky that I can get a bulkhead aisle. In that space, I can stand when my back really hurts without bothering other passengers. I find that after 6 hours of flight, the pain becomes exponential for each additional hour.

dilanesp

+1 on the portion sizes. I actually don't mind the taste of UA Economy Class meals at all, but nowadays all they give you is a little tray with a small entree and a super-small salad, with no dressing or condiments, plus a cold roll. And then they follow up with a tiny tub of ice cream.

They clearly decided they couldn't get away with buy on board on long distance routes (they released a trial balloon on that a few years ago and got pilloried), so they cut portions instead. So bring a couple of apples to munch on or something.

UA_Flyer

Thanks everyone for the observations, experience and tips.
I am on LAX-SIN, so it is more than 14+ hours I had originally estimated A lot of good suggestions and I will definitely look out for adjacent empty seat in E+.
I am looking forward to the flight. I have done many long haul Y on other airlines in the past ten years but just not on UA. I am pretty low maintenance.

Thanks, but I am not sure what is the best way to ask the question for Y experience. I just have not flown UA International Y for over ten years and have no idea what it is current offering. I have done many international Y flights in the past ten years but just not on UA.

Definitely, I take photos of pretty much everything I eat on the planes, except for those Air China international Y flights that I have flown quite a bit in the past ten years and Air China seems to serve the same things without periodic rotations.

Wise-Broccoli8301

Was the food ever edible to begin with? Having flown TPAC on BR for ages, I've sprinkled in UA from time to time and have regretted it each time over a 2 decade period.

I have no problem flying Economy for 13 hours. It's totally doable in E+, but I just wish the food was more bearable. If they just catered Panda Express for their Asian food, I'd fly every TPAC opportunity I could on UA.

Baze

Sorry, Panda Express is not Asian food. I like it, but I don't consider it Asian food.

spin88

I had to convert this to English (6' tall, 242 lbs) what has my somewhat quizzical about your preference. The 747 was a wonderful bird in the upper deck, but Y has never been so hot. The old pmUA seats were well padded, but they were effectively the same width as the seats on a 737/757 (17" wide seats just counting the seat cushion, the plane gives 20.2" of width/seat, which is .2" more/seat than on the 737/757) and E+ was only 34" of pitch.

The 772s flow by UA and CO, OTOH have seats that are 18" wide in the seat pan, and they have 21.3"/seat in width. They also have IFE. [This is to be contrasted with the horrible 77W on UA which has only 19.4"/seat and even with 1" pulled from both Aisles has seats that are effectively .8" narrower than on the 737/757]

The 789 is bad as well, with only 19.8"/seat in width, for seats that are effectively about 1/2 in narrower than on the old 747.

I am slighly taller than you are (as is my son) and weight quite a bit less than you do, and I found the B789 seats on UA to be uncomfortably tight w/o enough padding, the old 747 seats to not be so hot, but workable for a long flight due to the extra padding, while I find flying on the old sUA 772ER to be a not uncomfortable in E+. Would I prefer PE or J? Yes, but on a family trip I'm perfectly comfortable in coach on a 3-3-3 (or in the past 2-5-2) 777.

So you have things 180 degrees from what I think most larger people would say.

uastarflyer

OP - if you are okay with indian-ized food ask for the AVML. It is one of the few options that is actually decent. Plus you get served first, by name and from a hand carried tray, not anonymously via a drawer pulled from a cart . It will feel like premium class

fumje

I have never had a meal that was actually inedible on UA. Mostly the Y meals are inoffensive but forgettable. And if you want Panda Express, just bring a fist full of sugar packets aboard to add to your meal.

DELee

Hopefully your fare will allow you to be upgraded in case the travel plans of others fall through ("And perhaps the horse will learn to sing...").

Either way, I and all of FlyerTalk look forward to spectacular shots of your dining options from LAX to SIN!

David

EmailKid

I recall the flight where I crossed MM mark. Waitlisted GPU for at least 2 months (probably 3 or more) with lots and lots of empty seats that slowly filled up.

In the last few days flight went from sold out in J to a couple of seats for sale, and I moved from #1 to #2 , #4 , then #3 and was #2 on u/g list when I landed in SFO.

I don't think GAs were impressed with my plea that I want to cross MM in style, but nonetheless ended up clearing into Biz just before boarding started Oh, and FAs weren't impressed with my MM either