NH-NRT-UA: I'm not doing this again!

Old Dec 11, 2018, 1:26 am
  #16  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: PMD
Programs: UA*G, NW, AA-G. WR-P, HH-G, IHG-S, ALL. TT-GE.
Posts: 2,897
NH service didn't matter much to me for such a short haul--I didn't even use the lav. Even if it was NRT-LAX, I'd rather fly UA than NH for its E+, but as a window pax I don't like the GPS-dark 787. I guess I'll be back to flying HNL-GUM or SFO. (Ch9 over Alaska, Russia and China was interesting!)

We had already used NH PNRs to select seats, but the real problem was UA NRT-LAX seat locking up in the last 24 hours, which wouldn't happen if it was an all-UA itin. Nevertheless, there was a day-before panic with HKG-NRT, as our A+B became A+C, which I thought meant across the aisle. Turned out they changed the 767 mapping from AB-CDE to AC-DEF.

For NRT-LAX, my father was obviously in a "white" seat, but was kicked by the computer at about T-16h up to E+ a few rows from me. So I tried to move him to B/C next to my A. When we left the NH counter at 0745 we were hungry and didn't want to hang around at the UA counter until 0800 (EWR: 1100) or walk to UC which wasn't the one we wanted to visit. Eventually the seat change was done when we reached the regular NRT UA counter after getting off the bus (B/C were still empty). We wanted to try the NH lounge, having both been to the UC. Two taking ABC in E+ was nice.

He had no HK data plan on his old Samsung so he tried to connect to SQ lounge's wifi. The password/login mechanism (which was fine for my iPhone) took him to Chrome which blocked the "hijack attempt". OK, I had an hour and 0.3 GB left so I turned on my hotspot, except mobile signal was too weak to share. This wouldn't happen at the UA/TG loft.

Due to where we stay in HK we mostly take the bus, so AE in-town bag check isn't much useful. But last time I flew late evening BR TPE-HKG that downtown bag check was a lot nicer than HKG--you're not even obligated to use the train!

And I'd rather go through one (SFO) or two (GUM/HNL) TSA Pre checkpoints than a regular NRT check. As I said I haven't tried/am not sure how much seat/bag trouble westbound UA-NH can be, zero checkpoints after LAX surely beats one.
HkCaGu is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 8:05 am
  #17  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: PHX, SEA
Programs: DL Silver, Avis President's Club, Hertz President's Circle, Global Entry (Former AA Plt/Gold)
Posts: 4,417
Originally Posted by j2simpso
Been there, done that, understand the frustration. You can't really blame that on NH though,
​​​​​​Outsider here but why can't you blame NH for their OLCI issues?
Gig103 is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 8:14 am
  #18  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,498
Originally Posted by HkCaGu
And I'd rather go through one (SFO) or two (GUM/HNL) TSA Pre checkpoints than a regular NRT check. As I said I haven't tried/am not sure how much seat/bag trouble westbound UA-NH can be, zero checkpoints after LAX surely beats one.
Given your preference to minimize transfers and additional security, why not fly AA/CX/HX LAX-HKG direct next time? I get that E+ is nice to have, but the additional time and stopovers and transfers will just add to your frustration. You can probably get AA MCE at a decent price.
hirohito888 is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 9:06 am
  #19  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: DXB / KUO
Programs: AY, SQ, EK
Posts: 857
Originally Posted by hirohito888
SIN offers a lot more terminal amenities than HKG/TYO for a connecting passenger, but it is quite inadequate in terms of lounges (whether it's SQ/OW/ST or PP lounges). HKG on the other hand may lack all the terminal amenities of SIN, but it has much better lounges (CX/ST/multiple *A, Amex Centurion and PP and even HX). NRT/HND are no better or worse than HKG, TYO airports are just large efficient duty-free terminals catering to all the Mainlander tourists.
Just flew from HKG tonight - first visit to the Skyteam lounge, which was fine. I'm reasonably familiar with CX and SQ lounges at HKG and have thought they are ok as well.

...but how is SIN "inadequate in terms of lounges"? Perhaps I have missed something as my visits tend to be short.
nanyang is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 12:02 pm
  #20  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: LAX/TPE
Programs: United 1K, JAL Sapphire, SPG Lifetime Platinum, National Executive Elite, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 42,008
Originally Posted by nanyang
...

...but how is SIN "inadequate in terms of lounges"? Perhaps I have missed something as my visits tend to be short.
It depends which airline and class of service - if you're in J or F and *A, then you will have an amazing lounge experience. If you're in Y as a *A you'll be crammed into a small SQ lounge balancing a plate of dimsum on your lap while people trip over your bags.
bocastephen is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 12:53 pm
  #21  
mr8
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Programs: UA1K | *A Gold
Posts: 767
UA has been adding more direct flights to Asia ever since they cut all their fifth freedom flights, so there really isn't a need to do the NRT stop anymore.

Originally Posted by HkCaGu
And I'd rather go through one (SFO) or two (GUM/HNL) TSA Pre checkpoints than a regular NRT check. ...
It's been almost a year since I've done the X-GUM-HNL-X route, but it seems like there was a some extra form filling involved at both airports even with GE - something to consider if you're not a fan of lines/forms.
On the bright side, Asia-GUM and HNL-USA are CPU/RPU flights.
Originally Posted by HkCaGu
As I said I haven't tried/am not sure how much seat/bag trouble westbound UA-NH can be, zero checkpoints after LAX surely beats one.
The airline you fly makes no difference in regards to security (UA-UA/UA-NH). You still have to clear security when connecting through NRT in either direction. This is the same as when UA used to fly NRT-HKG. I actually prefer this style of securing the whole departure area vs security at the actual gate.
FYI they do have a Gold Track line for international transfers in NRT, but it's sometimes longer than the regular line.
mr8 is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 2:33 pm
  #22  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: NYC
Programs: UA 1K; DL DM; IHG Platinum; Hilton Diamond; Marriott Gold; Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 227
Originally Posted by mr8
UA has been adding more direct flights to Asia ever since they cut all their fifth freedom flights, so there really isn't a need to do the NRT stop anymore.

--unless you're flying to SGN (UA stopped flying there two years ago), KUL, CGK, MNL (UA doesn't have a non-stop to MNL from the continental U.S.), RGN, PNH, etc.

Last edited by NYC2SGN; Dec 11, 2018 at 2:35 pm Reason: misquote
NYC2SGN is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 5:29 pm
  #23  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: CLE
Programs: UA 1K MM, DL Plat
Posts: 982
Sooooo... Clearly NH has some room for improvement if any pax finds their process to be non-intuitive. But, speaking as a very frequent Asia traveler, this whole post strikes me more as an "I'm not used to this" sort of thing, moreso than any actual problem with NH. There's a few gems in here that would have made OP's experience better.

a) Being able to check-in more than 2-3 hours in advance is not common at many Asian airports. Most have an "Early check-in" area or desk where, with certain restrictions, you can check in prior to the desks opening. In some (like SIN & BKK), that area is a designated office in the back of the check-in gallery. In HKG, you can use the in-city Airport Express desks to check-in as much as 24-hours prior to your flight (and drop bags!!) But otherwise yes, ANA clearly publishes that their desks at HKIA open 2:30 prior to the flight.

b) UA's app _always_ prohibits seat changes on the reservation inside of 24h. Doesn't matter if it's Int'l or Domestic, once you're T-24, you have to use the Check-in / already-checked-in app and website features to make any changes. Itinerary view won't do anything. And since your initiating flight was operated by a partner, yes, you have to check in with that partner, not UA.

c) The ANA official lounge in HKG is the United Club. Can't hardly blame NH (or UA) for bathroom problems or bad mobile signal in the SQ lounge... but even if you choose to, the reality is that Gate 24 is literally about 50 yards further from the UA club as from the NH club! Remember that gates on that central pier jump from 36 to 60, at the "Y". So it's not like you actually would have had to walk past ~30-some gates to get there...

d) As another poster mentioned, UA does NOT always park at a gate. I've had to bus to a hard-stand for UA before, but also as noted, they prioritize long-haul over short-haul. I don't think I've ever had a UA TPAC flight depart from a hard-stand, but when they were operating SGN / SIN, absolutely! TYO is short-haul, so it's not unheard of. Consider yourself lucky that most of *A never uses the 500 gates!! Then you have a bus AND a gate wait!

Can't speak to problems with NH OLCI... the few times I've used it, I've never had an issue. But from just zipping through the rarely-crowded ANA priority desks ~90-120 minutes prior to departure, I've never had reason to poke at it too hard!!

Sorry you had a bad experience OP, but you sort of made some weird decisions there. Virtually all of them could have been avoided with some prior experience in HK/Asia.
JMBResona likes this.
Darlox is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 6:25 pm
  #24  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,498
Originally Posted by Darlox
b) UA's app _always_ prohibits seat changes on the reservation inside of 24h. Doesn't matter if it's Int'l or Domestic, once you're T-24, you have to use the Check-in / already-checked-in app and website features to make any changes. Itinerary view won't do anything. And since your initiating flight was operated by a partner, yes, you have to check in with that partner, not UA.
I'm not sure that's entirely correct, I've been able to change seats on UA app after check-in and up to T-1 on both domestic and international flights, in Y and J. I suspect with a partner connection, OP wasn't able to change until he has flown the first segment on NH.

Originally Posted by Darlox
d) As another poster mentioned, UA does NOT always park at a gate. I've had to bus to a hard-stand for UA before, but also as noted, they prioritize long-haul over short-haul. I don't think I've ever had a UA TPAC flight depart from a hard-stand, but when they were operating SGN / SIN, absolutely! TYO is short-haul, so it's not unheard of. Consider yourself lucky that most of *A never uses the 500 gates!! Then you have a bus AND a gate wait!
I believe the OP had an issue with the bus gate upon arrival at NRT which is getting more common at NRT given the limited gate space during the afternoon rush.
hirohito888 is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 7:44 pm
  #25  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,117
Originally Posted by Darlox
Sooooo... Clearly NH has some room for improvement if any pax finds their process to be non-intuitive. But, speaking as a very frequent Asia traveler, this whole post strikes me more as an "I'm not used to this" sort of thing, moreso than any actual problem with NH. There's a few gems in here that would have made OP's experience better.

a) Being able to check-in more than 2-3 hours in advance is not common at many Asian airports. Most have an "Early check-in" area or desk where, with certain restrictions, you can check in prior to the desks opening. In some (like SIN & BKK), that area is a designated office in the back of the check-in gallery. In HKG, you can use the in-city Airport Express desks to check-in as much as 24-hours prior to your flight (and drop bags!!) But otherwise yes, ANA clearly publishes that their desks at HKIA open 2:30 prior to the flight.

b) UA's app _always_ prohibits seat changes on the reservation inside of 24h. Doesn't matter if it's Int'l or Domestic, once you're T-24, you have to use the Check-in / already-checked-in app and website features to make any changes. Itinerary view won't do anything. And since your initiating flight was operated by a partner, yes, you have to check in with that partner, not UA.

c) The ANA official lounge in HKG is the United Club. Can't hardly blame NH (or UA) for bathroom problems or bad mobile signal in the SQ lounge... but even if you choose to, the reality is that Gate 24 is literally about 50 yards further from the UA club as from the NH club! Remember that gates on that central pier jump from 36 to 60, at the "Y". So it's not like you actually would have had to walk past ~30-some gates to get there...

d) As another poster mentioned, UA does NOT always park at a gate. I've had to bus to a hard-stand for UA before, but also as noted, they prioritize long-haul over short-haul. I don't think I've ever had a UA TPAC flight depart from a hard-stand, but when they were operating SGN / SIN, absolutely! TYO is short-haul, so it's not unheard of. Consider yourself lucky that most of *A never uses the 500 gates!! Then you have a bus AND a gate wait!

Can't speak to problems with NH OLCI... the few times I've used it, I've never had an issue. But from just zipping through the rarely-crowded ANA priority desks ~90-120 minutes prior to departure, I've never had reason to poke at it too hard!!

Sorry you had a bad experience OP, but you sort of made some weird decisions there. Virtually all of them could have been avoided with some prior experience in HK/Asia.
Just one question: which one is the official NH club at HKG? When I flew NH822 (midnight flight to HND) in September, the invitation was to the SQ Club. Perhaps not all NH flights at HKG give the same lounge invitation?
lixiaojuventus is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 7:50 pm
  #26  
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,300
HKIA is an outstanding airport in virtually every respect (with the best airport to town transport in the world IMO), but I think we should be able to agree the current situation at the SQ lounge is a sad joke. I cannot imagine any credible explanation for fixes to the bathrooms and showers taking so long.
Kacee is online now  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 7:54 pm
  #27  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,498
Originally Posted by lixiaojuventus
Just one question: which one is the official NH club at HKG? When I flew NH822 (midnight flight to HND) in September, the invitation was to the SQ Club. Perhaps not all NH flights at HKG give the same lounge invitation?
NH actually uses both UA Club and SQ SilverKris Lounge.

On the website, it says:
SilverKris Lounge * Passengers who take NH822 flight please use this lounge.
hirohito888 is offline  
Old Dec 11, 2018, 8:56 pm
  #28  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: PEK, AUS, WAS, HKG
Programs: CX Gold
Posts: 1,117
Originally Posted by hirohito888
NH actually uses both UA Club and SQ SilverKris Lounge.

On the website, it says:
Oh, it makes perfect sense then. Probably this arrangement was made because the United Club closes before 11 PM or so.
lixiaojuventus is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.