alanw

Hey UA people,

I'm booking a flight with a segment FRA-ORD and ORD-FRA in June and my options are LH on their new 748 or UA on a "777". I haven't flown *A at all since the demise of BMI (RIP), so I'm kinda out of the loop with respect to seating and aircraft.

It appears that all of LH new J seats are 2-2-2 (how is that still a thing in 2019?), so I know what I'm getting myself into there. UA seems to be more up in the air. After reading the retrofit thread, it seems that I might get the new Polaris 1-2-1 seats, or I might get something...else. Did I see pictures of a business cabin with 2-4-2?

So my question: take the guaranteed subpar seats on LH? Or roll the dice on UA? What is the likelihood that I'll get the new seats?

Thanks for the insight!

tcdtcd

Repooc17

You can fly to EWR and guarantee direct aisle access on the 787-10 (1-2-1) to FRA.

Also, pmCO 772 (2-2-2) middle seats provide direct aisle seat for both pax.

FlyerTalker70

Another thing you should consider is the whole 747 factor of LH. At this moment there are no US carriers flying 747s anywhere in the world with most airlines stating they will be phasing them out entirely over the coming years in favour of more fuel friendly birds like the 787. If you're an AVGeek and haven't been on a 747, particularly in the upper deck, it is an experience in and of itself. There's nothing quite like hearing 4 turo-fan engines spool up on the run way

Having flown both UA and LH in lie flat J I'd say the seats are pretty similar although I believe LH is the only one that offers a massage function in their lie flats. The neighbour issue of LH birds is a bit of an annoyance and agree, given this is 2019 how is sharing a row with a seatmate still a thing. However, as others have pointed out, there is no guarantee you'll be by yourself if you end up flying a UA bird, it'll end up being the roll of the dice. One advantage to the LH 747 configuration is the possibility of upgrading to F, something UA hasn't offered on their flights for some time. F service has individual rows and I hear the catering tends to be quite good. Speaking of catering, even in J, I found the LH catering to be a cut above UA. In particular, they served meals off of buffet carts, not trays and it was a multi-course meal on my flight from FRA > YYZ on the 747 back in '17.

Other considerations you should be thinking of include lounge access. Flying LH metal, you should have access to the Polaris lounge on departure in ORD (although getting to/from lounge may be a bit of a walk). OTOH, if you flew UA metal it should be a short walk from the Polaris lounge at ORD to your gate since I believe they are in the same terminal. On arrival in FRA there should be an arrival lounge accessible to either UA or LH flyers so no issue there. Similar for departure out of FRA. Finally, arriving in ORD flying UA you would at least in theory have access to the Polaris lounge, but the same couldn't be said about LH. In terms of milage accrual, you should earn a similar amount of PQMs with UA and LH (their PQM charts seem to be lined up nicely these days). However, for award miles, there may be a difference since the amount of award miles is calculated differently. For UA it would be a multiple of the fare portion of your ticket (i.e. 5 * $2000 fare = 10,000 miles for instance) whereas for LH it would be based on a percentage of distance flown (i.e. 8,660 miles on a P fare). If you're looking to qualify for UA status and are a US resident, flying UA and/or having your LH ticket ticketed by UA may be the better option since you'll earn PQDs (a requirement for earning status).

Hope that provides some insight.

Safe Travels,

James

findark

Avoid the sUA 772 until it shows as Polaris at booking because of the inevitable series of seat swaps. Assuming ORD-FRA is the obvious TATL segment (if not O&D you have a lot of other options to consider), then I would definitely pick a UD window on the LH 748. There is a climb-out and you have the "footsie" problem with your neighbor, but LH service is much better than UA (the food in J is about the same in my opinion, but others prefer LH) and the 747 is an iconic ride.

There is ample allowance here for personal preference.

IWontRegretThis

My folks just did FRA-EWR on the 781, they loved the whole thing, even in bulkhead middle seats in Polaris.

onthesam

- 781 J seats are nice for their newness and fancy appointments. Otherwise, they feel narrower and less comfortable than the LH J products or the UA 772 (whether or not with new seats). You will regret going out of your way to EWR to take the 781.
- The walk from the ORD Polaris Lounge (by C18) to the LH gates (usually B16/b17) is not all that far. Allow 10-15 minutes, mostly on escalators/moving walkways, depending on your pace. Though they usually depart the C gates, it is not entirely uncommon for UA907/UA944 to depart from the B gates, leaving you with the exact same walk as with the LH flights.
- Unless you are arriving into ORD then connecting to another flight ex-ORD, there will be no lounge access upon arrival in ORD. You will exit T5 and not be able to re-enter security. If you arrive on UA metal and have a connecting flight, you will have PL access. If you arrive on LH metal and have a connecting flight, you will have United Club access only.
- If it were me, I'd take the LH 747.

AndyInSaigon

For me the only advantage for LH is flying the 748. It is a very nice airplane. I will always pick UA over LH in business. I like the sCO seats just fine, and if I have to fly the 2-4-2 seats I find stepping over someone to exit is tolerable. Playing footsie with a seatmate I don't know on those LH seats turns me off. I would gamble on getting full Polaris.

UAflyer93

MysteryTour

I'd go with upper deck on the LH 748. I've flown that a few times and never been disappointed. The 747 upper deck is always special in my opinion.

cerealmarketer

How about....UA for the night flight, LH for the day flight.

flyupfront

Repooc17

Not all delays. Weather, security, political issues are excluded from EU261, and ATC.

alanw

Thanks everyone for your advice. Just bumping this up to say I went with what looked like the safest option, both ways on LH. The next day I realized that these flights book into P class and don't earn miles on almost all the *A programs. Had I booked UA there would have been no problem.

Lesson learned.

onthesam

LOL thanks for the follow-up. Sorry to hear about the miles -- didn't realize earnings was a consideration. Enjoy the 747! Hopefully you'll pick up some EU261 bucks for your efforts.