sierranevada

So going to Galapagos in Dec and want to avoid red eyes and stay with *A flights. Looking at Copa, LAX-PTY-GYE and then GYE-PTY-SFO in J class. Wondering what UA flyers think of their J class. I know what to expect with UA both short and long haul and know that currently CM's first class product is recliner seats (until 737MAX comes back) but have read really bad reviews of Copa on Skytrak. Would like to hear from fellow UA flyers that have flown CM in J class what they thought of it. Thanks

lincolnjkc

I only did it once (KiN-PTY-ORD and the ORD-CLE UA.

I thought it compared quite favorable to UA Business (non-Polaris INTL)/domestic first.

sierranevada

Thanks!

limey1K

I agree. Food may be a little better than domestic F on UA IMO

YadiMolina

I would opine that the J section of CM's "long haul" 737 is actually better than UA with better pitch and a pop-up AVOD screen. Very probable, but not certain, you'll get that version from LAX. CM food may be slightly better. CM crew is likely to be younger and possibly more enthusiastic.

seat38a

If it wasn't for the MAX fiasco, you would be flying in a lie flat seat from LAX to PTY.

sierranevada

Thanks everyone! @seat38a, I won't hold my breath that the MAX fiasco is solved before Dec!

Kacee

As noted, the 738B has a better seat than UA domestic F. I'm not a fan of the food or service. Worst IRROPS handling I've ever experienced.

sierranevada

What about the IRROPS hardline was bad - lack of options or lack of customer service? Or both? I'll will be booking through UA so not sure if my 1K status will help if something goes wrong

lincolnjkc

If something goes wrong the operating carrier is officially and usually solely responsible for getting you back on track.

That said if IROPS goes completely off the rails as the ticketing airline UA may be able to work some magic. Last year or so I was in DCA tying to get to MEM on UA. Long story short UA bumped me to AA when my UA connection would have been killed and would have forced an overnight while AA had space on the last nonstop of the night. After I was rebooked AA delayed, delayed, delayed, fully boarded the aircraft then announced one of the crew members had timed out and "this flight is now canceled". AA autorebooked me for a 5:30 PM departure the next day. Line at the AA CS desk was over 100 deep so I called UA res. Expected them to tell me to get lost since I was AA's problem now -- UA was wonderful and when they couldn't get AA to give them control of the ticket back they "Created" a new ticket out of thin air and said they'd deal with it later. Got me on a 6am flight instead.

anc-ord772

From LAX the 738B will be a nice upgrade, although not lie flat as noted. Service will be seriously hit or miss. Same with the food. I don't mind flying CM, but I set my expectations accordingly. My wife thinks it's an awful airline due to the bad service we received on multiple flights and wouldn't fly it for free even in F. A true YMMV situation.

exerda

My experience with CM has always been basically UA domestic F type of service and seat and meals. I have not flown the 738B, though.

I have never set expectations above that for UA domestic F and have yet to be let down by that expectation.

Kacee

Ditto. They stranded me in Colombia when their PTY flight control systems failed. You couldn't get through on the phone for days. I had to buy a full fare one-way J ticket on UA to get home. It took me six months and multiple emails to their CEO to get a refund.

cmd320

If this is a comparison to UA F then CM is notably better. If this is a comparison to LA J then CM is notably worse.

dkc192

My experience on the 738A (the one with standard domestic F seats and not Barcaloungers) was mediocre and comparable to standard domestic F overall. Do you consider LAX-BOG to be a redeye (I think it clocks in at 6-7 hours flying time)? If not, AV could be an option. They have angled flat or lie flat seats on the route, so it's a definite hard product upgrade. I'd set similarly low soft product expectations, however.