Winkdaddy

So I am booking a family vacation (2 adults, 2 children) from Chicago to Singapore (and ultimately Vietnam) using UA miles in economy.
I see two main options that have roughly the same flight duration and each one stop to SIN:

1. Book on UA metal via SFO...and have access to UA Economy Plus seats...but anguish on that 18 hour flight.

2. Book UA metal to a Europe hub, then SQ to Singapore...but the SQ leg would be in "regular" economy without extra legroom that UA would have

Does the superiority of SQ service over UA outweigh the extra legroom I would get on UA in economy??

if I do pick SQ, does it really matter which plane type in economy? (777, A350, A380)?

UA_Flyer

Just my personal opinion, and others may vary:

1. It will be a long journey in economy, so if you can get it over quickly the better. Choose the shortest time in the air and in transit
2. I will go for leg space on UA. I fly SQ regionally in Asia often, and I am not tall, it is still feel a bit tight on leg space.
3. SQ service is better but their soft product in Y is getting cut back. You won't get the whole can of soft drinks in SQ Y and choices are limited. Food is better than UA (aren't they all!)
4. If SQ, I'd pick A359 for humidity. I would ignore A380 for being too crowded. If 773, I can settle for it because it has a smaller Y cabin on long haul flights. UA 787 is fine.
5. IFE: SQ is better with more contents, but has too many ads for my liking. UA IFE is pretty good.

kohswisscheese

I would pick UA Economy Plus over SQ Economy any day and on any aircraft unless there is a high likelihood of access to the SQ Emex or Bulkhead seats. The distance either direction is about the same (SF to SIN isn't really 18 hours) so total travel time shouldn't differ too much.

Winkdaddy

Thanks for the perspective here...I did notice from seatguru that the difference is 2 inches legroom from regular SQ economy versus UA economy Plus....but the SQ seats are slightly wider. I do know SQ keeps their bathrooms clean whereas UA lets them completely deteriorate as the flight progresses!

SFO_LOW_CLOUDS

for long flights (12 hr+) I think the hard product (seat) matters more than the soft product (service)

uastarflyer

This.

tl;dr - pick UA for E+ and carry some snacks with you.

UA_Flyer

Not sure if it is important to you and since this is Flyertalk, but if you are shooting for million miles status on UA, roundtrip to SIN will get you closer.

dkc192

Award flights don't count towards lifetime miles needed for MM status.

WheelsUpGal

Are the E+ seats guaranteed?

UA_Flyer

Thanks. I forgot OP was redeeming points.

Ignore my comment above.

SPN Lifer

Seatguru has not been updated in half a decade. Use aeroLOPA instead.

https://www.aerolopa.com/

Winkdaddy

Thanks...but this website doesn't seem to show seat dimensions, pitch etc? Just diagrams?

docbert

May or may not be important to you, but picking United will give you PQP/PQF, where SQ will not.

Kacee

Yeah, this is pretty important to me, but doesn't matter to some.

Ultimately the question of UA pitch vs. SQ advantages is entirely personal. and depends on what matters most to to you and your family members.

jhayes_1780

Not asked: But I would lean UA for some other reasons based on you having 1K (aside from the other reasons listed):

1. IRROPS you *should* be taken care better by UA if there is a hiccup

2. On UA, You will most likely be offered a buy-up to Polaris or Prem+ (even on awards) (if you choose to bite is a different story). I did a trip to SIN a few years back, and on the SQ legs I *tried* to see if they did a buy-up/DOD upgrade, etc and was told its not even an option on SQ (HKG-SIN and SIN-PVG).

3. Someone PLEASE correct this if I am wrong: UA metal as a 1K will get you 3 bags each at 70lbs (and will extend that to everyone on your reservation) I *think* SQ will allow YOU the *G allotment, but I am NOT sure if that extends to everyone in your group. ****AGAIN, if anyone can answer this for sure... I would appreciate it.