JohnnyP

My choices are SFO-HKG, LAX-NRT, SFO-NRT and SEA-NRT... flying out on a Sunday. In your experience, what are the best bets for having my upgrade clear?

Edited to add: 1K flying on a W-fare to SIN (final destination)

kluau88

SFO-HKG is usually one of the more difficult flights to upgrade from my experience.

UA_Flyer

Personally, any transpacifc upgrades are good!

If I have to pick, I'd choose the longer flights such as JFK-NRT, SFO-HKG, ORD-HKG, ORD-PEK and the upcoming ORD-PVG.

I still miss the premium cabin services on those LAX-HKG flights.

transpac

I am not certain but I think the OP is asking which route might be easiest to upgrade? I'd guess SFO-NRT as there are two dailes but every day/date/route is dynamic and different. You could check seatmaps, "I" availability and/or call to see what might be the best bet?

Ok, now I see you are flying on to SIN, so on/about/after 31 Oct the later SFO-NRT flight is not an option for connecting to SIN, so I'm not sure what to recommend. SFO & LAX have 747's so more room, and more passengers of course, than a 777 from SEA. SFO-HKG is a great way to go but judging from the anecdoatl responses here it can be extremely challenging to upgrade.

gosflyer

ORD-KIX has been wide open for econ-business upgrades (I-class?) for early december outbound and early january inbound.

cesco.g

Is there any viable way to connect in/out of KIX to other UA Asian destinations? Or is KIX rather the starting/ending point flying on UA?

UA_Flyer

It is hard to tell from the information you have given. Is the Sunday you are traveling during holiday season? Are you requesting upgrades all the way to SIN or just to HKG/NRT? Are you on the West Coast? Are you upgrading with miles or SWU?

From my own experience, HKG-SIN is easier to upgrade than NRT-SIN, but SFO-HKG and ORD-HKG are loaded with UGS and 1Ks to clear upgrade.

If you are on the East Coast or Mid-west, look at ORD-NRT-SIN. There are two flights 881 and 883, so there is a better chance to clear upgrade. I heard that SEA-NRT are loaded with upgraded C passengers instead of paid C on a 777, so you may have better luck there.

Based on the choices you provided, here is my pick (from best to worst):

SFO-NRT ( two daily flights, however, later flight may miss the SIN connection)
SEA-NRT ( my guess as I have not flown SEA-NRT)
LAX-NRT
SFO-HKG (too many premium/1K/UGS fliers, especially after the introduction of HKG-SGN)

I am sure others will have different experience to share.

SEA_Tigger

In theory, the 744s will be the best just thanks to all the Business Class seats they have (73 C + 12 F).

I fly SEA-NRT for the crews, and I bat 100%, but upgrading Y/B fares does wonders.

SEA-NRT is often oversold in Economy, and decent in First and Business. So chances are upgrades will clear as they need to open up Economy seats. It's also a decent route for op-upgrades and double-upgrades. Alas, never gone out on a full C cabin so never been double-upgraded, but then they always seem to make sure the seat next to me is unblocked (the RCC folks swap my BP for a window seat with an empty adjacent aisle just before sending us upstairs for boarding) so it's about as good. ^

WindFlyer

KIX is the end of the line on UA metal. Not sure how it is about beyond connections on *A partners (but then, your upgrade wouldn't work there anyway).

transpac

Note that after the time change (31 Oct) UA 883 will no longer be a valid connecting flight for SIN. UA 883 arrives NRT 5:25 PM and UA 837 departs NRT for SIN at 5:30 PM. But it does look like the OP is west-coast based?

susieQ

I normally choose SFO-NRT-SIN routing and reverse, to upgrade and never had a problem clearing.
I do normally check for I inventory online when selecting dates, and look at seat maps. I find that helps to ease the anxiety

JohnnyP

This is for the weekend prior to Thanksgiving. Not good news, I take it.

I was only able to route through HKG, unfortunately, for the fare I got... we'll try our luck and see what happens!! My SIN-NRT on the return is also waitlisted.

carbonchaser

Well, at least if you do get the upgrade, SFO-HKG is one of the best flights to do it on - especially if you get a HKG based crew. And IMHO, HKG is a much nicer transit than NRT

martina

Keep in mind that since NRT-SIN-NRT changes from 744 to 777 on November 1, upgrade availability on this route is considerably lower.

I'm waitlisted for Y->C upgrade on the first Friday of November for SIN-NRT. With only 6 revenue seats left for sale just over two weeks out, I'm not counting on it. With SIN-NRT and HKG-SFO/ORD as perhaps the toughest upgrades in Asia, I still prefer to connect in NRT rather than HKG: 6.5 hours in Y (SIN-NRT) followed by 9 in XC (NRT-SFO) is preferable to 3.5 hours in XC (SIN-HKG) followed by 12 in Y (HKG-SFO).

John26

I would like to comment on the following:

1. If SFO-HKG-SIN had a much lower fare than SFO-NRT-SIN, (or vice versa, as was the case on my trip their last week), I would venture to say your upgrade chances will be better on the cheaper flight IF the lower fares are a result of low loads. How will you know this? Well, you don't, but sometimes you can deduce this from some area knowledge (i.e. are there major conventions or public holidays drawing arriving/departing crowds).

2. While a 744 may look like your best "chance" at upgrading because it has more C seats installed, this is not always the case. It depends on how well UA is matching available seats to load factors (which may also be influenced by cargo needs). If a 744 has very high loads, then it doesn't matter that it has more C seats than a 777, because you won't get to sit in any of them.

For example, last week if I had booked SFO-HKG-SIN, I would not have cleared the upgrade list, even though both segments would be 744s. On NRT-SEA yesterday (a 777), Business was less than 50% full and upgrading was no problem.

While we're at it, I'd like to add something pleasantly related to C loads: On NRT-SIN last week, I was the ONLY person in the main deck rear Business cabin on a 744. I counted 4 other people in the front Business cabins (a family of 3 and 1 other guy). Upstairs was quite full (the obsession of sitting upstairs on a 744 with insufficient carryon room for a rollaboard, even above 15A, still makes me chuckle). The captain came down and chatted with me before the flight and was surprised (he rarely flew NRT-SIN so was asking me if this was normal). I told him it just depended on the time of year.

Of course the silly part was having 4 (more than int'l F) NRT-based FAs tending to me during the meal service with true Japanese customer service standards. They were, of course, wonderful. I had a meal chair (aisle), sleeping chair (middle) and laptop work chair (other aisle) in row 26, with a perfectly darkened cabin for sleep and 100% quiet surrondings for 6 1/2 hours of bliss. Oh yeah, and I reclined the meal chair next to my sleeping (middle seat) chair and filled the gap between the 2 headrests with a "fortress" of pillows. I think I was more comfortable than in my own bed!