United Coach to Asia
 

Hi all,

First time flying unted coach internationally - wondering what to expect for SFO-HKG or NRT-SEA legs...Meals, drinks, AVOD etc. Thanks in advance.

Bring Melatonin and cough up the money to upgrade to E+.

Meals are okay, there are free drinks. NO AVOD. No PTVs on the 747.

I can comment about the AVOD.

SFO-HKG you're on the 744 so everything is looped on the big projection screens. On NRT-SEA you're on the 777 so each seat has IFE. Should be noted regardless of cabin the IFE is not on-demand.

I recently did SEA-NRT in E+. The 777 on the way down wasn't bad. The 747 on the way back wasn't nearly as comfortable. For some reason I find the seats on the 747 to make my butt sore. PTV on the 777, overhead TVs on the 747.

They were looking for VDBs both directions which included an upgrade to C for the next flight out (24hrs later). Perhaps if you have some flexibility in your schedule, this may help with the comfort level.

I slept a good chunk of the flight both ways.

I can't comment on IFE -- I bring my own. It's not bad in E+. I'd go with the Asian meal, rather than the western one. Take advantage of the noodle snacks that are available on request. Do your best to sleep.

I haven't experienced NRT-SEA, but I've flown 869 SFO-HKG quite a few times. Here's my post regarding 869 from about ten months ago:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...23&postcount=4

Hope this helps!

NEVER take a 744 on a long flight unless you can upgrade to C. ALWAYS go with the 777 if you are certain to be stuck in Y.

Last two times for me were on 777. In October, we taxi'ed to 28R, the longest runway. The wind changed and we taxi'ed to the other end. But landing direction didn't change. So we waited and waited for a take-off slot in the opposite direction finally the captain went back to the gate to get more fuel. After 45 minutes at the gate, the wind changed again and we used 28R in the normal direction but were 2 hours late.

To OP:
SFO-HKG is longer but westbound. So E+ is bearable. NRT-SEA is eastbound arriving in the morning so you really need to be able to sleep. Due to this I always upgrade eastbound but not westbound.

Nevertheless having done the SFO-HKG twice last year, it is a very tough flight at 13+ hours. One of the two was a SFO-HKG-SIN and I was able to use a SWU.:)

I like the Hindu meal option, which replaces the cup noodles with nan and fruit. The main meal is curry, rice and nan, which tastes about the same out of an airplane galley as it tastes in any other context.

If you're planning to sleep on the 777, go for a window seat. The aisle seats have video equipment boxes which will get in the way of your feet and prevent you from using your floor storage if you're bringing stuff with you. Besides this, even the extra five inches in E+ is not nearly enough to keep your seatmate from waking you when they want to get up.

I would try to sleep on the plane in both directions. You want to sleep early on the westbound and later on the eastbound, since the westbound arrives in the evening and the eastbound arrives in the morning.

Keep in mind that E+ on the B747s and B777s are not equal! About 2" less pitch on the B747s. Why? I have no idea. Thus, try for the B777s if at all possible besides the added benefit of PTVs (not AVOD, though). Hope this helps.

LAX

Suggestions:
- Buy up to Economy-Plus (E+) if you aren't a UA Premier flyer. E+ uses the same seats, but has more leg room. So E+ is a lot more comfortable than ordinary Economy (E-).

- 777s have per-seat audio/video with 9 video channels, but 747s have a per-cabin projector.

- 777s seem to be more comfortable in E+ than 747s in E+; I'm not sure why.

- Usually there will be a Japanese meal option and a US meal option. The Japanese meal option is usually better tasting to me.

- There will usually be a meal after departure, some light mid-flight snacks avaialble in the galley mid-flight (self-service), and a light meal before arrival. It is always wise to bring along some non-perishable snacks of your choice on such a long flight.

- I try to sleep trans-Pacific, no matter what cabin class I'm in. If you also want to sleep, consider bringing eye shades, ear plugs, or whatever else would let you get some sleep. When I'm in economy, I always bring a little self-made "amenity kit" with such things.

I wouldn't do it in E+. Just say, "No."

Heck, I almost died in E+ from ATL-ORD (only ~600 miles) last month! And I had an aisle seat next to a very nice person!

Now's the time to book it in C....

Also no in-seat power for any E+/E- seat on either the 747 or the 777. That severely limits your ability to bring your own electronic entertainment for the long flight.

When I fly, I'm stuck in Y because it's all I'm allowed to buy. UA is my airline because I'd rather be in E+ than other airlines' Y on these long int'l flights. That said, I'd try to route the overwater segments on 777s rather than 747s for the reasons cited above.

These are long flights. Pack your noise canceling headsets (I use QC2s), inflatable neck pillow (inflatable is key), reading material and melatonin (or something stronger), and take advantage of the free liquor. Don't expect a lot, but admire the fact that the journey won't take months and no one will get scurvy or abducted by pirates. UA will get you there safely, and more comfortably than many alternatives (though not those closer to the front of the plane).

Is CX a better option in economy class to Asia?

While I've done a transpac on UA in economy, it was a couple years ago when I was in college. At the time, I dont recall it being too awful.