sanhin2

hy guys i am booked on United from Frankfurt to SFO. i have done the same route on Lufthansa before, it could be described as "minimal"to say the least.

i have never flown international on United, my ticket says that equipment used is a 747. can any one share their experinces on this flight with me? how is it compared to Lufthansa? is their any premium economy availabe on this flight? and if so how and when can i upgrade myself into premium economy?

thnx

ECOTONE

If you purchased this ticket through united.com, you can go to your "my itineraries" page and click on the "travel options" tab - you should be offered an opportunity to upgrade yourself to EconomyPlus.

I have never flown this route, so will let others comment on that.

Starman

Just so you're aware, UA's equivalent of "Premium Economy" called Economy Plus simply gives you a seat with a few inches more legroom (not width), and there is no difference in meal or cabin service, which is very basic.

jlr4travel

Be sure to visit seatguru.com and look up United's 747 configurations. You can get some insight into how comfortable your seat will be . . or guidance for how to pick an even better seat.

hs.sfbay

I've taken this flight the other way round, i.e. SFO-FRA. As far as I remember, the airplane was old, but ok. The flight had a delay of ~1.5 hours, which was compensated for with free drinks. As I had a connection in FRA, it did not matter too much anyway. I don't think Lufthansa is a really great airline either, so it might not make a big difference. I don't think the E+ Upgrade is worth it though, you might get it anyway as the plane is usually full and they need to move some people to better seats ...

UpstateNY

As others have noted, E+ isn't really an upgrade -- it's the same food, (lack of) IFE, and so on as the rest of the economy cabin. The only difference is more legroom, which is significant on some planes but not 744's. It's not worth the buy-up IMO. Buying up to C is worth it, however, particularly if the plane has the new seats, but even with the old La-Z-Boy seats.

mre5765

E+ on a 747 isn't much of a product. E+ on a 777 feels much more roomy.

Lori_Q

It actually *is* more roomy. The seats are an inch wider on the 777, and the 2-5-2 seating configuration doesn't feel quite as dense as the 3-4-3 on the 747. Unless, of course, you're in the middle of a block of 5 seats...

On the 747, the video monitor is shared. No personal, seat-back TV screens. In this regard, UA is only slightly better than United: United has programming for the whole flight, unlike Lufthansa, which often turns off the movies for some period of time.

Although buying up to Economy Plus is a good idea, you might also consider waiting until 24 hours before the flight, then requesting a seat in the first row of Coach. Those seats are held back for special-needs customers. If they aren't assigned by check-in time, they're made available to all Economy passengers. It's a good way to get a bulkhead seat in the quietest part of the Coach cabin.

I hope you have a good trip!

Miles Ahead

Those seats, while E-, are the last vestiges of the old Premier Zone. I think you need status to reserve them.

Javan69

As SFO is my home port, and I fly to FRA (or used to) a lot, I've taken this many times. 747's suck. 3-4-3 config leaves you with really no good seat in Y. 777's have the 2 on the wings, which is good. If you can get 36G, that's my preferred 747 Y seat as it's bulkhead aisle (right). Maybe you can get lucky and get an empty middle row.

stupidhead

There's no bigger hell on earth than a UAL 747 in economy class. I'd rather fly a CRJ across the pond. Not only is there no individual personal entertainment, but the plane's disgusting and old.

MatthewLAX

Nope. I have reserved them for family members with no status before.
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RE: UA SFO-FRA

I have taken my last midday overseas flight (*fingers crossed*). At least I can get a couple hours of sleep on evening departures, but on the afternoon SFO-FRA service, I feel horrible the following afternoon in Germany, no matter what cabin I journeyed in.

I hope you're joking. I'll take E- over a CRJ.

stupidhead

At least the CRJ is more or less new and isn't disgusting and old.

notquiteaff

I think you're exaggerating a bit. I have done quite a few trips on UA 747s in economy plus, and while it's certainly not as "comfortable" as on the 777, I have never felt that the age of the aircraft mattered. And maybe it was pure luck, but on transatlantic flights I haven't really had any problems with "dirty" cabins (I assume that's what you're referring to by disgusting). On the other hand, on those quick-turn CRJ runs within CA I have found all kinds of interesting things in my seat pocket.

And given the choice of LH Y and UA E+ on the SFO-FRA route, I always take UA, even on the 747. The few inches of extra space do matter to me.

WineCountryUA

UA SFO-FRA/FRA-SFO is using the new config (so select the right one in seatguru - 747 version 2) -- not much change in economy, LCD screen (cabin, not personal) versus the old projector approach
However, a lot fewer E+