bmvaughn

Yeah.. I got impatient waiting for a response and just made the changes.

worldtrav

N794UA (XI) is scheduled to be the first one in.

mahasamatman

Thanks. That gives us some idea on which routes could be the first to see the plane. Any idea when we'll see official seat maps (the suitedreams web site still says Fall 2009)?

shadabing

sorry.... this year. i know... crazy. but i always manage to find something.

ryan182

crazy? I dunno I'd say maybe: sad, pathetic, ridiculous, unbelievable would be more accurate. I just looked it up, since it was so long ago couldn't remember exactly when, but UA made the announcement of the new cabins December 2006 so.....its a pretty good bet since they haven't started the 777s yet that this December, FOUR YEARS later we will still have old C flying. Way to go UA!

1KAndrew

Does anyone know when the new C class is going to begin being rolled out on the 777s - the website says fall 2010 - which my guess is that it will be a fall 2011 when they are done with the fleet? Has united announced any plans yet?

gengar

As per Interior Conversions (UA) - FlyerGuide Wiki, the first 777 is scheduled to go in 2/10 and be out in mid-April. That's basically 2 months for conversion. That doesn't mean every one is going to take 2 months (the 747/767 conversion time was pretty inconsistent from plane to plane), but keep in mind the 747/767 took about 3-4 weeks even at the fastest conversion rate and the 777 is presumably also undergoing replacement of the econ seats.

Ignoring the 14 that are to be converted during heavy maintenance (see this post by planemechanic) presumably at PEK/Ameco, 32 will be converted at SFO. At 2 months per conversion, even with the possibility of having multiple planes in at one time (as we saw with some of the 767s), Fall 2011 would be an extremely optimistic time for completion of the fleet... maybe not even Fall 2012. But perhaps someone more knowledgeable can fill us in.

mahasamatman

The first few always take significantly longer.

jasonvr

Since N794UA is the first 777 to go in, do we know what route that plane has been flying recently.

I guess a more relevant question is, do we have any anecdotal evidence from the 763 and 744 conversion process, meaning, when plane X was taken off of route Y for retrofit, did it go back to route Y when the retrofit was done, or did it end up elsewhere in the system replacing the next plane to go into retrofit? If we have that kind of evidence, it might tell us where the first 777 will go.

mrmik

I have a May trip ORD-AMS it is listed as a 777 so I assume its old C. The UA site for conversion schedule lists a seasonally adjusted potential of lie flat seats in C. I assume this is a 767 in the off season.
If im in a non converted 777, is it worth to upgrade to F in this old config?

UAL4life

I would say it is. You cant beat lie flat.

worldtrav

Absolutely, IMHO the upgrade has far more value in the old config than the new one.

andrewwm

The reason the first one takes so long is that they have to run a number of tests on the seats plus it has to fly for 30 days in that configuration before the FAA will grant United a supplemental type certificate to begin converting the rest of the planes.

After that, installation of the new product should take about 3 weeks per plane, give or take.

Also, a knowledgeable source posted the other day on Airliners.net (maybe a UA mechanic?) that a number of the XI models will be fitted with crew rest modules in the crown of the aircraft, making them effectively XP models and allowing for longer mission planning.

bniu

just a comment, since you're in First Class, the old F suites are still very nice and quite comfortable. The IFE isn't very good but my favorite feature of the old F suite that is missing on the new one is the "desk" that you can place a laptop on and enjoy your own IFE.

SkiAdcock

This thread will get switched or merged into the UA forum soon, so agree w/ both of the posters above. Cheers.