saaws

Claimer; I searched very hard for relevant information using the search feature here and google and didn't find useful information.

It's my first time on UA TPAC international F- SWUed both way from D fare.
Ihave ICN-NRT-SFO, and then returning on SFO-NRT-ICN.

ICN-NRT is on 777, NRT-SFO is on (supposedly) reconfigured 747.
Returning SFO-NRT-ICN is going to be after October, when they're supposed to finish reconfiguring all 747s.

So- what should I expect? How do I get the best out of it? Can I try different entrees in First? Which white wine / red wine is better among what they have?

Rambuster

Expect at least half of the seats to have a yellow "in-op" sticker on them somewhere !

blueman2

You will enjoy the First Class Lounge at SFO. I believe it serves as an arrivals facility when you get to SFO (not sure, because I only depart from SFO), as they have showers. On departing, SFO is one of the better IFLs for UA.

As for the in air experience, I like the UA seats whether it is old or new config for F. Good privacy. For 777, pick Row 3 aisle. Row 1 is too close to the galley and you will get light and noise. For 747, do 2A or K. Most privacy and space.

Food is not anything special on UA in F. Basically the same as you get in C. But they do still serve ice cream sundaes! Sad that serving ice cream sundaes is about the highpoint of a UA meal service.

And of course the other highlight is Twixt bars mid flight. Again, sad to say, but that is about as elegant as it gets with UA. But if you are looking for space and privacy, UA F is nice in my book.

bniu

International First Class is the real deal, the authentic First Class. Uh, expect to see other smart people in the cabin who paid with miles, upgraded from business with miles, are employees, etc. Once in a while, you'll see a Full Fare pax up there. Have fun enjoying the view from the other side of the curtain, (you have to walk to the back of the C cabin, don't worry, FA's don't care if you walk around.) No curtain between C and F, I ended up walking back to the C cabin a few times to swipe some snacks, use the lav, chat with the FAs, stretch my legs, etc since there was more room there. Even sat in a C seat for about 5 minutes trying it out...FA came by and jokingly asked me why I wanted to downgrade to C and playfully tried to push me back to the F cabin, kinda like the RCC agents at ORD who kept trying to persuade me to leave and go to the IFL. As for in flight, pilots let me take a look at their rest bunks (looked pretty comfortable if you ask me...).

The seat is awesome, I've never been in the new ones so can't comment there but the old seat is really nice, it lies flat, it has the desk, empower port works with my laptop. My favorite configuration is legrest up and forward, seat back up, tray table out for eating, laptop on the desk with a movie playing, and the IFE screen showing the map. Extremely comfy. When they get rid of these seats, I want one for my living room!

Service wise, good amount of balance between coming by and letting you have privacy. Occasionally I had to get up and bring a glass to the FA, though I didn't mind as I am a bit impatient and standing up to stretch is also nice. The food service comes at your leisure, I asked them to hold off on dessert and they saved me my ice cream sundae until I felt like having it. Mid flight, they brought me some snacks to munch on. Prior to landing, good lunch though I declined the baked lays chips. Nice drink service, consistent fill ups. Swiped some extra blankets from empty nearby seats. Prior to landing, I was in the full bed mode. As soon as pre landing announcement was made, it was like a military drill, remove blankets, I handed them to the FA nearby, unplugged laptop, stowed it in bag, re-set seat, FA standing by extremely patient, waiting for me to finish, though my seat didn't completely reset, FA had to help me punch the button a few times. Eventually got it to work. Don't know if noise cancelling headsets are part of the service as I carry my own bose set.

If you really want something cool, try to line up a transpac F trip with a connection to JFK from LAX or SFO. This way, you can come off intl F and connect to ps F or the other way around. May be worth the price of an extra ticket from your home to JFK for this. You get the ps trip for free in this case. same price with miles. Save your miles for intl F, don't waste them on domestic F. I fly coach about 98% of the time since most of my trips are short hops, have upgraded to F once domestically, realized domestic F is nothing special, most FAs even advise against wasting miles for it.

saaws

Wow, thank you very much for sharing a very detailed story on your travel experience!

SanDiego1K

Trip report forum is a great resource when you are anticipating a trip.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ly-2009-a.html

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...ne-2009-a.html

MatthewLAX

Did this happen during the flight? Since the bunks are on the other side of the flight deck door on the 747, I would think not.

uchuuace

It's fun talking to the purser on an int'l F flight. Int'l F pursers have always been very pleasant to interact with...if my theory is correct, they are the best of the best of UA and hence make it up the ladder.

VTHokieFlyer

the new F seats are very nice... I just did JFK-LAX-NRT-ORD-LGA, LAX-NRT-ORD in new F and I enjoyed it quite a bit, the food was alright/no complaints, had some really good soup and the ice cream was pretty good...

the PS F wasn't that great, I have wide shoulders and didn't fit well in the seat when reclining, I would have downgraded to C if I had the chance!!

bniu

i was on a 777, the bunks are just outside the flight deck door. The way it's designed is when the bunk door is open, it blocks the F cabin from the flight deck as well as the forward lav, this way, the pilots can change positions in relative safety as well as having a FA also standing in front of the now opened bunk door providing extra safety. So obviously, the flight deck door was locked, it was after a crew change, when the captain let me take a peek inside the bunks. I did get to go into the flight deck while we were still at the gate in ORD, and saw a humongous bag of trail mix they had. I jokingly told the FAs to convince the pilots to share their trail mix with us .

shinbal

Just got a loud laugh from me! Similar to what I was going to post. I've found there to be only some consistency in international F. The FA's can make or break the the experience, so hope for the best with them. I've found the food pretty good, but have never been "wowed". My advice is to keep your expectations in check - low, even - and hopefully you'll get a surprise.

MatthewLAX

For the most part, I think your therory is correct, but I do have one very memorable exception.

I don't know what her problem was, but I had a very nasty F-Class purser on a flight from ORD-FRA last year.

ironmanjt

I strongly suggest not to do this.

I've picked both 3A and 3J in the past, and both times was moved to a middle seat when they changed 777 configs and my seat became a pilot rest seat. I only book 2A and 2J now.

trflyer

I disagree. Why be a jerk? FA's are just trying to do their job....people are just trying to sleep or get to where they're going...I don't get the above.

On my TATL 777s, I've seen 3A as a pilot rest not 3J, which may be the best seat on the plane.

snic

This isn't quite correct. The first class lounge is after security, so you can use it on the flight back to NRT, but not upon arrival in SFO. Instead, you can use the Arrivals lounge, which is located in the baggage claim area of the domestic terminal. To reach it, when you clear customs, go left instead of right (towards connections, not towards the exit). Before the line for security in the domestic terminal, there's a sign for the Arrivals lounge (go down the stairs or escalator).

The Arrivals lounge looks, from the outside, kinds of like a dungeon, and indeed it has no windows. But the showers are very nice (H2O amenities), and the sitting area is pretty much like any RCC (including free wifi). It's a nice place to relax if you have to wait for a ride from the airport.