UA F (Asia) vs. AA F (Asia)...... AA EXP Perspective
Sep 7, 2006, 3:53 pm
#1
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UA F (Asia) vs. AA F (Asia)...... AA EXP Perspective
Last two months I've been taking a lot of UA to Asia....(from NRT onwards), giving up on JL and CX completely…. (gasp!, due to having been downgraded twice on CX from F to J due to aircraft switch to two class only….. 
)
Just did NRT-HKG-SIN-HKG-NRT on UA in F.....and I took AA JFK-LAX-NRT-LAX-SFO-JFK in F....
Comparing the flights (international segments only):
Equipment:
UA - 777 and 747, international configuration
AA - 777, Pacific and Atlantic configurations
Check in:
UA – New Star facility is very easy, and the premium area has hardly any lines. As a F passenger ground staff was assisting me with luggage cart and I was escorted to get my bags screened. Impressed with the service and the “concierge” type service.
AA – One word: chaotic……shared “lane” with BA and OZ ticketing…..and Y and C passengers. As a F passenger, I had to line up with Y and C passengers to get my bags screened….
Verdict: UA / Star wins by a long shot….truly distinguishes the F passengers from the rest of the crowd.
Lounge:
UA – NRT First Lounge, private, modern, personal service, quiet, upgraded amenities. Added bonus: access to NH First Lounge in NRT….very elegant facility.
AA – NRT Admirals Club, crowded, old, falling apart, no amenities. Shower rooms are horrific…..no separate First Lounge available. BA and CX alliance lounges at this airport are equally pathetic….
Verdict: UA / Star wins at NRT…..hands down.
Seat:
UA – FIRST SUITE, nice, but a little cramped, especially in the 747.
AA – Flagship Suite, excellent, spacious, functional....
AA – International First Class (aka Coffin), no privacy, comfortable and very wide.....
Verdict: UA wins over AA Coffin, AA Flagship Suite wins over UA.
Champagne:
UA – Premium Champagne (Prestiege Cuvee), two choices
AA – Standard Champagne, no choice (Pommery Brut.... 
RIP the Belle Epoque)
Verdict: UA wins.
Red / White Wines:
UA – FOUR selections of each Red / White wines, for a total of EIGHT! Whites include a German Riesling, CA Chard, NZ SB, and a 1er Cru Beaune…..Reds include a Tuscany (Chianti Classico Riserva), a 2003 Pomerol…YUM, an AU Shiraz, and a CA Merlot…..
AA – Two selections of White and Red. Whites include a 1er Cru Puligny-Montrachet, and a CA Chard. Reds include a 5eme Cru Pauillac, and an AU Shiraz….
Verdict: Clearly, quality is similar, but UA wins with twice as many choices…..
Crew:
UA – Young, Asian, energetic flight attendants, mostly female, in late 20’s to 30’s. Service is warm, attentive, and almost approaching Asian carrier standards.
AA – Flight attendants are polite, attentive, and friendly.
Verdict: Almost a tie, although the edge to UA if you like younger flight attendants.
IFE:
UA – The PTV in the Suite on two of my segments didn’t work properly. Thankfully, the cabins were 1/3 to ¼ filled, so I was able to switch to any open seat…Pitifully small screen…..and gets in the way when the tray table is being folded up/down.
AA – PTV works better, screen is actually more pleasant to look at than UA’s screen.
Verdict: AA wins by a slight margin.
Amenities:
UA – Intra-Asia flights gets eye mask, ear plugs, tooth brush…..etc were handed out. No slippers. Don’t know if UA hands slippers out on the NRT-US flights, though. Note, the NRT First Lounge has amenity kits by Crabtree and Evelyn, and the NH First Lounge has amenities by L’Occitane….
AA – Long haul Japan flights in F have slippers in addition to the amenity kit. AA Lounge has no amenities, except for a flimsy shower gel and shampoo packet….
Verdict: UA / Star wins by a long shot, in the added amenities suitable for Premium Class passengers. AA’s are simply disgraceful and pathetic…..
So, I was quite pleased with UA intra-Asia in F, so I booked UA F for my next 4 trips to SIN, ICN, BKK, HKG, and TPE all on UA F….. probably I’ll be using UA only in Asia and any NRT connections. For HKG connections, I’d still stick with CX. But for those Premium Class frequent flyers to / within Asia, I completely understand the itch / urge to switch to UA……and quite frankly, AA’s overall F product is less appealing than UA’s…. thank goodness we have CX and BA where we earn EQP and 100% elite tier bonuses…..
)Just did NRT-HKG-SIN-HKG-NRT on UA in F.....and I took AA JFK-LAX-NRT-LAX-SFO-JFK in F....
Comparing the flights (international segments only):
Equipment:
UA - 777 and 747, international configuration
AA - 777, Pacific and Atlantic configurations
Check in:
UA – New Star facility is very easy, and the premium area has hardly any lines. As a F passenger ground staff was assisting me with luggage cart and I was escorted to get my bags screened. Impressed with the service and the “concierge” type service.
AA – One word: chaotic……shared “lane” with BA and OZ ticketing…..and Y and C passengers. As a F passenger, I had to line up with Y and C passengers to get my bags screened….
Verdict: UA / Star wins by a long shot….truly distinguishes the F passengers from the rest of the crowd.
Lounge:
UA – NRT First Lounge, private, modern, personal service, quiet, upgraded amenities. Added bonus: access to NH First Lounge in NRT….very elegant facility.
AA – NRT Admirals Club, crowded, old, falling apart, no amenities. Shower rooms are horrific…..no separate First Lounge available. BA and CX alliance lounges at this airport are equally pathetic….
Verdict: UA / Star wins at NRT…..hands down.
Seat:
UA – FIRST SUITE, nice, but a little cramped, especially in the 747.
AA – Flagship Suite, excellent, spacious, functional....
AA – International First Class (aka Coffin), no privacy, comfortable and very wide.....
Verdict: UA wins over AA Coffin, AA Flagship Suite wins over UA.
Champagne:
UA – Premium Champagne (Prestiege Cuvee), two choices
AA – Standard Champagne, no choice (Pommery Brut....
RIP the Belle Epoque)Verdict: UA wins.
Red / White Wines:
UA – FOUR selections of each Red / White wines, for a total of EIGHT! Whites include a German Riesling, CA Chard, NZ SB, and a 1er Cru Beaune…..Reds include a Tuscany (Chianti Classico Riserva), a 2003 Pomerol…YUM, an AU Shiraz, and a CA Merlot…..
AA – Two selections of White and Red. Whites include a 1er Cru Puligny-Montrachet, and a CA Chard. Reds include a 5eme Cru Pauillac, and an AU Shiraz….
Verdict: Clearly, quality is similar, but UA wins with twice as many choices…..
Crew:
UA – Young, Asian, energetic flight attendants, mostly female, in late 20’s to 30’s. Service is warm, attentive, and almost approaching Asian carrier standards.
AA – Flight attendants are polite, attentive, and friendly.
Verdict: Almost a tie, although the edge to UA if you like younger flight attendants.
IFE:
UA – The PTV in the Suite on two of my segments didn’t work properly. Thankfully, the cabins were 1/3 to ¼ filled, so I was able to switch to any open seat…Pitifully small screen…..and gets in the way when the tray table is being folded up/down.
AA – PTV works better, screen is actually more pleasant to look at than UA’s screen.
Verdict: AA wins by a slight margin.
Amenities:
UA – Intra-Asia flights gets eye mask, ear plugs, tooth brush…..etc were handed out. No slippers. Don’t know if UA hands slippers out on the NRT-US flights, though. Note, the NRT First Lounge has amenity kits by Crabtree and Evelyn, and the NH First Lounge has amenities by L’Occitane….
AA – Long haul Japan flights in F have slippers in addition to the amenity kit. AA Lounge has no amenities, except for a flimsy shower gel and shampoo packet….
Verdict: UA / Star wins by a long shot, in the added amenities suitable for Premium Class passengers. AA’s are simply disgraceful and pathetic…..
So, I was quite pleased with UA intra-Asia in F, so I booked UA F for my next 4 trips to SIN, ICN, BKK, HKG, and TPE all on UA F….. probably I’ll be using UA only in Asia and any NRT connections. For HKG connections, I’d still stick with CX. But for those Premium Class frequent flyers to / within Asia, I completely understand the itch / urge to switch to UA……and quite frankly, AA’s overall F product is less appealing than UA’s…. thank goodness we have CX and BA where we earn EQP and 100% elite tier bonuses…..
Sep 7, 2006, 3:57 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2005
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Wow! Great review and insights! Thanks for sharing!
Enjoy flying the friendly skies!
Enjoy flying the friendly skies!
Sep 7, 2006, 3:57 pm
#3
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 23,999
Thanks for the report! It really seems like UA has an edge on AA in this regard! ^ ^ ^
Just so you know, UA does have slippers on US->Japan->US flights.
Just so you know, UA does have slippers on US->Japan->US flights.
Sep 7, 2006, 4:04 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Thanks for the comparative report ^
...sounds like AA International F has taken a beating since the last time I flew it (some recent reports on the Trip Reports Forum seem to corroborate that).
Also sounds like UA F intra-Asia may be somewhat better than elsewhere in the network (see this other thread).
...sounds like AA International F has taken a beating since the last time I flew it (some recent reports on the Trip Reports Forum seem to corroborate that).
Also sounds like UA F intra-Asia may be somewhat better than elsewhere in the network (see this other thread).
Sep 7, 2006, 4:17 pm
#5
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Welcome to the dAArk side!
Sep 7, 2006, 4:19 pm
#6
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One other thing to think about, if your taking that many paid F trips trans-pac your probably have a pretty good shot at UGS, which adds many other benifits (do a search and you'll see 32498409843943 threads about it).
ETA: also another thing to consider, UA is overhauling their intl C/F cabins in the next 12 months, so I would imagine that the IFE in the F suite to be much better...
ETA: also another thing to consider, UA is overhauling their intl C/F cabins in the next 12 months, so I would imagine that the IFE in the F suite to be much better...
Last edited by ryan182; Sep 7, 2006 at 4:21 pm Reason: adding stuff on ife/seats
Sep 7, 2006, 4:21 pm
#7
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Originally Posted by ryan182
...do a search and you'll see 32498409843943 threads about it...
Sep 7, 2006, 4:23 pm
#8
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Originally Posted by WindFlyer
Is that a google search?
No thats searching the UA forum for the last 30 days it seems like an odd day if theres not something about UGS on the first page, and half of them are "how can i get it"
Sep 7, 2006, 4:25 pm
#9
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Originally Posted by WindFlyer
Is that a google search?
Sep 7, 2006, 6:44 pm
#10
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Even though I've never been, it surprises me that you find the CX and BA lounges at NRT to be poor...as both of those carriers traditionally receive rave reviews for their lounges.
Sep 7, 2006, 6:46 pm
#11
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Couldn't BA or CX customers use the JL lounge?
Sep 7, 2006, 7:15 pm
#12
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Originally Posted by UnitedSkies
Couldn't BA or CX customers use the JL lounge?
Sep 7, 2006, 7:19 pm
#13
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Originally Posted by UNITED959
Even though I've never been, it surprises me that you find the CX and BA lounges at NRT to be poor...as both of those carriers traditionally receive rave reviews for their lounges.
Sep 7, 2006, 7:21 pm
#14
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It's not so surprising to me that JL/NH/UA/NW have the best lounges at NRT. After all NRT is a hub for all four carriers. For BA/CX/AA, NRT is but a spoke (albeit an important one since it IS Tokyo) in their worldwide networks.
Sep 7, 2006, 7:25 pm
#15
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: LAX
Posts: 1,208
From what I have heard/experienced AA domestic F is nothing compared to UA domestic F; however, when you move into International, especially the Asian market, AA becomes more competitive (especially with One World). Lounge access seems to be somewhat of a toss up in both directions, as both offer superb lounges. Honestly, I believe it all comes down to where you live and what routes are available from your city.