UA1/2 Dreamliner Non-stop to San Francisco in Y

[yflyer]

Apart from watching movies and TV on the IFE, I tried to sleep a little on this flight, but was only partly successful. In a 9-abreast 3-3-3 layout, I found the Y seats just marginally too narrow for me to relax comfortably. And I had an aisle seat!

Cabin ambience...



I marvelled at how other pax, especially those in the middle seats, could sit so serenely, and without complaint, for such a long stretch of time.



To paraphrase the lyrics of the Righteous Brothers hit, "Unchained Melody", time goes by...so slowly...

[yflyer]

An hour or so before landing, another meal was served...







I also found this to be quite satisfying.



The UA crew somehow managed to serve the full cabin and clear the meal trays just as the pilot came on the PA to announce our descent into SFO.

Cabin prepped for landing...



4 minutes to landing...



We arrived in San Francisco just after 8am in the morning, slightly ahead of schedule despite battling headwinds for much of the way.

[yflyer]

Overall impressions of this flight?

It felt a little strange getting onto a plane in Singapore on Monday morning, and then stepping off 15 hours later in San Francisco -- that same morning.

After years of travelling to SFO via HKG, ICN or NRT, the trip almost felt a little incomplete without a quick stopover for a snack and a leg-stretch.

But this was definitely much more convenient than a one-stop routing. You didn't have the hassle of deplaning for another security check, for example.

Now that the equipment is available to do SIN-SFO non-stop, I think this will soon become the preferred way to get to the US, just as flying to Europe from SIN is now mainly a non-stop affair for those whose highest priority is comfort and convenience.

How did UA and the 789 perform?

First, some positives: I thought UA's IFE was very good, and the Y meals were tasty. Cabin service was polite and helpful.

In terms of catering, I thought UA did ok, although there was I felt room for improvement in the beverage department. Why is only beer and wine complimentary, for example, when almost every other airline I have flown to North America in Y offers complimentary liquor?

I also couldn't help thinking that on such a long sector, two hot meals and a sandwich for a snack seemed a bit measly. I think a little more food would have been welcome.

The economy seat was comfortable to sit in, and had decent recline and pitch. I was happy with the seat in all respects except seat width.

I feel strongly that the 9-abreast layout in Y on a 787 is too cramped, especially for a sector of this length. The difference in comfort between a 9-abreast 787 and a 9-abreast 777 or 10-abreast A380 is very obvious to any frequent flyer.

On the other hand, after several flights on the 787, including this 15 hour sector, I am quite convinced that the lower cabin pressure in the 787 does leave passengers feeling more comfortable. I felt slightly less dry and dehydrated stepping off the Dreamliner than I did after long haul flights on other aircraft.

So a mix of positives and negatives, but on balance it was a good flight. I think despite some of the issues I have outlined, flying non-stop to San Francisco from Singapore is a very attractive proposition. I think UA will do very well with their SIN-SFO non-stop service.

I spent the next week in San Francisco before heading back to Singapore on UA1.

To be continued!

[alastairloh]

yflyer thanks for the TR!
Just wondering how was the load like for this flight as I'll doing this trip early next year and was thinking whether to book a Y or Y+ seat!

[SQueeze]

Wow. This looks like a very good delivery by United. The food looks way way better than what it used to be. They have definitely upped their game.

Flight also looks full? It shows that this route has a strong market and potential.

I only dislike this timing to fly to the USA. It's the same with SQ12 and SQ16. It's effectively a day time flight. You reach the USA at bed time. I could never sleep on these flights. Tough to try to sleep at 6 - 7pm SGT. And then by the time you are tired and about to sleep, it's landing time and you still have a full day ahead of you to slog.

[CarbonMan]

The UA and SQ flights share similar ETD/ETAs. Anybody know why?

Non-stops to the US is the way to go as far as I'm concerned. I really miss SQ21/22 when it was cancelled. Flying via FRA just makes the journey so much longer and more tedious, similar to the flights to IAH via DME. I guess it's okay if one doesn't fly the route often.

I've booked my SIN-SFO on SQ32/31 in June and am looking forward to.

[yflyer]

yflyer thanks for the TR!
Just wondering how was the load like for this flight as I'll doing this trip early next year and was thinking whether to book a Y or Y+ seat!

You are welcome, alastairloh!

It is hard to tell what loads are like based on just one or two flights, as it probably varies by day of week or time of year, but both the flights I took were VERY full in Economy.

My outbound UA2 SIN-SFO was almost 100% full in Y. I think there were only 1 or maybe 2 empty seats in the Y cabin. Not sure about Y+ as I didn't walk all the way up front to check, but it looked quite full too.

My inbound UA1 was also close to 100% full in Y on a Thursday night (Arrival into SIN on Sat early morning.).

[yflyer]

Wow. This looks like a very good delivery by United. The food looks way way better than what it used to be. They have definitely upped their game.

Flight also looks full? It shows that this route has a strong market and potential.

I only dislike this timing to fly to the USA. It's the same with SQ12 and SQ16. It's effectively a day time flight. You reach the USA at bed time. I could never sleep on these flights. Tough to try to sleep at 6 - 7pm SGT. And then by the time you are tired and about to sleep, it's landing time and you still have a full day ahead of you to slog.

Yes, the flight was quite full in Y. Timing wise, I had a slightly tough time on the outbound, departing at 8.45am, which I did not expect, since my preferred SQ route to San Francisco used to be SQ16, SIN-ICN-SFO, which also has a morning departure.

The return flight, UA1, timing was perfect to me, though: late night departure where you can get a good night's sleep (Or as good as one get can in 9-abreast Y on a 787), and then arrive in the morning in Singapore.

The UA and SQ flights share similar ETD/ETAs. Anybody know why?

Non-stops to the US is the way to go as far as I'm concerned. I really miss SQ21/22 when it was cancelled. Flying via FRA just makes the journey so much longer and more tedious, similar to the flights to IAH via DME. I guess it's okay if one doesn't fly the route often.

I've booked my SIN-SFO on SQ32/31 in June and am looking forward to.

I also think direct flights between SIN and USA are the way to go! As long as they keep prices reasonable, I am optimistic that this will become the new normal for flights to America...

The outbount SIN-SFO timings on UA and SQ are similar, but for the return SFO-SIN sector, SQ departs in the morning, whereas UA departs late at night. I think a night-time departure for the SFO-SIN sector is preferable.

Great that you have flights on SQ32/31 coming up, CarbonMan! I am sure they will be memorable!

[shikhargpt]

Great TR! Loved it, and a very relevant for me to plan something post-ORD hehehe.

The economy seat was comfortable to sit in, and had decent recline and pitch. I was happy with the seat in all respects except seat width.

I feel strongly that the 9-abreast layout in Y on a 787 is too cramped, especially for a sector of this length. The difference in comfort between a 9-abreast 787 and a 9-abreast 777 or 10-abreast A380 is very obvious to any frequent flyer.

This is the part I wanted to know a little about. I'm a small person -- just 167cm in height, a super thin waist and a lean body type. I've never really felt issues with aircraft comfort except for 5+ hour sectors on the 737 and A320.

I have only flown the 787 once, and that was on AI (SIN-DEL-SIN) back in Dec 2014 in Y. I had no issues sleeping, and I've found that I can sleep quite easily on other widebodies (such as the 744 and A330) as well. However, those sectors have all been <9 hours. Do you think I might have difficulty with UA1/2?

Finally, SQ's sector also seems to be at identical times, but it does use the A350 and is (well...) SQ, which gives it a leg up on comfort over UA I believe. Prices seem to be similar for both. Any possible recommendations for choices between the two? What about 1-stop options like EVA/ANA which are quite a bit cheaper?

Thanks!

[loldude333]

Finally, SQ's sector also seems to be at identical times, but it does use the A350 and is (well...) SQ, which gives it a leg up on comfort over UA I believe. Prices seem to be similar for both. Any possible recommendations for choices between the two? What about 1-stop options like EVA/ANA which are quite a bit cheaper?

Thanks!

ANA i believe uses 787s on their routes, with 9-abreast. EVA Air meanwhile, has 9-abreast on their 77Ws (though they are taking possession of some 10-abreast airframes). So if 1 stop, given similar pricing, i'd go for EVA. No comment on their service though, as i've never flown either. My 2 cents only.

[orionmiz]

Nice TR! So is it tiring to sit for long hours in the plane in Y?

Anyway, will be taking SQ32/31 this coming early Jan (also which I'll be taking UA292/759 for the SFO - MCO - SFO sector). Hopefully I can survived on this super long trip in the air.

[9V-SPL]

Fantastic report!

Don't know how people do it haha but amazing.

[SQGamespeed]

Great TR (and also your one for NH and AI)!

Also, congratulations on surviving 15 hours on UA! Seems like they are becoming more aware of their competition on US-Asia routes, as based on your description they look like they've pulled out all stops to make this rather decent (although I fully agree with 9-abreast being uncomfortable on a 787). As much as I go out of my way to avoid UA when traveling in the US (thank goodness for the Virgin America codeshare with SQ!), I have to give them credit for their efforts as shown here.

I will definitely take notes on my SQ32/31 flights in November and December to compare my experience with this and other TRs of UA1/2. Also quite excited for it as it will be my first time on the A350.

Also, for a second I thought that ice cream was the same rock hard one SQ used to serve in Y on ex-ICN flights, as the box design looks very similar.

[yflyer]

Nice TR! So is it tiring to sit for long hours in the plane in Y?

Anyway, will be taking SQ32/31 this coming early Jan (also which I'll be taking UA292/759 for the SFO - MCO - SFO sector). Hopefully I can survived on this super long trip in the air.

Thanks, orionmiz!

You know what? My personal opinion is that I would be quite comfortable on an ultra long haul trip in Y like SIN-SFO if I had an aisle seat on a 10-abreast A380, a 9-abreast 77W, or an 8-abreast 787. I think on any of those aircraft, I would be able to enjoy the flight, even in Y.

As for 9-abreast 787's, well they would not be my first choice for a long flight. Also, any sector operated by a 10-abreast 777 would also be last choice for me -- a flight of last resort.

Would I choose one-stop on a 9-abreast 777 vs non-stop on a 9-abreast 787? Hmmm...a very tough question. I suspect I might.

I've not tried an A350 for a long sector like SIN-SFO, but based on my SIN-DOH flights on QR's A350, I am optimistic that this sector on SQ would be quite comfortable!

Enjoy SQ32/31...I don't have any flights booked yet, but I am also keen to check out SIN-SFO nonstop on SQ the first chance I get!

[yflyer]

Fantastic report!

Don't know how people do it haha but amazing.

Thanks, 9V-SPL!

The resilience of the human spirit should not be underestimated!