United vs NWA

[Shilo 371]

As I mentioned in a different post I have been flying to LOS on NWA. I book through Angel Travel and have been getting my tickets for $760 in the off season and $1025 during the peak season. I have been hording my airmiles to be used many years from now when I retire to make trips home. I'll be up to about 300K of airmiles by the end of this year which is good for about 5 trips at 60K per trip. Starting next year I am thinking about booking 5 trips a year for one week each. As I also mentioned, I would like to go for longer vacations but the one week hits mean that I can go over about once every 2-3 months and it's easier on my worklife to spread them out that way. Going forward, I'm thinking about booking trips in Jan, April, July, Sept and Nov. All of them fall in what the airline would call off season except for the July trip which is high season for the airlines. So I'll pay for the 4 low season trips ($760X4) and use airmiles for the July trip. It'll work out to about $3000 for the 4 tickets, plus one trip free and leave me with 120K airmiles left over to add to the "retirement bank".

 

But here is my question: should I continue to book with just NWA or should I start anew after the beginning of the year with United? I can start fresh with United, get a credit card and other stuff to give me about 20K miles off the bat. And it seems that the cost is about the same as NWA through Angel Travel. United also seems to have a partnership with Thai Air and a few others that go to LOS and in some cases a better schedule then the NWA arrangement of always getting to LOS at 23:30 and having to leave at 6am.

 

I know that United is having financial problems but so is the whole industry. I'm thinking that it might come down to service and the ability to use the airmiles when I'm ready.

 

Has anyone used both United and NWA and would care to share an opinion of which is best....

 

 

Shilo

[soi6 0]

I have 200k miles on UAL and they keep growing, because whenever I've

wanted to use them to fly to the LOS they have no seats available for use as

such.. I'm probably going to use them to fly to latin america or something,

because United is hard to use ff miles on flying to LOS. One use I have found

though is to use them flying from BBK to Manila, usually can get space on

Lufthansa using the ffmiles..

[BarrioRunner 0]

I used United for my last trip in April out of Seattle for $734.00 RT. The flight arrives into Bangkok around 2315 at night. The service was good to Narita, but then it was shitty to Bangkok. When we asked about a few of the problems, we were blown off by the attenedent. It was the same on the return trip to Narita. The flight out of Japan to Seattle was great again. 777 are better than the 747's they use from Japan to bangkok. The crew that operates from Japan to bangkok is not worth much. They are not helpful for anything.

 

If its service you are looking for, I think NWA is the better of the two. As they say in LOS, "It's up to you"

 

Enjoy your trips whom ever you do use.

[Joop 0]

I love UAL, they have never booked my United FF trips on their airline but they set you up pretty good on both Thai and ANA... No prblems what so ever redeeming my miles...

 

When I fly for work, United gives me free upgrades to business class all the time... Don't know how NWA is but I will always fly United because they treat me too good.

 

Cheers

 

Joop

[Emil 0]

Shilo,

 

The biggest negative of switching over would be that until you hit premier status with UA (25K) you won't receive the 25 % bonus miles and premier executive takes (50K) and will give you a 100 % bonus. So if your earning bonus miles with NWA these would be lost until you flew those miles within a calander year.

 

What I like about UA is once your premier they put you in economy plus which gives you 5 additional inches of legroom. The free upgrades that Joop mentioned are also good for travel within North America, Hawaii and the Caribbean but you must be on a full fare economy ticket. They also give you 4 - 500 mile upgrade credits for every 10 K flown.

 

I have only redeemed twice for a free LOS ticket (60K) and had no problems. The first time last year they put me on Thai Air on the way over and this time I'm on Thai air on the return trip. I fly out of Sacramento and get into Bangkok at 10:30 PM. departure from Bangkok is 7:00 AM

 

Emil

[kingfisher 12]

I am a United Mileage Plus member. Since they are part of the Star Alliance Group, I earn on United and where possible, try and redeem on Singapore Airlines. It's a little bit longer but the service is much better. Also, since I live in LA, they have a (or used to) have a late night flight out of LA and arrive in BKK in the morning.

 

I hate the late night arrivals and early morning departures. With SIA, I can work during the day, get home, clean up and head to the airport the same day. With all the US based carriers, you basically lose a whole day at you leave sometime in the morning and arrive late the next day.

 

Hope this helps

[saigon_butterfly 1]

Shilo, good luck on trying to get a free ticket with NW for 60,000 miles. Seems like the only fare they offer is the Rulebusters, which is 120,000. SB

[BigDUSA 71]

If you book your FF ticket as soon as they available ie: 330 days in advance you will not have problems booking on United. Almost every year I book 3 tickets to Honolulu for late August supposedly the hardest ticket to get and I never have a problem.

 

Service back in the cheap sets is the same on all airlines including SQ. Only difference with SQ they have the most beautiful FA on the PLANET. Last week I flew BKK-NRT on United and the service was fine.

[Trvlr 50]

Theoretically both United and NW want the same number of miles for economy to Asia - 60000 ( I say theoretically because I am not sure of availability on NW). But to waive capacity controls NW wants 120000, whereas United will settle for 90000.

Star Alliance, of which United is member, is probably the largest and most well know airline alliance out there, including airlines like Thai, Singapore, Asiana, ANA (for Asian trips) and Varig (for S. America).

But within the alliance United has the best FF program - I would have preferred to join Thai's program, but United was so much better I settled for it. They give double miles when you are a premium member (50000 m previous year), which no one else does.

As to service, it is probably not as good as Thai (that may be because of this forum's leaning toward Thai women!), but they do try to take care of their premium members and that has impressed me. On a flight from BA last year the agent searched me out after passengers had been seated to move me to an economy plus seat.

You generally get what you pay for, and many of the Asian airlines with cheaper fares have far less liberal FF programs.

Doesn't EVA want 100,000 miles for an economy seat? Korean is probably the worst, maybe that is why they are generally the cheapest. When I started flying them they had a very attractive offer - I forget, but it was less than 60000 for a seat. Then they gradually moved it up to 60000 (maybe it is more now), and on my last trip they refused to give the full mileage - gave half the mileage for a trip to BKK. Such bait and switch tactics really speak of an airline with unethical practices. (The last straw was when they stopped pre-assigning seats - I wont touch Korean now.)

So, up till now, United it has been for me. But that may change in future. I am interested in EVA's evergreen deluxe, and if their prices remain reasonable I may switch to that for BKK trips. Collecting FF miles makes sense, but comfort is important on a 22-hour trip too.

[Dungheap 243]

Shilo, I wouldn't accumulate too many miles with any airline cause you never know when they'll change the rules as of yesterday.

 

I refuse to fly UAL or NW to LOS out of Japan because of their crazy departure times from BKK (5:50 am? 6:10? Arrives Narita 2 pm. What a waste!) Fuck that. Never, never again.

 

If I had to chose one at least UAL is part of the Star Alliance -- ANA (my preferred carrier) TG, Lufthansa and the like.

[Shilo 371]

Saigon Butterfly,

 

For what it's worth, I just got off the phone with NWA and booked my flight for July 2005 using my airmiles. It cost me 60K in miles and $50 for the taxes. I may call them back at the end of the week to change the return date because I'm not sure at this point if I am going to LOS for one week or two. But if I do call them back and make any changes to the booking then there would be no cost and if I cancel the trip then the $50 that I paid for taxes would be credited back to my credit card.

 

I think the secert is to book very early. You can book the flight 352 days in advance (which is why I would have to call back at the end of the week to make a change if I decide to go for two weeks) and it's a BIG plus to be in the Plat Elite level. They seem to bend over backwards to keep their best customers happy. You have to be Plat Elite to make changes to bookings without a cost.

 

Shilo

[Zeus 56]

Shilo,

 

I am another NW Plat. member. To be honest it probably doesn't matter whether you use UA or NW FF program. Although I do hate that 6:00 am BKK to NRT NW flight. The key is to stick to one FF program. That way you will maximize (and maintain) the benefits of your elite status.

 

I booked my Nov. 2004 award flight for in Dec 2003. However, I went for business class. The extra 30K miles (90K vs 60K) allow me to treat myself to something I would never pay for. The same ticket would cost $3K-$5K US$. In contrast, the economy is only $700-$1000. Of course to get these you need to reserve the seats shortly after they open up, as was mentioned. Business class FF seats are less available than economy.

 

My recomendation - when paying, fly economy and use your status to get miles and good seats (exit etc.), and use the FF miles to fly business class when possible.

 

Unfortunately, taking an award flight will probaly cost me my plat status, because the award filght to the LOS does not earn miles. As I don't have enough vacation to take many trips, and my business travel is minimal - I will probably fall into a lower elite tier.

 

Just another piece of info: NW is changing its BKK-NRT leg(s) to an airbus A330-200 aircaft seating 243 vs. 403 on the 747-400 that is currently used. Now I think this is a big mistake as it will restrict availabliity (and increase prices) on the NW USA- BKK trips. This segment is almost always full on the 747, so a lot of people are going to have to find other travel arrangments. It doesn't happen till this fall (Oct?), but it will be interesting to see what effect this change will have on NWs BKK route pricing and FF availability. If this has a negative effect, it might be cause to switch to another FF program if BKK is your main destination.

 

Zeus

[BigDUSA 71]

FWIW, UA uses a 747 NRT-BKK.

[Emil 0]

Just another piece of info: NW is changing its BKK-NRT leg(s) to an airbus A330-200 aircaft seating 243 vs. 403 on the 747-400 that is currently used. Now I think this is a big mistake as it will restrict availabliity (and increase prices) on the NW USA- BKK trips. This segment is almost always full on the 747, so a lot of people are going to have to find other travel arrangments. It doesn't happen till this fall (Oct?), but it will be interesting to see what effect this change will have on NWs BKK route pricing and FF availability. If this has a negative effect, it might be cause to switch to another FF program if BKK is your main destination.

 

Zeus

Zeus,

 

Did you check to see if they would be adding an additional flight once they changed to the smaller aircraft?

 

Emil

[Zeus 56]

No new routes yet. However I'm sure they will add one if/when the new BKK airport opens in 2005 ( does any one still think this will happen in 2005????)

 

The change happens November 2&3, 2004.

 

Here's the original story:

 

http://www.nwa.com/corpinfo/newsc/2004/pr052420041314.html

 

Zeus

[Emil 0]

Zeus,

 

Funny you should mention about the new airport. I just looked at their website a few hours ago and they are still planning on opening end of sep 2005.

 

Emil

[LBJ 533]

I used Northwest last year and althought the flight was fine, I really don't like the scheduling that gets you to BKK at 2345 and of course you don't get to Pattaya until 2am.

 

So this year I checked out Delta and their partners. I live in SW Florida and found a schedule going through Atlanta and Narita that gets me to BKK at 2015 and down to Pattaya by 11pm. I love it because I feel like I saved a night of the trip. And the total trip time is less because of shorter connection waiting time.

 

The cost is actually cheaper than NW and thay partner with Japan Air Lines to get you to BKK and either Korean Air or United to get you out. Unfortunately they still have those early morning flights out of BKK.

[Jimmybb 0]

NWA is nothing but a FUCK STORY! Jimmy

[Sa-teef 44]

Well Jeez Jimmybb, don't mince words! Tell us how you feel honestly!

 

I used to fly NWA and no matter what flight status I had I never seemed to connect with a freebie flight ( if it takes 350 days in advance, that might explain it! )

 

I'm premier executive with UA and I get free upgrades most of the time now if I want to roll the dice. I got free upgrades on 3/4 over the ocean flights in May/June. For my trip in October I decided to spend a few FF miles (60k) and I'm 1st/business class the whole way with prime seating. Making and paying for the ticket early got me the best seats. United is also jiggling the flights in November and Flight 836 which I used to take out of BKK - Narita is now flight 882. Still a 747-400 leaving at 7:00 am on that leg and a triple 7 Narita to Seattle. They are also adding triple 7's on a couple of the domestic routes I fly so that makes it more comfortable IMO. Far better and more comfortable than those old ragged-out 737's they usually put me on anyway. And with considerably more 1st/business class seating it should be easy to catch a domestic upgrade freebie. I'll find out in April.

 

I prefer the UA FF program just because it seems to work! And I'm surprised about the comments about poor service on the BKK - Narita leg! I've always found that leg to be very efficient ( and the FA's up in business class have a couple lookers as well!) and it always seems the best of the legs I take from Outback USA. I guess it's one of those YMMV things....

 

~Sa-teef

 

 

70 days and 11 hours....

[Tahoe_Bill 0]

I’m also a UA premier executive. I’ve cashed in 60,000 for each of my last 2 high season (Jun 03 and Jun 04) trips with little problem. One thing to keep in mind is that the NRT-BKK flight is usually full so if you request to go UA to KIX (Osaka) via ORD or SFO and Thai from KIX to BKK there are usually some open seats.

 

101 days and counting...

[BigDUSA 71]

I just got off the phone with United reservations. I booked a super saver frequent flyer ticket for October. I was on the phone for less then 5 minutes and got my second choice on my dates. I fly UA metal from Philly to LAX then Thai to BKK same on the return. I'm in country from 6 October thru 26 October.

 

 

Update: I needed to come back a few days earlier 22 October. No hassle making the change. I hadn't ticketed until after the change.

[KhaoBoy 0]

Greetings....Would that LAX BKK be thru NRT? I'm guessing!

[BigDUSA 71]

No Thai flies thru Osaka from LAX.