Most of my trip reports here are of my experiences in premium cabins. I have a trip coming up that will likely consist of exclusively economy from North America to Hong Kong. You may ask what I was thinking. After this trip I may ask myself the same question…
United Economy seating, this is from a 767, but I’ll be spending a lot of time in similar seats
I had a slow period of business travel earlier this year, so I was feeling a bit nervous about my 1K re-qualification. I’d been looking for mileage run-able fares. I eventually found a great fare that I could connect to via some business travel, I jumped on it. Cheap fares on United are not upgradable with SWU GPU, so I’ll be sitting in economy. I’m also more than 86% of the way to earning Million Miler status with United, so this boost will help with that as well.
Mileage run to Asia in United Economy
I was able to geek out a bit with the itinerary and fly through one of my favorite airports (Tokyo Narita) while flying United’s 787 Dreamliner for the first time. I have flown the 787 before, but only on some short flights within Japan. I’ll also have a little time in Hong Kong, which is one of my favorite cities, so its not a true mileage run, but that’s basically the intent of the trip, just collecting miles. My lovely wife gave her blessing, and she convinced me to spend some time rather than just turning around right away.
I’ll be flying on the 787 from Denver to Tokyo, then connecting to Hong Kong on what Daniel calls United’s Asian RJ, a Guam-based United 737-800. This leg is eligible for elite upgrades, but it doesn’t look likely at all. My return is on on a United 777 from Hong Kong to Chicago. This is one of the longest routes I’ve ever flown. In the past I’ve flown it in Business upstairs on United, and then with a few unplanned stops in Cathay Pacific First Class. Needless to say this trip will be a bit less luxurious than my past trips.
United economy plus seats on longhaul flights have AVOD and power at least
This trip won’t be typical for how I usually do trans-oceanic travel, but I’m sure it will be fine. I’ll be doing lots of live updates via social media, and maybe even a trip report here afterwards.
