The A340 is 25 Years Old and Obsolete

Good thing Airbus paired this design with the A330 or it would have been dumped years ago. It has a limited future with VVIP operations, small carriers, and for it's long overwater (not ETOPS limited) range. You can buy one ready for airline service for $20,000,000. 

Most Operators Have Replaced It

First - Coach - First Crossing the Pacific

First class over the Pacific can be one of the best in flight experiences available, see ANA, Cathay Pacific, or JAL for examples. As per tradition, US carriers do it worse or not at all. United is no exception. They run domestic configuration 737's out of Guam all around the Pacific. They also run a domestic 777-200 from Guam to Honolulu and regional upgrades don't work on this flight, so be ready for 7 long hours in coach. From Honolulu, it's all domestic configurations.

Like I'm Flying to Boston

Regional Upgrades Work HKG-GUM

This means passengers flying the equivalent distance of LAX to London have to do it in planes made for LAX to SFO. Even worse there is no free food or alcohol. United has a monopoly, more or less, on the central Pacific routes and no interest in improving the onboard experience. Be prepared.

View from GUM United Club

Breakfast on a Domestic 737 Flight for Comparison

Breakfast HNL-IAH - Meh

Meal Leaving HKG on 737

Double Amex Points!

Shop small and get double points when using a registered Amex card. Not as fun as free money ($25 or $10 a card in previous years), but still a worthwhile promotion.

Delta & Amex Are Friends

Longest 777-200ER Flight In The World

United Airlines operates the longest 777-200ER flight from EWR to HKG, about 16 hours on board and over 8,500 flown miles. I flew it in coach. It's not bad if you have a good seat and travel prepared. 

Economy Seat Recline

Open middle seats make a world of difference. An open row is amazing. Otherwise shoot for an exit row (right side is better than left) or Economy Plus. I booked an exit row when I make my reservation then hold onto it until I'm at the gate and get a decent feel for the seat map. I was able to switch into an open middle row of 3 seats at the last minute and have all that space to myself.  It made for a nice trip.

777-200ER to HKG

Fly with ear plugs and an eye mask. The cabin is always noisy and next dark. Also avoid caffeine for the day. It's hard enough to sleep on board. Take a walk around the cabin every hour or two when awake. It helps. Also stock up on podcasts or bring a book, the TV's don't always work.

Exit Row Leg Room

Broken TV - It Reset After About 20 Minutes

Pack snacks. The food is ok, but infrequent.  The beer is free and the wine is undrinkable. Spirits cost money.

Pasta Dinner

More Pasta

Noodle Breakfast - Good

More Noodles - Still Good

Happy Weekend!

Going somewhere fun?

Air China Has Great Star Alliance Award Space

Good View From Houston United Club

Go to the third floor of the E11 United Club in Houston. It is less crowded and the views are great.

Ample Outlets, Quiet, & Views

Odd Emirates Advertising

Emirates paid for an ad to have me join their company as a pilot. I have less than 1 hour of total flight time at the controls, so this may be misguided advertising.  The website was an interesting view into their push to poach experienced pilots from around the world.

Emirates Never Goes Small