United Airlines discontinuing all service to Thailand

[Guest anonone]

Just a heads up, as I know several members use United Airlines for their travels.

 

Effective March 30, United Airlines will no longer fly to Bangkok.  Their current schedule between Tokyo-Narita and Bangkok will cease. 

 

 

[firecat69]

Guess that means I use ANA out of NRT to BKK

[Guest anonone]

That will be about the only option if you need to keep the TPAC leg on United. 

 

Generally nicer service on ANA, but no upgrades and no Economy Plus seats.  ANA's 767 on this route has some tight seating in economy.  Real knee busters for a 6 hour flight.

 

 

[fedssocr]

Not necessarily. Depending on your origin you could fly UA to PEK for example. Plenty of Star Alliance options though so you can avoid UA altogether (which I recommend) unless you've got status on UA for upgrades. Don't they also fly to PVG? You can fly EVA to Taipei and connect there to either EVA or THAI. UA will also start flying to TPE from SFO on April 1, so maybe that's the switch. You can go via Seoul with a variety of options. SIN as well. Or you can go via Europe.

[Guest anonone]

There are numerous TPAC options on United beside NRT (HKG, PEK, PVG, etc).  The issue becomes getting United to sell you the ticket on their ticket stock with Star Alliance partners and qualify for their Mileage Plus dollar spend amounts. 

 

If you aren't familiar, United made some changes to elite qualification starting with 2014 travel.  There are now minimum spend requirements for reach elite levels, and only money spent on United planes or codeshares on United (016) ticket stock count toward the requirement. 

 

As far as I recall, the only Star Alliance partner which codeshares with United in Asia is ANA.  I know they do not codeshare with Thai, and I don't think they do with either Eva or Asiana either. 

 

If you try to ticket ORD->HKG->BKK on United stock with a Thai Airways segment, it will cost much more money then previous, all United flights...at least that seems to be the general consensus.  I haven't personally researched all the options yet.

 

If you don't care about elite status with United, then perhaps not such a big deal...but I wouldn't think United would be the best choice then.  The only reason I was traveling on United was for the status, and the corresponding upgrade certificates.

 

Oh, and by the way, United is also discontinuing their Seattle->Tokyo flight as well.

Not sure of the date on that one yet.

 

Really a bad day for United operations in Asia. 

[NIrishGuy]

just out of interest do they give a reason for stopping their service, whereas I mean is it purely down to a lack of customers using the route i.e. a sign of less Americans heading to Thailand perhaps for some reason or is it part of some other deeper company restructuring plan perhaps ( which is even more annoying sometimes when it DOES appear to be a viable, profitable route and they STILL cut it in-spite of of customer demand perhaps??

[kokopelli]

A friend who is a long time United frequent flyer often flies to Thailand (from East Coast of USA) via Europe using a combo of airlines including Thai and Lufthansa .  In his case he uses his miles for award tickets.

[firecat69]

I love the SEA flights to NRT and they have just made GPU.'s for IK's worthless .   I love customs and immigration at SEA as well as the compact airport.

 

Now it is back to DL for me and their worthless mileage program and award search engine.

[KhorTose]

I love the SEA flights to NRT and they have just made GPU.'s for IK's worthless .   I love customs and immigration at SEA as well as the compact airport.

 

Now it is back to DL for me and their worthless mileage program and award search engine.

If you are going to Bangkok or Chiang Mai from SEA you might check out Korean airlines who have a great connection flights.

[Guest anonone]

just out of interest do they give a reason for stopping their service, whereas I mean is it purely down to a lack of customers using the route i.e. a sign of less Americans heading to Thailand perhaps for some reason or is it part of some other deeper company restructuring plan perhaps ( which is even more annoying sometimes when it DOES appear to be a viable, profitable route and they STILL cut it in-spite of of customer demand perhaps??

Hey NIrish. 

They have not made a "public" announcement detailing the reasons, but it seems to be more restructuring.  They are reducing intra-Asia flights in favor of adding more flights from USA to Intl destinations.  In this case, it seems they added a second flight from Houston to Munich and a second flight from Houston to Tokyo.

 

The NRT->BKK route was always full, and upgrades were tough to secure, so it would seem that the route was profitable. 

 

 

A friend who is a long time United frequent flyer often flies to Thailand (from East Coast of USA) via Europe using a combo of airlines including Thai and Lufthansa .  In his case he uses his miles for award tickets.

Hi kokopeli.

Yes, I have done that route using those airlines many times.  It was one of the best redemptions for a first class ticket using miles that there was.  Unfortunately, United also changed their rules so that redeeming miles for flights on other Star Alliance airlines just went WAY up....almost double miles for First Class, if I remember correctly.

 

I love the SEA flights to NRT and they have just made GPU.'s for IK's worthless .   I love customs and immigration at SEA as well as the compact airport.

 

Now it is back to DL for me and their worthless mileage program and award search engine.

 

I am not sure what I am going to do now.  I need to find some time to look at the options.  United has been on a downward spiral for a couple of years, and it seems to be getting worse at a far greater rate now.  With all the mergers of airlines in the US, the customers are getting screwed...and not in the good way.

[mahjongguy]

My frequent-flying days are behind me but still I'm sorry to see United drop this route.

 

When I first began flying transpac in the late '80s, I would fly from San Francisco to Narita and transfer to United's famous UA001 Round The World flight to Hong Kong and on to Bangkok. That flight continued on and included stops in Frankfurt, Dulles, Los Angeles (and back to Narita).

 

Flight UA002, of course, flew that route in reverse. 

 

United began dismantling that RTW sometime around 2000 by deleting the HKG to BKK link.    

[kokopelli]

 

 

Hi kokopeli.

Yes, I have done that route using those airlines many times.  It was one of the best redemptions for a first class ticket using miles that there was.  Unfortunately, United also changed their rules so that redeeming miles for flights on other Star Alliance airlines just went WAY up....almost double miles for First Class, if I remember correctly.

 

 

I

Quite so; my friend was getting First Class for 70 K miles each way while Biz Class was 60K.  Nice thing about United was you could get one-way award tickets rather than be screwed by Delta requiring round trip tickets. But for me, stuck with Delta and do fly via Seattle where I stay over night to break up the flight times.

[Bob]

Koko, as somebody mentioned, try Korean Air.  I flew for years on EVA in premium economy (called "elite" on a 777 and something else on a 747) but I've flown on Korean Air in economy for the last couple of years - and the leg room is about the same as EVA's premium economy.  Plus, for me, it's perfect to go to Seoul and then directly to Chiangmai. 

[kokopelli]

Recently I did fly Korean from Seoul to Bangkok but in Biz Class. I did like the airport in Seoul but the Biz Class was antiquated on a 747 and the food and wine and service were dreadful. But there were lots of empty seats in upper cabin; almost empty! But it is an option to consider.

[fedssocr]

For sure UA's rise in partner award mileage requirements is a big blow. It was fun while it lasted has been my general attitude. Not sure what I will do from now on either. Once the AA/US merger happens I will have a boatload of AA miles so I will be able to squeeze some Oneworld  flights out...until AA devalues their chart too.

[Smiles]

I flew United for years, either Vancouver>>Bangkok or sometimes from Seattle. That puppy was never once late getting into BKK over eight years ... usually pretty much on the button (which I've heard is almost unknown for United's domestic flights).

But over the years the service deteriorated noticeably (and I am decidedly not high maintenance), and worse, the legroom grew smaller as they tried jamming in more seats in Econ (and I am decidedly not large). The cabin staff were ancient and sometimes unnecessarily grouchy.

 

Tried Air Canada once, never again.

Tried EVA, OK, not particularly special and their 747 to Taipei was a rattle trap.

 

Lastly ~ and now forever, I hope ~ Korean Air is The One. Lots of legroom in Econ., the food is pretty good, and they now seem to have a few connections going east which do not necessitate an 8 to 10-hour layover.

By the way, Incheon Airport provides free showers ~ and luxurious they are ~ if you do happen to get caught there for a few hours waiting for the next flight. Incheon, as airports go, is the best!

[kokopelli]

Korean Air, the worst slop ever served (unless you like Korean food)  and that was in Biz Class. Incheon Airport excellent except they were on an energy budget and aircon was woeful.

[Bob]

I guess we all have different experiences.  I really like Incheon airport and never noticed it was too warm.  And I thought the food was fine on Korean Air (although I do eat with the  peasants in economy class...hehe).

[Guest jimnbkk]

This is a blow!  I have a seat on UA838 BKK to Narita on 31 March.  We'll see how it works out. 

[Guest anonone]

This is a blow!  I have a seat on UA838 BKK to Narita on 31 March.  We'll see how it works out.

 

Sorry to say, you are not going to be flying United. March 29 seems to be the last flight to Bangkok.

 

UA is apparently going to update their schedules on Dec 10. You will most likely be automatically booked on ANA when that happens.

Be sure to check on your reservation frequently, as UA is using Continental's computer system, which is known to mess up tickets when changes happen.

 

If you are on a business ticket, it will be much nicer service on ANA, but not a lie-flat seat. If on a First class ticket, you are going to be out of luck at ANA uses a 2cabin plane on this route ---no First Class. Economy class is a tight seat pitch (no leg room) assuming ANA continues to use their 767 on this route. With the extra demand due to United's shrinking, ANA will probably adjust their schedule to get the business. Again, keep a close eye on your reservation details. Going to need to babysit your ticket, unfortunately.

[KhorTose]

The last time I flew back to the states, I had a ten hour layover in Incheon, and Korean air put me up in a nice Hotel for free.  You can't beat that for service.  I did have to go through customs, but that took less then 10 minutes.  Smiles is correct about the showers, but there is also a hotel in the airport if you wish to avoid customs, and some really nice inexpensive hotels near to the airport if you are paying.  A lot of people choose just to stay in the airport as there are quite rest areas in many areas of the airport on the second level.  Koko, I found the temp okay.  Give Incheon a second chance, I think you just got a bad day.

[kokopelli]

When I was in Incheon Airport there was some sort of energy conservation in effect (July) and the air con was set at a higher temp.  I did enjoy the airport. 

[Guest bbillybb]

Well, in a nutshell, "that sucks"... i have got a good bunch of miles with UA and will be thoroughly disgusted when i go to book and cannot get reasonable freebies. I will just have to be nasty to all those UA people I come in contact with to show my displeasure with they way they do  business. When the last mile is gone...so am I and i will tell them so. That is about all one can do I suppose

[kokopelli]

bbillybob; my friend flys out of Boston or Newark on United via Europe to Bangkok on partner airlines of United using his miles.

[MrBill]

I arrived 22 November using UA miles from Detroit in USA. This trip my itinerary was DTW/IAD/PEK/BKK on the way down. From DTW to PEK was on UAL.PEK airport was a delightful change. From the time I deplaned to the time I reached my connecting gate was less than 30 minutes. So much easier than previous transfers in NRT. I arrived in BKK 21:20 in time to make last call in Pattaya. My return will be Air China BKK to PEK, and PEK to IAH. From IAH I will return to DTW on UAL. Cost 150K miles and $76.80 for business class. DL, the major player in DTW for same dates wanted 265K miles, leaving a few hours later and arriving 23:30. Total travel times were less than an hour's difference from my UAL itinerary and DL's. DL would have required transfer through NRT.