SQ First Journey to Bali Begins…with UA 767-300. I’m Impressed!

by Adam Last updated January 11, 2013

I may redeem more United miles than any other points currency, but it’s actually been forever since I’ve flown with them on a domestic (or international) leg. I most often end up flying domestically from LGA on DL/AA and tend to redeem my UA miles for international partner awards.

I was originally scheduled to fly this morning on UA 1405 (a 737-700) from LGA-IAH, but made a list minute switch to UA 406 as I haven’t yet experienced the 767-300 product. Not only was the product very nice for a domestic leg, but the service was excellent. The BusinessFirst cabin(United First on domestic legs) has a 2-1-2 configuration, I sat in seat 4D, which is a lie-flat single seat in the middle . As it was in the middle, I had flight attendants on both sides assisting me.

They were amazingly pleasant and would refill my drink each time they walked by. They entire crew seemed to be legacy CO, though no formal announcement was made on their per-merger affiliation as others have reported recenlty. The lunch choices included a shrimp salad or a beef burrito, neither looked or tasted amazing but the standard asparagus soup was pretty good. When walking back from the bathroom each flight attendant asked me if I wanted another can of club soda or any more soup (more soup…I’ve never seen that before). There was a nice VOD selection as well (the plane came from EZE and was heading to Lima after Houston). I charged up my MacBook Air via the outlet and my iPhone via the USB connection.

The international United Club in terminal E is standard but nice and empty on the top floor at this time of day. Unfortunately, Singapore does not have their own lounge at IAH.

Now for an entirely different kind of experience, I’m patiently waiting for SQ61 – Houston-Singapore with a short stop in Moscow. Though the luxurious Singapore experience certainly doesn’t start at the gate, they utilize D4 which is one of the oldest gates here at IAH.

PS – some additional thanksagain points…

PPS- Love how Worldcom is in the Welcome to Houston sign!

Listing of all trip reports from my Bali & Kuala Lumpur Trip:

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Adam

Adam is the proud Founder and CEO of both Point Me to the Plane and point.me. An international consultant turned TV programming strategist, Adam currently works full-time on both websites. His obsession with points and miles dates back to his freshman year at college. After browsing Flyertalk and Mileage Workshop, Adam pulled the trigger and signed up for his first Citibank AAdvantage credit card and MCI phone line (yes, landlines still existed). Back then, both deals were churnable and in no time at all, the college freshman had enough miles to travel to Europe and Asia in First Class for free, multiple times. Needless to say, he was hooked! Fast forward a few years and Adam of course ended up in a career with a heavy travel requirement…which meant extra miles for awards! As his colleagues and friends started to hear about and see pictures from his trips, they wanted in on the secret and Adam began to assist them with their bookings, Juicy Miles was born. At the same time, Adam started an email newsletter to prevent those less obsessed co-workers from squandering their point collection opportunities. The bi-weekly email covered everything from upcoming promotions, guidance on maximizing points, and redemption advice. The distribution quickly expanded outside the office and Point Me to the Plane became a BoardingArea blog.

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16 comments

SEABrad January 11, 2013 - 6:38 am

Had the same meal last night! 🙂 Have not been on 763 BF, but love the lie flats on 3 cabin AC. Enjoy your SQ experience!!

adam January 11, 2013 - 3:36 pm

@SEABrad – Thanks!!!

Hulagrrl210 January 11, 2013 - 6:55 am

The Thanks Again thing is a scam. I’ve been waiting for points to post for several months now and if you use the QR code form to sign up for 100 points the form is so slow that you can’t sign up. If you use the regular URL, there is no mention (or credit) of the 100 points.

adam January 11, 2013 - 3:36 pm

@Hulagrrl210, I didn’t do the QR one at IAH but the online sign-up posted for me without any problems.

Steve January 11, 2013 - 9:48 am

Just curious, I have a assignment in Singapore in Mid-May. I want experience SIN. Is using United Miles the most efficient, just got my AMEX Platinum with 100K awards. By the way, new to this idea of flying. Probably 1st and Last time to Singapore. Can you help with awards routing to be efficient. I would like to experience a business/ First Class ride. I do go to Hong Kong every Dec.

adam January 11, 2013 - 3:37 pm

@Steve – Sure, no problem. Send me an email at adam@pointmetotheplane.com

Jay B January 11, 2013 - 9:50 am

I’m following also to Bali. I grabbed one of these SQ F seats last year. I will be maximizing the flights with this crazy schedule.

LAX – FRA: O LH
FRA – LHR: I LH
LHR – SIN: O SQ
SIN – DPS: I SQ
DPS – BKK: I TG
BKK – HKG: O TG
HKG – SIN: O UA
SIN – FRA: O SQ
FRA – LAX: O LH

adam January 11, 2013 - 3:35 pm

@Jay B – Impressive! You definitely made the most of the glitch. LH and TG should be great as well!

Jay B January 13, 2013 - 11:32 am

@Adam yes, this should be extracting the most of my hard earned miles 🙂
As I was thinking of it, I get to visit SQ TPR, LH FCT and TG FCL with spa. Definitely a good time!

'Mando January 11, 2013 - 5:27 pm

That is a surprisingly good business class for a domestic US flight. I love the idea of having an usb plug in addition to the standard AC; I don’t think I’ve seen that before.

Carl January 11, 2013 - 6:56 pm

If it was a 767-300, then you had a sUA crew. sCO doesn’t have any 767-300’s, they just have 767-200’s and 767-400’s.

If it was the 2-class 767-300, then it was fitted with CO BF seats, but it’s still a sUA aircraft staffed with sUA employees.

Singapore First Class IAH-DME-SIN Trip Report Part 1 - Point Me To The Plane February 4, 2013 - 5:47 am