As I mentioned yesterday, I flew from Hong Kong to Bangkok in premium economy (what United brands as Premium Plus) on a Boeing 787, a short but pleasant daytime flight.
United flies a tag flight between Hong Kong and Bangkok each day to better utilize its 787-9 aircraft before it returns to Los Angeles. As a Fifth Freedom flight, United does sell tickets exclusively between HKG and BKK, though the tend to be more expensive than competitors (even than Cathay Pacific on my dates). Fares originating in the USA, however, are very reasonable. My one-way fare from Los Angeles to Bangkok via Hong Kong was only $319 and it was not even a basic economy ticket.
I attempted to use PlusPoints to upgrade and because I was booked in a fare class lower than W, it would have taken 80 PlusPoints just to move to business class on this route (and 20 PlusPoints to move to premium economy). I missed the business class upgrade (fittingly, on my last flight as a Premier 1K), but did get an upgrade to premium economy class minutes before boarding. Considering it was a 2.5 hour flight, I was okay with that.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on Live and Let's Fly.
