You should have an incredible flight. Starlux has great cabin service. Enjoy Taipei. Expect fantastic food and friendly people. Check out the National Palace Museum where you'll see ancient Chinese treasures saved during the revolution and brought to Taiwan. The weather may be a little chilly but it is great walking weather and I liked it much better than the long, hot and humid summers. Bon Voyage. ❤✈️🌏
Hope you enjoyed my home city of Christchurch and the South Island. It's lovely to know that United is now flying direct, and the Premium Economy service looks nearly as good as Air New Zealand. I live in London, and it's always good to see new options to get me home. I felt quite emotional as you touched down. It's definitely time for a trip home again.
This is a unique option for direct flying from the US down to the South Island. My first (and so far only) trip to NZ was in 2015 when I flew from Honolulu to Auckland on Hawaiian, and I remember seeing a giant LOTR statue at the airport LOL! Anyway, there's a lot inaugurals to be had this year and in 2024, and of course not just United. Gonna be a busy couple of years for sure! - Red
When I read an article about UA commencing service to CHC from SFO, I anticipated a video from you because SFO is your home airport. And here is the video. Great video as always! The enthusiasm of passengers on inaugural flights is a joy to see, and it is something I would like to experience. Again, great video!
AA is beginning PHL-NAP and DL is beginning SEA-TPE next summer. Those would be great inaugurals to see. I believe the DL flight would be your first review of the A339. The big 3 are all beginning service to the new TQO airport in Mexico so any of those would be great.
Thanks for taking us on the inaugural from SFO to CHC Patrick! I’d love to see an inaugural from BNE to a European destination; maybe ZRH or FCO… I guess time will tell!
not going to happen. no planes have the range currently and project sunrise when it happens for qantas will only fly to london and JFK from SYD and MEL. There isn't demand
Will be nice if you try Polish Arline Lot Chicago Warsaw ! I know they going to upgrade all the aircraft and interior but will be good to see service and food ! So far no any American Arline fly to Warsaw so lot have no competition 😊
11:34, Next year, you should try Zipair in 1st or business class to Vancouver, United airlines, Boeing 777-200ER from San Francisco to Barcelona, begin before the end of May, Delta, Airbus A330-900 from Seattle to Taipei, starting in June and Japan airlines 1st Airbus A350-1000 (suppose to begin at the end of the year, but delayed to next year) from Haneda to JFK in 1st class.
I agree on the bulk head seat. Having flown a couple of rows back on AF and DL there is a seat frame that is in the way and is a total pain to deal with. Not having that in the bulk head is amazing. Great video.
Would love to see you try one of Jetblues Inaugurals to Dublin either JFK-DUB or BOS-DUB or vice versa both start on same say March 13th. Flights from Dublin depart on 14th March .Great video
I'm so amazed at people who can sleep in coach or premium cabins. I can't do it! So cool bringing us along on these inaugural flights. New Zealand sounds like an incredible place to visit!
Oh man that’s awesome. Currently living in Australia but I’m from Christchurch, moving back there and the US is my favourite country to visit. Now I can fly direct to LA...YES!!!...
Nau mai, haere mai. Welcome to NZ! Great video, Patrick! I was actually encouraged by your detailed footage of PE on UA. I hope you get to enjoy our beautiful South Island.
Speaking from Ohare being my home airport, I’d like to see direct flights to South Africa. There’s a delay in resuming flights to Beijing and Shanghai on United. Other cities such as Bangkok, Geneva, Buenos Aires, Cairo would also be awesome to see.
United Airlines is really coming for the top international carriers. Not only do they and they will have the most top notch fleet with new Boeing and Airbus wide body’s and single isle ( they now fly the A321NeoXLR ) with a new first class domestic service. Polaris is such a great business class product and after years of tension between United / Continental employees. Seems they have actually became one airline / one team and are giving some of the best customer service out there. Their hub cities are strategically and brilliantly placed. And their lounges are totally modernized and really really amazing. Dam United Airlines is doing it.
I'm Based here in Christchurch, New Zealand... this makes me excited for the future... Really hoping we can get a Toronto or Calgary flight from Christchurch
I began my awesome 3 weeks in NZ in CHC, taking CZ 617 from CAN, after going over the pole from JFK. That was (then) the only one stop option. Hope you get to spend some time there.
That’s a heck of a journey to get there. I unfortunately had to head home pretty quickly so I didn’t get to spend nearly as much time there as I would have liked. Next time for sure
I prefer the window shade's the best, don't like the new electronic window dimming set-up., because the flight crews disable the dimming controls. And i'm from Christchurch too, hope you return back to Christchurch in the future!.🛫
Great video, if I wasn't in school i would try to get on an inaugural flight. Hopefully one day I can meet you and we can both share our love of aviation. Keep up the great work and can't wait for your next video.
Fwiw, my closest airport is Newark (well, Stewart, actually, but there’s barely any passenger service), so I fly United often. I’m a senior, retired, 6’2”, with plenty of money, so I stopped flying economy years ago. United’s Premium Plus really works for me, and I’ve used it about a dozen times so far. The seat is great, the food is good, and I really don’t need all the amenities of Business. A few of my UA flights on P+ in recent years: EWR-MXP, EWR-NAP, EWR-TLV, EWR-BRU.
It was such a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for sharing your experience. My mom & I loved your video. UA 730 Crew member, Amy Hurst-Kownacki, your international purser.
Thank you for sharing this great new service flight there to New Zealand. Yes, I agree with about the bulk head seat there in Premium Economy. It gives you a lot bit more of a private space with the leg and foot lifting. I am 6'2" in height so anything that makes me more comfortable on those long-haul flights is nice. Yes, I agree about documents being given before heading into an international city. We, my former crew and I have always done that to passengers. Again, your observation looks correct, they will work out giving customs paperwork fir passengers soon. Yes. I remember from my former airline and base here in Chicago. I use to take extra forms that we pursers needed for passengers.😊
Totally! These bulkhead seats are great! Hopefully they are able to better equip their passengers with the information for entry including those forms now that the flight has gone a couple times
@@PatrickSheaAviation I heat you! I use to carry extra forms in general. And when I would fly to Hawaii, there are the extra food forms because the customs arrival did not want individual people bring in food that Hawaii customs did not want that was not checked by the import/export departments their. And that is one of the reasons why food their is expensive because much of their food is done like that normally.
Thank you Patrick for another great review . Nobody does it better . No Inaugurals from CLE . Just Florida and the United Hubs . Cheers and have a great Christmas season
@@PatrickSheaAviation but I imagine it's almost empty on that leg to CHC. I guess landing rights at Sydney are so valuable to Emirates that they are willing to operate largely empty legs to regional airports in Australia and New Zealand (Canberra, Hobart, Wellington, Christchurch) to get them.
Just came back to your channel after a while, good job bro, love the information, length, and format of the videos. I do think you need to work on your thumbnails, maybe export the job to a designer or someone
I was hoping that you would comment on the recline of premium economy seats, whether they were comfortable and if they were significantly better than the recline in economy.
I doubt it just because of ET being star alliance. ET does a good amount of Latin America connections through IAD, but unless they wanna launch Houston, I doubt they’ll corner that market. They do serve São Paulo and Buenos Aires for now at least
Great trip report buddy! It was so good to see some kiwi classic food on offer at the gate. The pavlova is a kiwi classic, but there is always and argument between Aussies and Kiwis as to who actually invented the dish! Hope you got to enjoy the city of churches, Christchurch!. My husband and I live in Sydney but have purchased a property there where we will retire... Did you know that United have now surpassed Qantas in frequency of flights between Australia and USA?
Thanks! That debate actually was happening at the gate between the aussies and kiwis there for the party! Ha! I also would definitely believe that United has taken that crown for now just with the amount of new routes and increased frequencies they’ve announced in the past year
Yea, but premium plus was a nice treat at least. I do wonder how these will go. They upgraded this aircraft to make room for the execs in Polaris, but it’ll be a -8 for the rest I believe. I am curious which of these routes will last, and in the meantime I’ll keep enjoying these parties
Very nice video! We were on the same row on the opposite bulkhead and we found ourselves in your video! Someone did point out that they misspelled Aotearoa on that one paper. Oops! We are in town for my wife’s mother’s 107th birthday on December 20th!
Great review! The second flight from SFO to CHC got delayed due to some problem with navigational equipment. UA730 taxied to near the take-off point then returned to an area near the gate. After about 30 minutes Flight Radar24 showed it taxi towards the active runway again then return to the gate. Shortly afterwards a 13 hr delay and plane change was announced on the website. Had the first B787-8 taken off on time it would have arrived just as Christchurch airport was in the middle of a severe thunderstorm. CHC had diverted several planes so the United flight might have had to be diverted to Auckland anyway!😂
As you mention, UA does a decent job, in W, what would make it a no brainer to book is the food, it's very hit or miss (somewhat like in Polaris), if they did what NZ did/does (it's been a while since I have flown NZ) which is offer the J class food. From a cost point of view it's a minimal outlay, but improves the experience in a big way.
Flying on United SFO to London on Economy Plus in a few months ( not premium but a few more inches of leg room). I would like to see a nonstop from SFO - Mauritius (the antipode of San Francisco). After London, I go to Paris, Reunion Island, and mauritius
SFO to Mauritius would be great if they can build an airplane that can make it that far! Economy Plus isn’t terrible on United. I’ve flown it plenty of times this year including when I took the Dubai inaugural
Hi, my ideal flight inaugural would be PPQ>PPT->HNL->YVR->YUL->SNN. Im not fussed with airline, but would quite like co-lab with Air Chathams & Qatar. Am I dreaming too high ? Merry Christmas Patrick. Great work
whoa that mouth watering finger foody piece of lamb-a-licious..and ya so was gonna say hard no on the tint but the lighting on frame 20:25 actually looks cool with the tint, tbh the screen size makes up for the awkardness of the bulkhead config where leg room always rocks.. "meal trays, champagne and hot towels, oh my!" yep, we aint in kansas biz class no more, toto -- that meal service looked deelish "good morning, there's ppl around me talking kinda loud so they woke me up" 😂
Patrick, looks like you enjoyed some lamb an Pavlova at the departure gate, both very popular and traditional for New Zealand. I made Pavlova once; delicious but filling the pastry bag was a sticky, gooey mess! Being "taunted" by your view of the Polaris Business Class from your seat? You did pick your own seat, right? ! LOL! ;-) But NONSTOP SFO-CHC is pretty exciting. You can't help that you've been on several UA inaugural flights since UA has a big presence in SFO. It's just to be expected. Nice job again! 9.887
The lamb and pavlova was great! The best inaugural snacks I’ve had for sure! I was able to get the last window seat… which was worth it at least! I do love seeing this SFO growth still
I'd love a transatlantic direct from here in CMH to Europe. CVG has CDG on DL and CLE has DUB on EI but we have just CUN and YYZ flights outside the country. Could see FRA or AMS making the most sense. A direct flight from the US to BKK would also be dope (prob from LAX makes the most sense)
CMH may see service soon, especially from airlines with good African connections. I would bet we see Bangkok on United soon, although most likely SFO not LAX, solely because of connections
Thanks for another thorough and honest review, Patrick! An incredible inaugural for you to review would be Canadian North, in partnership with Air Greenland, linking Ottawa, Canada to Nuuk, Greenland via Iqualuit, starting in June 2024. And if you can score 2 seats, bring me along ;).
I would love to see United fly to Copenhagen. I know it’s not an exciting route but with SAS bought by SkyTeam/Air France-KLM, it would be nice to see United have better destinations into Scandinavia.
I actually think that SAS joining SkyTeam makes it more likely. I think they were holding off on those destinations since they had the codeshare flights. Now, if United wants to keep CPH and Oslo in the alliance, they’ll have to launch it themselves
I’m from San Francisco where we get the fog year round so it’s weirdly homey. Beautiful place there still though! I just need to stay longer next time!
Yes; was a great day the day before the flight 😁. Weather in Christchurch tends to be fairly consistent and generally pleasant, but we’ve had a slow start to summer this year it seems…
I'm a SAN fan so I'd like to see more Asia service. The SAN-NRT service has been successful on JAL. Perhaps SAN-TPE, SAN-HKG or SAN-MNL. Would also like to see SAN-CDG and Virgin Atlantic serving SAN-LHR.
I think a Manila flight would make the most sense with the demographic. A lot of people are driving up to LAX for the Manila flights at the moment. I do like seeing other California airports get their growth. Same with San Jose and Ontario
@@PatrickSheaAviation Yeah Man i was watching from the gates around the back of the airport i posted a video of it taking off its a video on my channel
I would like to see some Asia- South America flights. I know there is a NRT-MEX service in existance but I would love to see some Brazil, Chile or Argentina with Asian connections.
That would be interesting but I wonder if it’s out of the range of modern aircraft. It’s basically the other side of the earth. From my trips to Brazil, it sounds like most people transit through Emirates, Qatar, or Ethiopian
I wish there were more direct flights from mainland NA to South-East Asian destinations such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bali, and KL. I know it's super convenient to transit at big hubs like SIN, but, the flexibility would be refreshing.
Singapore is a big time destination out of SFO, but it unofficially sounds like Bangkok may be the next destination just based on the amount of comments I’ve heard from people in the area
Patrick bruh, why you gotta play music over the haka hollering?! I enjoy watching your inaugural flights, but what drew me to your channel was your “The Ones” series cause I like the concept so much- when’s the next one? Great stuff mang!
Ahh I know… I realized that I cut the haka in my rush to get this one up fast. Thanks man! I’ve already got a few “ones” booked for the new year. Hoping to get about 5-10 in 2024
Hey patrick, if you are looking for a new upcoming igagural soon (early 2024) air india is starting flights from its hub in delhi to Boston and LAX. They would most likely have an upgrading cabin and possibly an A350!
Wouldn't mind a few added. 1 United from Chicago to Sydney 2 United from Chicago to Auckland 3 EL AL from Tel Aviv to San Diego 4 British Airways from London to Sacramento 5 American airlines from Chicago to Amman 6 Royal Air Moroc from Casablanca to Chicago 7 MEA from Beirut to Chicago 8 Qantas from Melbourne to Tel Aviv 9 Qantas from Melbourne to Chicago 10 Lufthansa from Munich to Sacramento
I could realistically see about half of those working out. I doubt Sacramento will see much trans-oceanic traffic just because they don’t have many connections and SFO isn’t too far away
I believe the aircraft have the range, but I’d doubt that Hawaiian would use one of their aircraft for that since they don’t have a huge fleet and the other US carriers prefer to have people connect. I’d guess that Virgin Atlantic would be the best bet just based on their style and destination choice
I really want American Airlines to expand their European market from Miami: ( They only offer LHR, MAD and BCN with CDG seasonally ) ATH, NAP, FCO or even expansion into Africa and Asia would be cool. Imagine a MIA -> CPT route that would be EPIC but I could only dream.
@@PatrickSheaAviation their Latin American market is good though, for example they are the ONLY airline flying to Uruguay from the USA and even fly to many secondary cities in Colombia like Medellin, Cali, Pereira etc…
Were you on the DC to Amman Jordan inaugural flight? Also if you're star alliance gold from an airline that is not united you get united club access no matter what.
I had always known even before AA announced CHC that UA was probably going to fly to CHC at some point in the future, and here we are! Although, regarding AA to CHC, I'm fairly doubtful if they'd ever want to fly there now that UA has beaten them to the punch in connecting the US with the South Island. What's your opinion on AA starting CHC at this point?
AA just needs to grow their international portfolio. Christchurch is an interesting choice as its low density, but AA is so far behind Delta and United from a trans-oceanic route structure standpoint
Have you ever noticed the pressure that forms on the unopened yogurt cups. Ughhhh. And then when it just explodes like a soda can that has been given a shake…. I hate when that happens!
@@PatrickSheaAviation well it would open up a hub for them for this region to the South like United Airlines have done with Houston which is more expensive than flying via LAX and SFO, indicating that the demand is more hence the higher fare.
You can see the upgrade lists on the United app so I was able to track how many available seats there were versus the list of people listed for upgrade
