Guam is one of the US territories in the Pacific Ocean. This island is located in the Northern Mariana Islands, where is close to Asian countries, 1500 miles away from Japan.Therefore, Guam is one of the most popular beach destinations for Japanese and Korean. However, The number of tourists have been drastically dropped due to North Korean missile threat. Meanwhile, The airfare was dropped due to low demand, so I decided to travel this island as a holiday place.
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After I arrived at Narita airport from Sapporo, I headed from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1, where United check-in counter was located.
I tried to check-in by a kiosk, though I realized I could check-in by a mobile app. Then, I opened my United App for check-in, which was easy and intuitive. When I was just finishing all of the processes, I found an upgrade to the premium cabin was only $98. It was a pretty reasonable price, given that this flight would be 3 hours red-eye and a fully flat seat. I could not turn down this opportunity.
After paying upgrade fee by mobile app, I headed to the business class counter to print out my boarding pass. There was no queue in front of me, and I could print out my boarding pass within 3 minutes
As a business class passenger, I could use dedicated security track. It was a bit faster than usual lane since It was not at peak hour.
There are some tax-free and Japanese tradition hand-craft shops. Beautiful Ukiyo-e (Japanese woodblock prints) was depicted on the wall. I love it. . There are two star-alliance lounges in terminal 1. One is United lounge, the other is ANA lounge. Firstly, I visited later.
In the dining corner, There were many food options. A noodle bar was providing some Japanese ramen and Udon. I ordered Tonkotsu ramen(pork bone soup noodle). It was fine, but not memorable.
There are many alcoholic options, include Japanese Sake.
There are tons of food and alcoholic options in this lounge. However, There were many passengers but few available seats. I couldn't relax because many passengers constantly walking around to grab foods and there was not an outlet in each seat. Personally, I felt I was in a busy food court at the time.
At 21:40 pm, Boarding was started from group 1. At the gate, I was asked some security questions as a part of recent security enhancement programme conducted by the US.
Detail of the seat
United business class consists of 28 seats and 2-4-2 configuration in a row. As you know, This configuration is more packed than other airlines(1-2-1 layout in a row is getting popular for long-haul B777). This seat was much better than economy class. however, I can't help but admit it was a narrow seat.
The biggest downside of this seat is lack of privacy. Not only This seat has no separation between seats, But also you can see the opposite passengers face every second due to its odd configuration. View from my seat.
Cocktail table was retractable from center compartment.
The fold-up table was bigger than I have expected.
The electric seat control was in a good location and well organized.
They distributed some amenities(Toothbrush, Slipper, Earplug). It was not special, but enough for the 3-hour flight. A headset was not Noise-cancelling.
When I settled my seat, A cabin crew came by taking an order of welcome drink. Then, Cabin crew bring it in a few minutes.
Before door close, A cabin crew came again by taking an order of dinner. I chose a chicken steak, another option was a seafood pasta.
Entertainment
After a quick taxiing, we took off at 10:30 pm. At that time I tried to listen Channel 9, which could listen to ATC communication between the flight deck and ATC controller. However, I found it wasn't working on this flight.
IFE screen was very big, though Entertainment selection was average. After checking out the selection I decided to watch "Despicable Me 3".
Meal Sevice
Meal service started with a warm towel, followed by a beverage and nuts. An appetizer was a fresh salad.
After I finished the appetizer, A cabin crew came and served me a Chicken Steak.Chicken steak was big and decent, As well, The source was flavorful. I was overwhelmed because I have never eaten such a delicious meal on the aircraft. I had 3 pieces of bread.All of them were fine, though, I couldn't recall their name. Pudding looks fine, though it was too sweet for me.
I had a cup of lemon tea after the meal.
We finished my dinner within1 hour after take-off. I appreciated their efficient service, given that this flight would arrive at 2 am, meaning many passengers want to sleep on this flight. I slept for 1 hour. It was very comfortable sleep, thanks to full flat seat.
30 minutes prior to landing, Cabin light was turned on to prepare for landing. Then I filled the Guam customs form, which is not identical to typical US Customs Declaration Form. All cabin crew was friendly and I could sleep very comfortable on the flatbed, so I didn't felt tired despite a crazy 2 am arrival.
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Guam
This is a bouns section. If you are interested in Guam, Please enjoy it.
I stayed at Sheraton Laguna Guam. This hotel was a bit far from Tumon beach, where is main hotel district, though The beach was more beautiful and quieter. The view from my room. I enjoy taking picutre rather than swimming. The biggest church in Guam. This is one of a popular site in Guam. Panda Express is my favorite fast food in US.
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Verdict
United
8.8/10
Cabin8.0
Cabin crew9.5
Entertainment/wifi8.0
Meal/catering9.5
All Nippon Airways Arrival Lounge
7.9/10
Comfort7.0
Meal/catering8.5
Entertainment/wifi7.5
Services8.5
Tokyo - NRT
8.9/10
Efficiency9.0
Access8.5
Services8.5
Cleanliness9.5
Guam - GUM
7.1/10
Efficiency8.5
Access4.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness8.5
Conclusion
This is my first business class experience. On this website, There are many good reporters who wrote more analytic premium cabin review. I could not write an insightful review because this is the first time for me. However, I would like to share my excitement in this report.
All cabin crew was friendly and attentive. I always enjoyed communicating with them on this flight. A meal service was decent and very efficient. As the full-flat bed was comfortable, I could sleep about half of the flight time.
However, I couldn't say that the hard product was not top-notch. Lack of privacy and storage, a very narrow seat was the biggest downside of their product. All in all, I was satisfied with this experience. If it was available at an affordable price, I'm willing to select the premium cabin again.
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Nice report ! I had never seen such seat configuration in a plane, especially in Business class ! It looks like an old regional train.... Apart from that, it looks like the seat is OK.
Hello,AK. Yea, exactly. I have never seen such an odd configuration on other airlines. I'm not a big fan in this seat, though a full-flat seat was even better than a usual reclining seat in terms of comfort.
It looks like you enjoyed your first Business class experience! $89 to upgrade is a really good price and you were right to take advantage of the offer. Yes, the old Pre-Merger UA Business class is tight and lacks privacy due to the weird configuration and seats across the aisle facing each other, but as you say, it is better than Economy. It seems you had an excellent crew on the flight, did they speak Japanese or just English? I assume they must have had some Japanese speaking crew on these types of flights. Thanks for sharing!
Hello,KévinDC . The seat was not top-notch compared with other airlines(Especially Asian airlines have much better hard products). Thought I was excited since It was my first experience of payed business class. I guess almost half of cabin crew was Japanese since most of the passenger was Japanese touris, who cannot speak English. Thank you for your comment.
Lol congrats on first business class experience (paid)... glad you the cheap upgrade I would have taken that in a heartbeat... dont care what anyone says their is not ONE economy product that is as good as United's SAD business class configuration. Thank god they are retro fitting!!! You seriously ate Panda Express in Guam SMH!
$89 for an upgrade like that is a good price. I lived in Guam for two years and miss it lots. Those pictures from around Tumon Bay are really nice. I also hope you got to see other parts of that beautiful island. I never had the opportunity to take that flight between Tokyo or Guam. As you mentioned, the price was really high when I lived there, and then they downgraded all the flights to the 737. Nice review and thanks for your report.
I was really surprised when I found $89 upgrade offer. I think GUM-Japan routes are the best hot spot of both paid upgrade and free upgrade for mileage plus members. I really enjoyed 3 days stay in Guam and hope to visit again. Thank you for your comment.
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7 Comments
Yea, exactly. I have never seen such an odd configuration on other airlines. I'm not a big fan in this seat, though a full-flat seat was even better than a usual reclining seat in terms of comfort.
The seat was not top-notch compared with other airlines(Especially Asian airlines have much better hard products). Thought I was excited since It was my first experience of payed business class.
I guess almost half of cabin crew was Japanese since most of the passenger was Japanese touris, who cannot speak English.
Thank you for your comment.
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