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It was impossible not to encounter "Crazy Rich Asians" when Mrs yflyer and I visited Los Angeles last month, after arriving on UA38, United's nonstop 787 Dreamliner service from SIN to LAX. I am referring to the movie, of course, and not the the actual CRAsians, although I am sure some of them must have been present in Las Vegas (And LA) during our trip. The movie premiered in LA the week before we arrived, and it popped up everywhere: reviews in newspapers, on movie posters in the street, discussed in overheard conversations...
I was headed to Las Vegas for a business convention, and I asked Mrs yflyer to tag along. Before and after Vegas, we spent a couple of days in Los Angeles.
In LA, we stayed at two memorable hotels, the Westin Bonaventure, and the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles. While in LA, I finally got to head out for a run along Venice and Santa Monica beaches. Timings also worked out for several wonderful meals there, including dinner with HUGE AL...who had somehow managed to juggle his frenetic travel schedule to be in LA at the designated date and time, to meet us for dinner...landing in LA just hours before dinner, then flying off again the next day to be where he needed to be...
Las Vegas was an amazing place, even for non-gamblers like ourselves. We had a great time, even though we didn't spend a cent at the tables or slot machines. That said, in Vegas, there were many other ways to part with your money...
While in Vegas, we made a side trip to the Grand Canyon. I was fully prepared to either drive or take a coach tour to the Canyon, one of the world's great natural wonders, but Mrs yflyer had other plans...
"Can we take a helicopter there? I've never been on one...", she asked.
A helicopter would save us several hours travel time as well. The helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon and Skywalk was very memorable, as was the Canyon and Skywalk itself, although this was not an activity I would recommend for anyone afraid of heights. On the other hand, if vast expanses of gorgeous scenery, steep vertical drops, and staring down at the river and ground far, far below are activities that sound appealing, then a visit to the Grand Canyon Skywalk is just the thing for you...
There isn't much more time left to fly on United's nonstop SIN-LAX-SIN service. This service is slated to cease operation at the end of October this year, which is a pity, since we were both very happy with how our flights went. We flew these flights in economy class. I will cover these flights in detail in this TR, but at the outset let me say that after experiencing nonstops to the USA on several occasions, I feel quite comfortable declaring that nonstop is the preferred way to travel from Singapore to West Coast USA. Whatever airline or class of travel, nonstop is just so much more convenient than one stop, without the hassle of landing, deplaning, going through security, and then boarding again.
United's schedule for UA38/37 was perfect: A morning departure to the USA, and corresponding morning arrival in Los Angeles. And on the return, a late night departure out of LAX, where you could sleep onboard, then wake up in the morning, just prior to arrival in Singapore.
Our flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and return were both just under 16 hours in duration. Long flights, to be sure, but as far as UA's hard and soft product were concerned, these were just treated like any other long haul flight in UA's network.
Contrast this approach with the hype that some other airlines (SQ included) make over so-called ultra long haul (ULH) flights, and the exceptional demands they make on crews and passengers. I think airlines have a point about crew fatigue, and how they need to make these extended fllghts work for the tech and cabin crew. But as far as passengers are concerned, should SIN-LAX or SIN-SFO be treated no differently from SIN-LHR or SIN-FRA? Are 16 hour sectors the new normal for long haul?
Perhaps now is the time to move the goalposts, so to speak, and treat sectors like SIN-LAX or SIN-SFO as regular long haul, and classify only routes like SIN-EWR, PER-LHR or SYD-LHR, as ultra long haul (ULH) flights.
In concrete terms, should flights like SIN-LAX deserve special treatment and cabin configs (e.g. premium heavy J + PEY only), or can these flights sustain a more conventional cabin layout? Is regular economy class a viable proposition for these flights? Or would only crazy frequent flyers, Asian or otherwise, do such a long flight in economy class? More thoughts on this at the conclusion of this TR...
TR INDEX
1. Flight: SIN-LAX on UA38 in Economy
2. Hotel/Destination: Westin Bonaventure & LA
3. Flight: LAX-LAS on AA in Economy
4. Hotel: The Signature at MGM
5. Destination/Run: Las Vegas Strip & Run along The Strip to the Stratosphere
6. Dinner: Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak at MGM Grand
7. Dinner: Sparrow+Wolf
8. Hotel: Westin Las Vegas
9. Dinner/Destination: Fremont Street and Hainanese Chicken Rice at Flock & Fowl
10. Helicopter to Grand Canyon and Skywalk
11. Lunch: David Chang's Momofuku at the Cosmopolitan
12. Flight: LAS-LAX on AA in Economy
13. Lunch: In-N-Out near LAX
14. Hotel/Run: Sheraton Grand Los Angeles & Downtown LA Run
15. Dinner: Broken Spanish
16. Run: Venice Beach to Santa Monica Beach
17. Lunch/Destination: Little Ethiopia, La Brea Tar Pits, Griffith Observatory
18. Dinner: Tar & Roses with HUGE AL
19. Destination: Downtown & Hollywood
20. Lounge: United Club at LAX
21. Flight: UA37 LAX-SIN in Economy
I was headed to Las Vegas for a business convention, and I asked Mrs yflyer to tag along. Before and after Vegas, we spent a couple of days in Los Angeles.
In LA, we stayed at two memorable hotels, the Westin Bonaventure, and the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles. While in LA, I finally got to head out for a run along Venice and Santa Monica beaches. Timings also worked out for several wonderful meals there, including dinner with HUGE AL...who had somehow managed to juggle his frenetic travel schedule to be in LA at the designated date and time, to meet us for dinner...landing in LA just hours before dinner, then flying off again the next day to be where he needed to be...
Las Vegas was an amazing place, even for non-gamblers like ourselves. We had a great time, even though we didn't spend a cent at the tables or slot machines. That said, in Vegas, there were many other ways to part with your money...
While in Vegas, we made a side trip to the Grand Canyon. I was fully prepared to either drive or take a coach tour to the Canyon, one of the world's great natural wonders, but Mrs yflyer had other plans...
"Can we take a helicopter there? I've never been on one...", she asked.
A helicopter would save us several hours travel time as well. The helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon and Skywalk was very memorable, as was the Canyon and Skywalk itself, although this was not an activity I would recommend for anyone afraid of heights. On the other hand, if vast expanses of gorgeous scenery, steep vertical drops, and staring down at the river and ground far, far below are activities that sound appealing, then a visit to the Grand Canyon Skywalk is just the thing for you...
There isn't much more time left to fly on United's nonstop SIN-LAX-SIN service. This service is slated to cease operation at the end of October this year, which is a pity, since we were both very happy with how our flights went. We flew these flights in economy class. I will cover these flights in detail in this TR, but at the outset let me say that after experiencing nonstops to the USA on several occasions, I feel quite comfortable declaring that nonstop is the preferred way to travel from Singapore to West Coast USA. Whatever airline or class of travel, nonstop is just so much more convenient than one stop, without the hassle of landing, deplaning, going through security, and then boarding again.
United's schedule for UA38/37 was perfect: A morning departure to the USA, and corresponding morning arrival in Los Angeles. And on the return, a late night departure out of LAX, where you could sleep onboard, then wake up in the morning, just prior to arrival in Singapore.
Our flights from Singapore to Los Angeles and return were both just under 16 hours in duration. Long flights, to be sure, but as far as UA's hard and soft product were concerned, these were just treated like any other long haul flight in UA's network.
Contrast this approach with the hype that some other airlines (SQ included) make over so-called ultra long haul (ULH) flights, and the exceptional demands they make on crews and passengers. I think airlines have a point about crew fatigue, and how they need to make these extended fllghts work for the tech and cabin crew. But as far as passengers are concerned, should SIN-LAX or SIN-SFO be treated no differently from SIN-LHR or SIN-FRA? Are 16 hour sectors the new normal for long haul?
Perhaps now is the time to move the goalposts, so to speak, and treat sectors like SIN-LAX or SIN-SFO as regular long haul, and classify only routes like SIN-EWR, PER-LHR or SYD-LHR, as ultra long haul (ULH) flights.
In concrete terms, should flights like SIN-LAX deserve special treatment and cabin configs (e.g. premium heavy J + PEY only), or can these flights sustain a more conventional cabin layout? Is regular economy class a viable proposition for these flights? Or would only crazy frequent flyers, Asian or otherwise, do such a long flight in economy class? More thoughts on this at the conclusion of this TR...
TR INDEX
1. Flight: SIN-LAX on UA38 in Economy
2. Hotel/Destination: Westin Bonaventure & LA
3. Flight: LAX-LAS on AA in Economy
4. Hotel: The Signature at MGM
5. Destination/Run: Las Vegas Strip & Run along The Strip to the Stratosphere
6. Dinner: Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak at MGM Grand
7. Dinner: Sparrow+Wolf
8. Hotel: Westin Las Vegas
9. Dinner/Destination: Fremont Street and Hainanese Chicken Rice at Flock & Fowl
10. Helicopter to Grand Canyon and Skywalk
11. Lunch: David Chang's Momofuku at the Cosmopolitan
12. Flight: LAS-LAX on AA in Economy
13. Lunch: In-N-Out near LAX
14. Hotel/Run: Sheraton Grand Los Angeles & Downtown LA Run
15. Dinner: Broken Spanish
16. Run: Venice Beach to Santa Monica Beach
17. Lunch/Destination: Little Ethiopia, La Brea Tar Pits, Griffith Observatory
18. Dinner: Tar & Roses with HUGE AL
19. Destination: Downtown & Hollywood
20. Lounge: United Club at LAX
21. Flight: UA37 LAX-SIN in Economy
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