You might also like:
United currently flies a Boeing 747 on its daily nonstop from San Francisco (SFO) to Taipei (TPE), but given that the airline’s planing to retire the Queen of the Skies sometime this year, a change is on the horizon…
As of August 1, 2017, United will begin flying its latest and greatest aircraft to Taipei, the 777-300ER (77W). Currently, this is the only plane that features UA’s new Polaris business-class seat, representing a huge upgrade from the 2-4-2 business class United current flies on this route — in fact, it’s even a step up from the airline’s international first class. This latest route joins flights from San Francisco to Hong Kong (HKG) and Tokyo (NRT), plus one of two daily nonstops from Newark (EWR) to Tel Aviv (TLV).
What’s especially interesting about Taipei, however, is that upgrade and award availability tends to be fantastic. I’ve seen several upgrade seats available on many dates on this route, even after the 77W swap, which is especially good news considering how rough the 3-4-3 economy will be.
Economy and business-class availability is also fantastic on this route — there are nonstop or one-stop flights available almost every day, but note that some of the award space reflected in the calendar below may be operated by EVA Air, requiring 80,000 miles each way if traveling in business class, instead of the 70,000 miles you’ll redeem to fly on United.
While seat delays have resulted in a slower-than-anticipated 777-300ER rollout, it sounds like United’s expecting to take delivery of more aircraft sooner than later. And, given the award and upgrade availability on the SFO-TPE route, this latest addition is especially good news for United MileagePlus members and elites.
Source: thepointsguy.com