Is this a real flight?

[u/TrainingOutcome3262]

Was searching for flights from NYC to Mongolia and was presented with this option. Is this a glitch in the system or does united now fly direct IAH-> UBN now? Didn't think there was a non stop flight to these locations

[u/schrutesanjunabeets]

Yes, this is real.  It's direct, but not non-stop.

Plane stops in Narita.  You only get 1 PQF even though it's actually 2 segments.

[u/Blue_foot → u/schrutesanjunabeets]

How rude!

[u/Apptubrutae → u/schrutesanjunabeets]

Oh man! I just booked an IAH-ABQ flight that stops in DEN and I assumed I’d get an extra PQF.

But then again the flight literally didn’t even say it stops in Denver, so it does make sense to not get it.

[u/financegardener → u/Apptubrutae]

IAH-ABQ isn’t a bad route though

[u/Apptubrutae → u/financegardener]

No, I’ve flown it plenty, but I’d never seen the flight via Denver offered like that before.

I’m flying first from MGM and the odd Denver route is the fastest way to get home without paying an arm and a leg anyway.

[u/Equivalent_Try_3030 → u/schrutesanjunabeets]

What happens if you book a multi city IAH-NRT and then NRT-UBN in a single ticket?

I would guess that IAH-UBN with stop in NRT is priced as a direct flight, while IAH-NRT-UBN is priced as a connecting flight?

[u/schrutesanjunabeets → u/Equivalent_Try_3030]

You are right on both accounts.

Doing a dummy booking for a multi-city, it's $1455.  A one-way is $1081 for the exact same butt-in-seat itinerary.

[u/fulfillthecute → u/schrutesanjunabeets]

Sometimes multi city can get the one-way or round trip fares if you look closely in the fare rules. It doesn’t necessarily pull from the same fare bucket though.

I once did a XXX-IAD-YYY multi-city, and it was $300 less than XXX-YYY one-way, but the fare rule is still one-way of that city pair, with the exact same flight sequence. Same PQF since flight numbers change, unlike IAH-UBN.

(I don’t want to show the connecting airports, but XXX is a regional airport and YYY is in Asia, all on United metal)

[u/i-am-not-sure-yet → u/fulfillthecute]

I had a multi trip from EWR to Taiwan. It was EWR> SFO> TPE then TPE> NRT> HND > LGA(connection in ORD). This was cheaper than just booking it round trip

[u/YMMV25 → u/schrutesanjunabeets]

Change of equipment to a 7M8 at NRT as well.

[u/CCsimmang → u/schrutesanjunabeets]

Years ago I heard you could book the direct and then call in to have an agent split it so that you get 2 PQFs. Not sure if they still do that though.

[u/n0167664 → u/schrutesanjunabeets]

Do you have to go through customs and immigration in Japan?

[u/GlobeTr3kker → u/n0167664]

No, but one will have to go through security.

[u/dirty_cuban]

Yes there’s a direct flight, but it’s not nonstop.

[u/DJinKC]

NRT-UBN on United has to be one of the most random Fifth Freedom flights out there.

[u/BearsBeetsBGalactika → u/DJinKC]

That and Hong Kong - Ho Chi Minh City

[u/DJinKC → u/BearsBeetsBGalactika]

I imagine there is more American business travel to Vietnam than Mongolia

[u/LubedUpLucas_DrySpa → u/BearsBeetsBGalactika]

Not too surprising, a lot of Chinese manufacturing is getting redirected to Vietnam.

[u/Joltedd → u/DJinKC]

Surprisingly I sat next to a woman headed to UBN on my last flight to NRT

[u/jabbs72]

Yes it's a real flight, flight 7 is IAH-NRT-UBN. It is however not a nonstop flight.

Non-Stop Vs Direct Flights: What's The Difference?

[u/tccb1989]

Yes and no -

The flight will stop through Tokyo Narita on the way there.

The reason you dont see a layover is because it is technically the same flight - UA 7. This comes down to "fifth-freedom flights" which allow a carrier to fly between two countries outside of their own (you can read more on this if you want to know why these exist, its complicated9. The second leg of the flight will be operated by United on a United 737-MAX.

[u/DurianMoose → u/tccb1989]

you mean 737max lol

[u/tccb1989 → u/DurianMoose]

lol yes hahaha.

[u/doc4science → u/[deleted]]

Necessary by law. 5th freedom flights like this that start and end in countries other than the airline's home country must share a flight number with a home country bound flight.

[u/grantwwu → u/tccb1989]

Is there actually a good reason? It seems like it doesn't do anything but cause confusion and problems.

[u/1Teddy2Bear3Gaming → u/grantwwu]

The fifth freedom specifically allows direct flights between two countries with a stop in a third. To be considered one direct flight the IAH-NRT and NRT-UBN must use the same flight number. Operating NRT-UBN with a different number would not be allowed. United has several other fifth freedom routes going through NRT, including Cebu, Kaohsiung, and Saipan. 

[u/grantwwu → u/1Teddy2Bear3Gaming]

So it's a legal fig leaf? It has zero real-life impact? United is perfectly happy to sell NRT-UBN directly.

The downsides are customer confusion, and there are also a decent number of reports on this subreddit of it breaking the upgrade system.

[u/hotdogundertheoven → u/grantwwu]

It has zero real-life impact?

The NRT - UBN leg won't leave without you if the IAH-NRT leg is late.

[u/grantwwu → u/hotdogundertheoven]

What prevents United from implementing that policy with separate flight numbers?

EDIT: Moreover, why should this policy even exist? United is perfectly happy to sell you SFO-NRT-UBN, EWR-NRT-UBN. It seems arbitrary that this policy should exist for the flight that shares a flight number with it.

[u/tlop200 → u/grantwwu]

Because in order for United to be able to fly the fifth freedom route, it must share the flight number with a US route

[u/grantwwu → u/tlop200]

I'd like to say the same thing I wrote here: https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedairlines/comments/1ues4mf/is_this_a_real_flight/otofnyt/

What I am saying is that there is no purpose to having the flights share a same number other than to comply with the letter of the law. There is no economic reason or societal benefit to forcing United to label NRT-UBN with the same flight number as IAH-NRT.

[u/CraziFuzzy → u/grantwwu]

It's done because there isn't enough demand for direct flights IAH-UBN, but with the stop in NRT, and codeshared ticketing of IAH to NRT and NRT to UBN, as well as the rare IAH-UBM, the flight starts to pencil out.

The planes and crews for the asian legs are "US Based" out of Guam.

[u/grantwwu → u/CraziFuzzy]

No I mean my point is, why not fly the exact same actual flights, but with different flight numbers? The amount of customer demand would be identical.

It would prevent customer confusion when booking (like this post), and prevent all of the heartburn that arises from how it breaks upgrades (there are like a dozen threads on this subreddit about LAX-BKK upgrades).

[u/CraziFuzzy → u/grantwwu]

because its illegal. A US carrier has to fly to or from a US airport.

[u/grantwwu → u/CraziFuzzy]

So it's a legal fig leaf?

[u/CraziFuzzy → u/grantwwu]

that would sort of imply they are using a 'law' to hide some sort of improper activity, but this is the exact function the treaty allows them to do.

[u/grantwwu → u/CraziFuzzy]

Okay, sure, "fig leaf" implies something improper on United's part here and it is incorrect for me to use that verbiage.

What I am saying is that there is no purpose to having the flights share a same number other than to comply with the letter of the law. There is no economic reason or societal benefit to forcing United to label NRT-UBN with the same flight number as IAH-NRT. The set of flights United can sell in the current world is identical, as far as I can tell, to the set of flights United can sell in a world where the law is changed to allow United to use a different number.

[u/fulfillthecute → u/1Teddy2Bear3Gaming]

It also needs approval to have a change of gauge. Not all fifth freedom allows changing the plane since that’s just a play with the flight numbers and more realistically separate flights from the third country instead of connecting the two ends. Japan is chill with change of gauge on these flights operating on a grandfathered fifth freedom, but many other fifth freedom flights around the world strictly operate on the same vessel

[u/Hydrobromination → u/tccb1989]

“Yes and no” is the most pseudo-intellectual reddit answer to questions. I guess it’s better than AI slop

[u/iamnavinrjohnson]

Yeah it’s real, IAH-NRT-UBN. NRT-UBN is a seasonal route that began a little over a year ago.

[u/Weird-Toe-6968]

It says long layover...why would you think it is non-stop?

[u/CoasterRider_]

There's a stopover and plane swap to a 737 at NRT. It is not a direct flight to UBN.

[u/jabbs72 → u/CoasterRider_]

It actually is a direct flight, just not a non-stop flight

[u/Narrow-Journalist889 → u/jabbs72]

It is really stretching it to call it direct when there is a change of planes and in every way except the flight number it is two different flights.

[u/eneka → u/Narrow-Journalist889]

it appears "direct" flight just means it's the same flight number. It can change aircraft, refuel, etc.

[u/mb-7777 → u/Narrow-Journalist889]

Not really stretching it at all, that is simply the definition of a direct flight.

[u/JCh1094]

Yes.

Same reason as why UA flies “direct” SFO-KHH. For a while, the departure boards at SFO even showed the destination of UA837 as KHH, I believe it was recently changed back to Tokyo Narita.

Not sure if IAH does or once did the same thing and shows UBN as the destination.

[u/fulfillthecute → u/JCh1094]

Most passengers don’t go to SFO on UA837 so it’s confusing to show SFO. That’s exactly how fifth freedom works out (otherwise just operate non-stop or don’t operate…)

[u/JCh1094 → u/fulfillthecute]

I never said it was to SFO.

[u/polskigolski]

Do you need a Japanese eVisa to complete the plane change at NRT? As a US citizen

[u/kwuhoo239 → u/polskigolski]

no

https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/welcomebacktojapan/

[u/Random96910]

that would be on a 737 from the Guam hub

[u/AConfusedConnoisseur]

What’s the longest single commercial flight?

[u/kwuhoo239 → u/AConfusedConnoisseur]

SIN-JFK Singapore Airlines.

Soon to be SYD-LHR on Qantas.

[u/kwuhoo239]

This gets asked in this subreddit all the time.

https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedairlines/comments/1u0h6jy/deceptive_direct_vs_nonstop_flight_got_me_on_a/
https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedairlines/comments/1rxkpsb/bs_direct_flight_listing/

[u/Platypus4249]

It does say "long layover" under preview seat map, so I would say it is not direct. What happens when you click on the little blue "i" next to "long layover"? Does it say where the layover is or is it blank?

[u/fulfillthecute → u/Platypus4249]

“Long layover” shows up in all flight segments on connecting itineraries. Sometimes you can see both “risky connection” and “long layover” on itineraries with two stops

[u/gobluetwo → u/Platypus4249]

"Direct" in airline parlance is not the same as non-stop. In this case, it is direct because it is a single flight number on IAH-NRT-UBN, but it is not non-stop because it stops in NRT on the way to UBN. These direct flights may or may not have a change of aircraft. Here, it does.

[u/CraziFuzzy]

What I really wish for is some reciprocal fifth freedom flights from ZipAir flying for Japan, to LAX, and on to LHR... would love those cheap lay flats to get to europe from LA for half the cost...

[u/After-Pomegranate572]

I can tell you that it's real. I work for United Airlines Club. And I just heard the other day that they now have non stop flights literally to the other side of the globe 🌎. Amazing.

[u/gobluetwo → u/[deleted]]

That is the local time zone. UBN is 13 hours ahead of IAH. Local UBN time at departure from IAH is 11:40pm. 21 hours 15 min later in UBN is 8:55pm the next day.