United Airlines New Polaris Business Class

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This is an updated version of the post that first went out when the new Business Class product was first announced.

After a lot of speculation and waiting United Airlines, today, finally announced its new Business Class product – United Polaris Business Class.

Rather than just an update of their Business Class seat United have revamped their entire Business Class offering from lounges and pre-flight dining through to a new onboard Business Class cabin with new seats, amenities and food/drink options. From what United have presented it looks like United Polaris Business Class is a make over from top to bottom.

The new United Airlines Polaris Business Class will debut on 1 December 2016 on intercontinental flights but, before I get to the onboard product, I’ll start with the revamped pre-departure experience.

New United Polaris Business Class Lounges

United has announced that it plans to open “an exclusive portfolio” of United Polaris Business Class lounges in nine of their premium locations around the world.

The airline claims they will be “the only lounge of its kind offered by a U.S. airline to business class customers” – that’s not a very high bar to set!

The new Polaris lounges will come furnished with “custom-designed chairs, private daybeds, spa-like showers and chef-inspired hot meals served in a boutique restaurant setting”.

From the video that the airline has released it looks as if the hot meals will come in the form of a buffet:

Premium sparkling wines and spirits, refreshing snacks and bottled water will also be offered in the new lounges.

Chicago O’Hare will be the location of the first new United Polaris lounge and it is scheduled to open on 1 December 2016. A further eight other locations will be getting Polaris Business CLass lounges too:

• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Houston
• New York (Newark)
• Washington Dulles
• Tokyo Narita
• Hong Kong
• London Heathrow

All are slated to open during 2017.

New United Polaris Business Class Cabin & Seats

This is what we’ve been waiting to find out about! Would the new cabin look anything like the layout that was leaked a few months back?

The rumors were that the cabin layout would look like this (click to enlarge):

And the seat was rumored to be the ComfortLine CL6710 Business Class seat from Recaro:

Well….we haven’t been given a seat map (as far as I know) but this is a shot of the cabin from the video United released:

That doesn’t look like the cabin portrayed in the leaked seat map. This layout looks far more akin to the Business Class layout on Etihad’s A380’s and 777’s (for example) where seating alternates between rows.

On the sides of the cabin the rows alternate between having seats next to the window and seats on the aisle while, in the center of the cabin the seats alternate between two close together or two seats separated by their respective tables.

Seating in the center of the Etihad A380 Business Class Cabin

It looks like the rumors got the seats wrong too (although they do look similar) because the new United seats are made by Zodiac UK and will look like this:

The picture above also demonstrates how one row of window seats will be further away from the window than the next – the ones closest to the window will be the best for the solo traveler.

The seats are unique to United and, apparently, each one offers direct access, 180 degree recline and up to 6 ft 6 inches (2.00 m) of bed space.

Per United:

Crafted as individual, forward-facing, suite-like pods, each customer’s personal suite will feature a “Do Not Disturb” sign, mood lighting, one-touch lumbar support, several storage areas, multiple surfaces for simultaneous working and dining, a 16-inch high-definition entertainment screen and, for seats in the center of the cabin, electronic privacy dividers. Complementing the new seats, United and PriestmanGoode have also conceived an all-new look for the United Polaris cabins.

United are calling the new Business Class seats “sleep-enticing personal suites” which may be going a little far but I do like the look of the seat as shown in the picture above – that will do very nicely for me 🙂

Enhanced Amenities For United Polaris Business Class

United will be introducing Saks 5th Av. designed bedding which will include “plush” duvets, lightweight day blankets and two pillows (one large, one small). Mattress cushions will also be available on request.

Slippers are to be made available on all flights and a new range of “customised pajamas” will be available on flights of over 12 hours (which isn’t that many flights).

One amenity that I haven’t seen elsewhere (and sounds pretty funky) is a new “gel-cooled pillow” which flyers will be able to request – perfect for those flights where the cabin temperature approaches that of the sun.

Lastly, in the amenity section:

New amenity kits will feature ergonomically designed eye shades, calming lavender pillow mist and additional products from Soho House & Co.’s Cowshed Spa.

New Dining Experience For United Polaris Business Class

On Boarding:

• Pre-departure beverage of the flyers choice
• Gourmet chocolate

In the Air:

[C]ustomers will enjoy regionally influenced in-flight menus updated seasonally, developed in partnership with The Trotter Project and its critically recognized chefs, including Bill Kim of acclaimed Chicago restaurants Urbanbelly, bellyQ and Belly Shack.

Wine:

• New wine selection with “the highest quality options”.

Deserts:

• Made to order sundaes
• Dessert card with variety of options, chocolate truffles and wine flights

Special for daytime flights:

On daytime flights longer than eight hours and on all flights longer than 12 hours, hot mid-flight snacks such as lobster macaroni and cheese will be available.

United will also be adding a buffet bar to their aircraft which, like on the American Airlines 777-300ER, will offer snacks that will be put out after the meal service is complete.

What United Are Saying About The Roll Out

United will begin to introduce United Polaris on Dec. 1, 2016, with the new inflight food and beverage experience, new custom bedding from Saks Fifth Avenue, new amenity kits and the new United Polaris lounge in Chicago. The United Polaris business class seat will first take flight in December on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and subsequently on Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, as well as on Boeing 767-300 and 777-200 retrofits.

Thoughts

Ok, I have to hold my hands up and say I didn’t see this coming – it looks good and it looks premium.

The cabin is a massive improvement on anything United offers right now and, from what I’ve seen, appears to be considerably better than the rumors suggested it would be.

The new food and amenities sound great and it sounds as if United have actually gone a fair way to trying to make Polaris Business Class seem like and feel like a premium product – from the pre-flight experience through to the onboard product.

The big question will be how well all of this will be implemented.

American Airlines currently has the best Business Class seat across the Atlantic but, because of the patchy (very) service the whole product can’t really be categorised as “premium”. It can be categorised as “great seat, shame about the rest”.

United appear to have a product (in the seat and amenities) that could compete with and possibly beat what American offers, the question is will it be able to deliver a soft product that’s better? That’s not a very high bar to set but it’s one that United is going to have to try to clear if they’re going to be successful with Polaris.

Overall, and bear in mind this is just a first impression, this is very good news for trans-Atlantic travel. This is definitely a product to look forward to and one that will take the game back to American and all the other airlines that fly across the pond. This could be a game changer for United if they get it right, it will be interesting to see if they do.