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United Airlines will be opening the doors to its new Polaris Business Class lounge in Los Angeles on 12 January 2019 (tomorrow) and the airline has unveiled the first images of what the facility looks like inside.
The new United Polaris Business Class lounge at LAX is located in Terminal 7 between gates 73 and 75A.
The lounge can only be accessed by travelers holding a United Airlines or Star Alliance long-haul Business Class boarding pass for outbound travel out of LAX on the day of entry.
Inbound boarding passes will not get you access to the lounge nor will United/Star Alliance status or any form of lounge membership.
United says that its new lounge “features Southern California-style throughout” and by that it means it has sourced art from local artists to decorate the facility and that the food offerings will be inspired by local cuisine (hopefully that means there will be a good selection of healthy options on offer).
The lounge occupies “more than 12,000 square feet” which puts it on a par with the American Airlines Flagship lounge over at Terminal 4, the new Centurion lounge at Dallas Ft Worth and the Polaris lounges in Chicago and Houston.
In the lounge are 140 seats of various types spread out across seating areas that United says have been designed to offer productivity, privacy and dining…so take your pick.
Productivity in lounge will definitely be helped by the presence of 272 power outlets, 120 USB ports and a “working area” while a combination of private daybeds….
…and spacious shower suites should make relaxing pretty easy.
The new Polaris Business Class lounge at LAX offers a separate dining room complete with an a la carte menu which, according to United….
“[B]lends international comfort foods developed by Los Angeles native Chef Tritia Gestuvo, highlights include: almond-crusted fish and chips, chilaquiles, Korean bulgogi arancini, fresh crafted sandwiches on La Brea Bakery® bread, flavorful street tacos and house-made cinnamon churros.“
A menu posted by AUBT shows the following on offer:
Light Bites
- Healthy hash – roasted fingerling potatoes, sautéed baby Kale, bacon, romesco sauce
- Power green smoothie bowl – kale, pineapple and apple smoothie with coconut-banana granola
- Salmon rillettes bruschetta – poached and smoked salmon, capers, red onion, heirloom tomato, toasted La Brea Bakery baguette
Breakfast Entrees
- Matcha green tea pancakes – red bean butter, ginger agave syrup (buttermilk pancakes available on request)
- Chilaquiles – crispy corn tortilla, scrambled egg, red salsa, avocado, crema
- Boardwalk Benedict – zucchini potato cakes, poached egg and hollandaise sauce and your choice of smoked salmon or shredded pork (may also be served as a duo)
- Fitness omelet – pesto eggs, spinach, zucchini, broccoli, green pepper, mozzarella cheese (egg whites available on request).
Small Plates
- Crispy mushroom basket – maitake, enoki and shiitake mushrooms lightly dusted and fried, soy wasabi dipping sauce.
- Korean bulgogi arancini – rice balls mixed wit bulgogi beef and Asian seasoning, kimchi aioli dipping sauce.
- The Pier salad – fennel crusted seared ahi tuna, thinly sliced fennel and red peppers, olive tapenade, basil pistou (available as a dining portion)
- Avocado and burrata tower – heirloom tomato vinaigrette, micro greens served with crostini
Lunch & Dinner Entrees
- Street taco trio:
- diced nopales, pico de gallo, queso fresco, tomatillo salsa
- citrus achiote-marinated carne asada, onions, cilantro
- soy-seared ahi tuna, avocado crema, pickled vegetables
- LA fish & chips – baked almond crusted whitefish, Meyer lemon tartar sauce, malt vinegar and hand-cut fries
- Butternut squash risotto – topped with crispy sage
- United Polaris Burger – cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled red onion. aioli, bacon and fried egg served on a brioche bun with sweet potato fries
The Polaris lounge is also home to a full-service bar….
…which serves “signature cocktails inspired by the City of Stars“, including:
- “the Let’s Rumble, made from Cruso Spiced Rum, fresh lemon, prickly pear puree and house-made simple syrup“
- “the On Sunset, a playful take on the tequila sunrise, made from Casa Noble Tequila, Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal and agave nectar“
The lounge’s wine wall looks pretty impressive too….
….although, if I’m not mistaken, that’s Piper-Heidsieck champagne that’s on display in the nearest column and that’s not that impressive at all.
To end, here’s what Janet Lamkin (United’s California President) had to say about the new Polaris Lounge at LAX:
“Los Angeles is one of United’s most important gateways, particularly to Asia and Australia, and this lounge provides our customers with a best-in-class experience before they board their flights, especially for those customers with late-night departures and early-morning arrivals”
“We continue to expand our presence in Los Angeles, connecting customers from all over California and the U.S. to our global network. The addition of the United Polaris lounge is yet another way we provide customers with the best possible travel experience at LAX.”
Bottom Line
I’ll reserve judgement until I have actually had the chance to try this lounge out for myself but, from what we’re being shown, it looks very nice.
The food menu looks interesting (although I have my doubts over how healthy the “healthy” options actually are) and the space looks light and spacious (which are two of the main things I look for in a good lounge) so we’re off to a promising start.
[…] United has finally been making some headway with the rollout of its Polaris Business Class product over the past 12 months as it took delivery of aircraft featuring the new cabins, refitted a number of existing aircraft with the new Polaris seat and finally got its lounge program back on track too (the LAX lounge opened last week). […]