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United has been exceptionally slow when it comes to rolling out its Polaris Business Class product (in the air and on the ground) and there have been a few questions flying around questioning just how committed to Polaris the airline actually is.
At the time of writing there are no more than a handful of United’s 777s equipped with the new Polaris Business Class cabin and the new lounge roll-out program has, up until now, been woefully behind United’s original schedule, but that looks as if it’s changing.
The Newark Polaris lounge is expected to be opened in early June and now United has given us a glimpse inside the new San Francisco Polaris lounge which will open its doors to the public on Monday (30 April 2018).
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco
The new lounge is located in San Francisco Airport’s International Terminal near Gate G92
Red arrow indicates the approximate location of Gate G92
The lounge is split over two levels, covers a total area of 28,000 square feet and houses 440 seats….so it’s big.
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco – Image United
United claims that the lounge offers “19 different types of seating” and I’m not sure if I should be impressed by that or concerned that United couldn’t make up its mind which seat-type to pick.
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco – Image United
Charging your devices shouldn’t be an issue as United has installed 492 power outlets and 492 USB ports in the lounge – I’d love it if the power outlets were of the universal variety (rather than the 2-pin US variety which have the same life expectancy as a housefly) but United hasn’t commented on which type we can expect.
The lounge has 5 private daybeds “outfitted with Saks 5th avenue bedding” which doesn’t seem all that many considering the size of the lounge but is still definitely better than none.
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco – Image United
The 8 shower suites complete with rainfall showers look like they’ll be a nice place to freshen up before a flight……
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco – Image United
….especially if you’re connecting on from the East coast.
The toiletries and spa products in the suites are SoHo House & Co’s Cowshed Spa products.
“The Dining Room” is described as a “private restaurant style dining area with a menu designed by Chef Tritia Gestuvo, a California native, that blends international comfort foods — such as a traditional Chinese congee breakfast and hand-cut pappardelle pasta with mushroom ragout — with staples like the United Polaris Burger”
For those who like a bit more informality the lounge offers a “bistro-like buffet” which will include a ramen noodle bar in the afternoon and “additional unique-to-San Franciscotreats that align with the flight schedule and destinations of United and Star Alliance partners”
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco – Image United
The staffed bar will offer cocktails originating from the Bay Area including the Mai Tai and the “Pisco Punch” featuring pisco which was, apparently, “all the rage” during the California Gold Rush of 1849.
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco – Image United
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco – Image United
The images provided by United appear to show a second bar area in the lounge called “the Studio”….
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco – Image United
…but as the airline makes no mention of it in its press release there really isn’t much I can tell you about it (based on the image above it appears to offer wine flights).
That’s about all the news on the new San Francisco Polaris lounge but the airline did have a bit more to add on the overall Polaris rollout:
The focus behind the United Polaris experience has always been to provide long-haul travelers with what they’ve asked for: better sleep in the sky. On average, United plans to add one aircraft with the new United Polaris business class seat every 10 days from now through 2020.
Beginning July 1, every seat onboard will be provisioned with a cooling gel pillow. The gel pillow, previously available by request, has proven to be one of the most popular items of United Polaris bedding.
I’ve seen the aim to ramp up the number of Polaris equipped aircraft mentioned before (I’d like to know just how back-loaded that statistic is), but the point about the gel pillows is interesting.
While it’s not exactly major news, it’s nice to see United reversing (partially) its recent policy of making more and more of the Polaris amenities “on request”.
Having certain amenities only available on request certainly helps with cutting costs but it really isn’t a symbol of a premium product….especially as they were never meant to be on request according to the original Polaris roll-out plan.
Bottom Line
With two new Polaris lounges coming on line in the space of a little over a month we finally have some god news out of United.
I like the images United has put out of the new lounge and, while I’m not sure 5 day beds for a lounge which holds over 400 people is a good idea, I have to admit that the lounge looks and sounds pretty good…..but final judgement will have to wait until guests actually start to use it from Monday.
