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United Polaris Business Class – Introduction
United Polaris is a premium service United Airlines offers, primarily designed for long-haul international travellers. Introduced in late 2016, United Polaris is supposed to provide a luxury experience in the air and on the ground. In addition to the exclusive Polaris Lounges, which offers elevated dining and seating, inflight includes private seats with lie-flat abilities, direct aisle access, and a premium meal service onboard. Here is how United describes its service and Polaris product;
United Polaris® brings a new level of quality to premium cabin travel and provides the best sleep in the sky.
With United Polaris business class, you’ll enjoy the best United has to offer, from the moment you check in at the airport to when you reach your final destination. No matter where you’re going, we want to make sure you get there in comfort and style.
My recent trip to India (August 2023) included a United Polaris Business Class segment from Newark (EWR) to London (LHR) on Boeing 767-300. This being my first time on United Polaris long-haul, my expectations were based on web reviews from fellow bloggers, which were between adequate and pleasant. Unfortunately, my experience was a shocking disappointment, a rude awakening to how bad a business-class cabin can be. Filthy and shameful.
Other reviews from this trip:
Review: United Polaris Lounge Newark (EWR)
Review: United Polaris Business Class from Newark (EWR) to London (LHR)
Review: Etihad Business Class Lounge in London Heathrow (LHR)
Review: Etihad A380 Business Class from London (LHR) to Abu Dhabi (AUH)
United Polaris Business Class – Boarding and Cabin
An overnight flight, UA 110, was scheduled to depart EWR at 18:00 from gate C71. Unfortunately, boarding did not begin until after 5:30 pm, and the gate was extremely busy with Zone 1, 2 and beyond lineups, all snaking around in the terminal. Boarding for Zone 1 was hassle-free once the lineup started to move along.
Boarding gate C71 – EWR
The United’s 767-300 business class cabin was the standard 1-2-1 configuration, with 46 Polaris seats staggered across 18 rows. The odd-numbered rows had seats closer to the windows, while the even-numbered rows had seats away from the window, adjacent to the aisle and offering zero privacy. The premium economy cabin on the flight was a 2-2-2 and looked a lot roomier than the business class cabin, perhaps because it was not as densely populated (?).
United Polaris Business Class Cabin – Boeing 767-300
UA 110 – Premium Economy Cabin (767-300)
United Polaris Business Class – Seats
When I booked our tickets, our seat options were pretty limited. We had to settle for seats 17A and 18A to get window access for both. Seat 17A offered better privacy (in comparison) as it was set closer to the windows – two to be exact; however, the windows were misaligned, so one was awkwardly behind the seat, rendering it useless. Seat 18A was somehow even worse, with no windows! To add to my misery, seat 18 was beside the washroom, making it the worst seat in the cabin. Poor planning on my part, I guess.
Seat 18A – United Polaris Business Class
The seat was comfortable, albeit without any privacy, and directly facing the aisle. The real estate in the suite is minimal beyond the seats, with a narrow footwell at an angle and the table space almost behind the seat at an angle that made it awkward to reach for items kept in the cabinet. The seat controls were comfortably placed to the left in front. The size of the IFE screen was very 2008, but the content available was impressive.
Seat 18A – United Polaris Business Class Suite
Seat 18A – Windowless United Polaris Business Class
The IFE controls in the seat were dated but adequate. The seat was equipped with power plugs and a USB, placed just under the cabinet that held the headphones. The lamp and the reading light were chic in the otherwise drab fittings of the Polaris seat. The best part of the seat was its bedding – pillow and blanket by Saks Fifth Avenue, an amenity kit, and my favourite cooling gel pillow.
United Polaris Business Class – The Horror Show
And now, brace yourself for the horror show that the rest of the seat was. Food crumbs, fluid residue, and filth strewn across the seats (17A and 18A). See if this makes your tummy churn as it did mine.
Food crumbs and fluid stains
Stained tray table with food crumbs across the fold
Tray Table on 17A
United Polaris – Space between window and seat
United Polaris 17A – Space between window and seat
United Polaris – Grime and Dirt galore
These pictures were taken shortly after boarding. We were expected to sit, eat, and sleep around this filth for 7 hours. Once we brought this to the attention of the cabin crew, we were given a few sanitary wipes to help ourselves. No apology, not even a look of shock or concern. Do I think the crew was responsible for this? Not. But professional courtesy goes a long way in customer service. Shouldn’t EWR to LHR be a premium route, showcasing the best of the airline?!
United Polaris Business Class – Amenity Kit
Once I looked Away from the filth around the seat…the amenity kit also disappointed me. See what I did there?! The global travel lifestyle brand Away designed the co-branded amenity kits exclusively for United in 2022. Instead of the hard pod I expected on United Polaris, we were given a sports pouch, typically for United Premium Plus passengers on long-haul flights. I wondered if an overnight 7-hour flight between EWR and LHR did not cut being considered a true United Polaris Business long-haul international flight. This is how United described the Away amenity kits;
The Away amenity kits offered include:
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Hard Pod: For travelers flying in United Polaris® business on long-haul international flights. The sturdy shell and interior elastic band will help keep belongings organized.
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Sports Pouch: For travelers flying in United Premium Plus® on long-haul international flights. Featuring a soft, protective material you can keep all your belongings organized —including your other travel essentials.
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Zip Case: For travelers flying in United Business on premium transcontinental flights. The water-resistant kit for transcontinental premium travelers is an ideal solution for storing liquids and moving quickly through airport security lines.
United Polaris Amenity Kit, by Away
Amenity Kit – Socks, Eye Mask, Lip Balm, Hand Cream
Away kits are passé already, as United has announced its new amenity kit partnership with Therabody, which will eventually replace the Away amenity kits across the network.
United Polaris Business Class – Meal Service
Given my flight’s sad state of affairs thus far, the elevated Polaris meal could have been the saving grace. The options looked great on paper. United Polaris also offers ‘Express Dining’ for passengers who prefer all courses in one go (in favour of some shut-eye) instead of course-by-course service, which can take much longer. Unfortunately, by the time we were at cruising altitude, my migraine had the better of me, and with nausea setting in, I did not get past a drink and some nuts. I decided to pop some medication and lay down for some sleep instead.
United Polaris Menu – EWR to LHR
United Polaris Drinks Menu
While I failed to make it past a bowl of nuts, PK had pre-ordered a Vegan meal, which came with a selection of bread and plant-based butter, a weird-looking salad, and the veg option from the Polaris menu, the Stir-fried Vegetables with Udon Noodles, for the Entree. To put it mildly, she said it was edible. Just like the Vegan meal on Etihad represented the airline well, this one represented United (at least our overall experience on this Polaris route) well.
United Polaris Salad
United Polaris Meal – Stir-fried Veg with Udon
United Polaris Business Class – Takeaway
Sigh. What.a.S***show. My United Polaris Business Class experience was a perfect example of how an airline can make or break its reputation (for the individual) with one flight. I will not be flying United to Europe anytime soon. If you find yourself in a Polaris product, check seat assignments carefully, as no-window and misaligned seats are a reality on some aircraft types, 767-300 in my case.
Surely, United excels in some routes where the Polaris product gets the fan following. Please comment below to suggest other routes where United can redeem itself. I’m happy to give them another chance, but it will take a herculean effort for it to become my preferred North American airline.
Dear Air Canada, I love you slightly more every time I fly United.
41 comments
Disgust and Horror?
Wow. This is late stage capitalism epitomized.
Disgust and horror is a war zone, and there are plenty right now. Its a favela where children pick through landfills to eat. Its the scene at a school shooting.
I’d give it to you if there were actual human excrement on your seat but, otherwise, this sounds pretty ridiculous. I thought some passenger went nuts and threw his actual poop at you, given the headline.
Its certainly not some crumbs in your seat cracks or a floppy case for your toiletries.
My wife and I were looking forward to our Dulles–Frankfurt flight in June using Polaris for the first time. We were so disappointed we changed carriers to fly back home. For United to tout Polaris is ridiculous. When we first entered the aircraft, the cabin seemed claustrophobic and dark. There was zero assistance in locating our seats, and we were left alone to figure out how to use them. The seat was narrow, cramped and short for my 6′ frame, and I tossed and turned the whole flight. It was difficult with no staff help to find and access the various “features” of the seat–some were behind me, over my right shoulder. Staff looked overworked and sullen getting people seated and service was curt and spotty throughout the flight. Water and champagne was offered with an almost reluctant attitude.(Throughout the flight, staff was only available when summoned except for the cart service). The food was tough to a fault and inedible. Then, for some inexplicable reason, one of the Polaris class restrooms was visibly locked, and I had to find a flight attendant to open it. When I had access, it was actually quite nice, and probably the high point of my trip. Being handicapped, I was very pleased with the flight attendant coming to reassure me of my wheel chair pick-up and where to exit the plane. But my happiness proved premature. My wife and I were taken to an empty basement terminal floor in a bus with two other handicapped, and then left abandoned! After waiting a time, we tried phoning for help. We were assured that help was coming, but no luck for 45 minutes. I finally flagged down a United employee who happened to be walking by and explained our plight. He was horrified, and stayed with us for the additional 20 minutes until a wheelchair came. As a handicap person, this was my worst experience for any airline or airport. In fact, it was frightening. (The wheel chair lady when she arrived was very courteous and helpful). As mentioned, we were so distraught that we cancelled the Polaris flight back home from Frankfurt, and returned to Dulles from another city on another airline.
Robert, that’s shambolic service. I am sorry you had to go through that. I hope your flight back was better. Thanks for sharing.
United is the worst !!! Bottom line!! Everyone knows it but keeps flying them!! Wake up!!! Ewr to London u have ao many choices with VS and BA !!! The food is not a priority and never will be onboard as lond as Smisek is Ceo!!!!!!
Smisek haven’t been CEO for nearly 10 years 🤣🤣
Darn! I just now booked UA989 Polaris Business flight for my wife and I to fly from Washington, DC (Dules Airport) to Frankfurt. We are flying in last week of November, 2024. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed for clean seats and desirable service. I did check seatGuru to select seats and have settled for odd number row in center, as we are flying as couple.
Another team member of ours had a very different Polaris experience recently – much nicer than my exp detailed in the post. There is hope 🙂
I’ve been maintaining my United Gold status since 2007 and do that by flying IAD to LHR 6 or 7 times a year. Once in a while I will upgrade to Polaris which costs an extra $550 + 20,000 points per leg. On almost every Polaris flight I’ve had to wipe down both the tray and that lovely space (shown above) that never seems to get any attention. There is no point in mentioning this to the flight attendants. You may get a smile and an indifferent shrug, but they are too busy to care. Before Covid the food service was still a little special, with food being presented in multiple courses. Covid gave them the excuse to cut everything back and they’ve kept that policy. Now the food service is just a very small upgrade from Premium Economy and in my opinion not worth the money, unless you want extreme privacy or your company is paying for it. If I had the budget to be paying $4000 full fare for an overseas business seat I certainly would be exploring other options.
Aside from the unclean seating area, I don’t see how the seating/window arrangement was the airline’s fault. If you had looked at seating maps prior to booking the flight, as well as checked out other reviews of the Polaris product on that specific aircraft, you would have known that the seats were arranged the way they were, with some facing the aisle and some close to the window. You would have also known where the windows were located in relation to the seats. As far as the dining, there were far better options available on the menu, but due to personal health issues you opted not to try these items. Again–not the airline’s fault. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t clean the area properly before the flight. If there were other seats in business class available, I would have asked if I can move to a different seat, or see if I could get at flight credit to use towards future flights. This doesn’t seem like an accurate representation of the Polaris product from what I’ve seen. Definitely an outlier review.
I flew LHR to LAX on Polaris.
I almost always try and avoid United. It has such an awful reputation in Europe.
But work paid for the ticket…. Not really my choice or my fault just wrong place at the wrong time
Crew were surly and short, and about 70, some had problems bending down for things. Which was both comedic and absolutely horrifying. Crew were generally unfriendly, in that usual American airline type way. The service was abysmal. One meal service an hour into the flight. They came round for drinks once.. once on a 11hr flight. No water, nothing.
They actually parked trolley with drinks behind first class so that people
Could get drinks themselves. No cups so I went to the front galley where they were chatting and laughing and told abruptly to return to my seat as I’m not allowed in the front galley.
I walked down to economy galley and got what I needed there.
Seats were filthy. Bathrooms
We’re like public toilets, unclean and messy.
Food was inedible. (I always pop into pret before my flights and get a nice sandwich, snacks and drinks..
Breakfast or final service took place 1 hour before landing. My vegetable curry was warm on the outside, stone cold and congealed in the middle.
Horrific. Considering these flights cost my company 10k…
You would never get this kind of service on Virgin/BA/Air France/KLM/AA, list goes on….
Uff! No matter who pays..this sounds abysmal. Wish I had points to argue your observations 🙁
Wow, could you whine more? Talk about first world problems. Try schlepping it in economy every so often and then tell us more about some grease on your tray or lack of privacy with what is effectively a seat with 3 (or 2.5 if you have the “misfortune” of choosing an even row seat) walls.
Or hey, if privacy isn’t such an issue, take a ride in that really “roomy” looking Premium Economy seat instead!
Wow, could you whine more? Talk about first world problems. Try schlepping it in economy every so often and then tell us more about some grease on your tray or lack of privacy with what is effectively a seat with 3 (or 2.5 if
you have the “misfortune” of choosing an even row seat) walls.
Or hey, if privacy isn’t such an issue, take a ride in that really “roomy” looking Premium Economy seat instead!
I agree, I just flew IAD-LHR (both segments), and it was just fine…seats were clean, service was very good, view was nice, flight was short and sweet…I can’t believe these people complaining like this..I was expecting a horror show, I was pleasantly. surprised.
We flew LHR to JFK on United Polaris in September 2022. It was totally disgusting. The seats were not clean. The trays were not clean. There were numerous stains on the carpet/walls. It almost looked like we were the cleaning crew. The food was awful. We ended up not eating most of the food we got. The experience posted here is very similar to what we experienced. JAL, ANA, Cathay Pacific, and even British Airways have a much better business class product, at least, based on our experience.
Nothing about AC is impressive. Boarding TATL in YYZ is a chaotic zoo and every flight leaves late. My last two AC Business flights YYZ-AMS and YYZ-LHR were meh and the Maple Leaf lounges are underwhelming. United has decent Polaris lounges, and EWR has one of the best. My Q Suites in November were nice enough, as were some of my TK, ANA, and SQ flights but, having flown hundreds of flights to 6 continents in First and Business over 60 years, nothing impresses me. It’s just a plane flight.
As a 1 k united traveller with many Polaris flights under their belt, i must strongly disagree
it seems like you had a small cleaning issue, which if they were late, happens. I recently flew both JAL and SWISS business and niether was close to Polaris, so i think your review was seriously out of the normal experience i had. For sute its not Singapore or other luxe first class, but the bedding was SUPERIOR to even SWISS FIRST. Also there are several sites to help you find a good seat. You noted you chose window seats as a priority, perhaps next time, choose more privacy! I appreciate your photos as united sometimes misses cleaning, but if they do, they usually provide you with compensation.
Try some European carrier and see if you dont feel differently about Polaris.
I flew United’s Polaris in January, 2019 from Newark to Tokyo. The best part of the experience was spending several hours in the EWR Polaris Lounge. I loved it, and had high expectations of the in-flight experience. I was satisfied with my 9A bulkhead seat, bedding, and entertainment but disappointed with the rest. The food was underwhelming and service lacking. By the end of the flight, visiting the washroom was unpleasant. It didn’t appear to have been cleaned. When an airline fosters a service-oriented culture, it shows. This is sorely lacking with United.
FWIW, EWR-LHR may be a premium route in your eyes, but crews are fostered based on seniority. It’s a short trip that pays half of some of the long haul trips. Therefore, it’s goes to the junior cabin crew that most likely wish they were flying something else.
The aircraft are scheduled so tight in EWR that the ground staff is given minutes to clean the plane. So you’re going to find a crumb or two. Training and oversight is lacking, at best. That falls on mgmt.
Some of your claims are certainly valid but a lot of it sounds like whining. Adjust your expectations in the real word and you may be a happier individual.
Adjust your expectations in the real world..???? ..fly Singapore and find out what a real quality airline is like. United is total crap, always has been and having just flown some legs around the world in business after reading they had improved….I am never using them again. Did I mentioned they destroyed my suitcase as well as offering a crappy cabin, crappy meals, no priority boarding etcetc. Just plain awful.
Hey Steve, you are so 100% absolutely right. I do avoid any American airline (also some crapy Europeans like BA). I can not get why people that will pay for business class use all these crap like UA, when you can have Royal treatment in Qatar, Singapore or any of those ones civilized airlines.
exactly
Let’s face it, North American Airlines have thrown in the service towel in favor other shareholders. They don’t give a s*** about their employees and they don’t give a s*** about their customers. They demonstrate that everyday. United, air canada, and the majority of Star Alliance have fallen into a laissez-faire trap in the bottom line is F you customer! What’s even worse is the new hires have absolutely no commitment to customer service nor do they have a clue about what it should look like and nor do they care. This is in North American problem it’s certainly is not visible anywhere else in the world and it’s shameful. It all starts at the top however and we can rest assured that all those greedy CEOs don’t give a s*** about us or anyone else below them.
They did jam in, too many seats in that cabin; not enough personal space; too, too narrow; same problem on their 787’s.
I prefer Delta. Better service. Always clean and on time.
It’s true that the filth is inexcusable and their food is definitely not a highlight, unless you eat at the lounge. That being said, their hard product is solid and you yourself stated the lack of research in picking your seat and not feeling exceptionally well. I fly from EER to ZRH normally and I would much rather fly UA over Lufthansa, Delta, or American. On the same note the middle eastern airlines are on another level lol.
Maybe you just had bad luck.
This will get a little tangential…
All seats are better on average in J for AC long-haul aircraft (thinking of multiple yul and yyc to mad or bcn flights) mostly because footwells are just bigger outside of ua bulkhead seats. I’d quickly forgo the ‘privacy’ if every seat had better foot space on ua. This is same problem on all planes with suites with doors too ime. but poorly cleaned planes even in J long-haul and apathetic cabin crew are all too common to both UA and AC as is a middling ground experience when you need it most with irrops (probably the worst experience I’ve ever had was with a gate agent supervisor at yyz and what did AC do after I sent a very detailed account…here’s ‘20%’ off your next base fare and no aknowledgement of any of the core issues raised.) I’ve never looked forward to a Polaris lounge or signature suite meal though I’ve had a few unexpectedly good ones at yyz and yvr. I almost always prefer AF when going tatl or Africa (sometimes VS; will settle for LH sometimes) and most asian carriers going tpac (KE, SQ, NH, BR, CI) I mean why would you ever fly ua on sfo-sin for example when ua runs the flight with 9 total cabin crew and SQ with 13? Only because of silly ua status. SQ usually same cash price or cheaper than UA. Maybe the seats depending on aircraft and your own dimensions. Different planes but very similar breakdown of seats by class. And the overall experience, seats excepted on some aircraft, is in another league compared with UA.
I’ve had somewhat poorly maintained seats on all the European and asian carriers (broken trim and even broken ife or tray tables) but never the filth I’ve seen sometimes on ua and ac long-haul (and always on ua mainline even premium transcon). And as far as the people go, the worst performers at the asian or European carriers I fly would be rock stars at ua or ac.
Couldn’t have said it better! +1 to your observations.
Absolutely true. Like I said above the North American carriers just don’t give a s*** and the employees are so pathetic. It has something to do with the fact that most of them don’t care and perhaps they don’t care because they’re not paid well. That’s another problem the airline industry when you don’t pay your employees properly you get s***’s service at all levels. Welcome to North American Greed culture in the airline industry all brought on by shareholders greed and lazy ass CEOs who no longer give a s*** about anyone except themselves
Not sure why you are blaming shareholders who have zero influence over company decisions. Every decision lies with management including returns to shareholders.
How true, 20″ width is just too narrow; not enough personal space; you feel like you’re in a narrow tube; if service isn’t
exceptional, then the entire experience is a big disappointment ; the culture of fine service has to come from the top, and
apparently, they just don’t care any more.
This is pretty similar to my experience going from KIX-SFO last year.
Hard product was acceptable, but has seen better days with the cleaning.
I found food from Jetblue’s Mint product I took right after SFO-BOS to be better than United’s Polaris international.
Yeah, I had the same experience but from LHR to EWR. The food was really bad, nuts were cold, the cabin was meh and the service was left to be desired. We had the new amenity kits though and imo those were the coolest part of the flight. It really made me appreciate AC more (and even Air Egypt business class who I flew earlier in the trip)
How old is this review? It sounds like your ‘recent trip’ was several months ago, you should probably state that before starting. I’ve flown over a dozen Polaris flights since September with the new bedding, amenity kits, and menus. Looks like you had a dud, or you’re just posting an old flight review here. I’ve flow AC upper cabin across the Atlantic via YYZ and every time I fly AC I wish I was on UA.
Aug’23. Does that excuse the filth?
Oh my. Now you are making me rethink my Polaris Flight to Australia from SFO.
I’ve read good reviews on it before i booked. Hopefully their flight across the Pacific will be better than the Atlantic 🤞🏽🤞🏽
It won’t be. I just flew SYD-SFO after swearing I would never use UA again…( it took me 20 years to retry) and it was so disappointing…Give me Singapre Air every single time….Unfortunately SA dont fly over the Pacific. Try NZ Air, they were very good last time I used them, but they have that stupid herringbone seat layout in business which I hate.
Why bother flying with anything North American across the pond (JetBlue excepted)? I had a filthy J seat on AC YYZ-FRA and the service was absymal. European and Middle Eastern carriers are just simply far better.
In agreement about ME carriers being far superior. Some Asian carriers as well.
Try American. You will be running back to United singing their praises.
Also, I’ve had similar gross seats on many intl business and first-class seats, notably AA, BA, UA, and AC.
Yeah – for North America, airline award should just be “Best of the Worst”.