A La Carte Dining Comparison: American Flagship First Dining Vs. United Polaris Lounge

Hey Lucky,

Can I confirm with that flying CX in business I can access the American Flagship lounge at Chicago? Leaving for HK in a few weeks via ORD.

Thanks!

I'd think the lack of crowds would carry more weight than a lot of other things given how many complaints I've seen/heard about the Polaris Lounge. Exclusivity does have its perks. I'm not as dependent on cappuccino as you, so that wouldn't be a factor. But having to hover around people waiting for a seat would drive me nuts. So I'd have to hands-down say Flagship Dining wins.

Plus, I'm curious as to how the product will suffer when UA expands the Polaris Lounge. Someone else mentioned that the Polaris Lounge doesn't seem to be sustainable and that United will likely "enhance" the offering by making cuts when they realize they overpromised and are now under-delivering. Though I'm very pleasantly surprised by United's upping of their game. If only the timeline of rollout for all things Polaris was actually helpful...

A light drinking day, huh? Only one cocktail??? LOL

So basically, for only offering Polaris as its premium offering, every Polaris Business Class passenger on United might have access to the Polaris Lounge. While only the few routes with AA First will have access to the First Lounge. And the food and service are pretty comparable. When a Business Class Lounge is pretty comparable to a First Class Lounge, you know the winner is the Business Class Lounge.

United wins. Polaris wins. Not surprisingly, either. United, for anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, has actively been upgrading its experience and customer service. American, on the other hand, has been settling more and more into mediocrity.

@Bill - you probably don’t know that AA also has new and elevated Flagship Lounges. They are quite nice and AA actually already has a bunch of them, in less time than UA has done a single Polaris.

UA has potential but so far Polaris is much more hype than reality.

@ Bill

"United, for anyone who hasn’t been paying attention, has actively been upgrading its experience and customer service."

Quite right. Now, let's just hear something from Dr Dao...

United are appalling. Which is not to say American isnt, too.

@Bill I'm just here waiting for some delta brat to come in and start "but actually..."-ing you for having the audacity to say something nice about united. Ha.

I believe AA dining and Flagship Lounges now have a 21 year age limit. This is a deal breaker for my wife and I since we often fly F with our seven year old in tow.

@ Jay

Delta are appalling, too.

Jay,

"Delta Brat"

Love it. I've noticed them here too, trying just a little bit too hard.

Do you tip waiters in an A La Carte dining lounge?

Bus-station ambiance in the Polaris lounge -- where everyone in the very crowded lounge walks past the dining tables to reach the main seating area, some bumping into the diners as they walk absent-mindedly while barking into their phones -- is unacceptable.

Ben, did you take your photos in the Polaris lounge at 8 am on a Sunday morning? I have never seen that lounge so empty.

Flagship First at JFK is tremendous and a sanctuary. Loved the experience.

Anyone comparing the crowded United lounge to American's Flagship First one must be out of their mind. The Polaris lounge is SO crowded - unbelievable. I visited twice, on a Tuesday and on a Thursday afternoon. Food was scarce (more leftovers than anything else), it was hard to find a table, and attendants were mostly uninterested.

The AA lounge, on the other hand, is private, empty, with great food. Just like LH FCT it's exclusive and private.

So, no - you can't really compare.

Plus, what's all this hype with Polaris?! The airplane retrofitting is painfully slow, the overall configuration is very dense, and overall it's not like UA commands premium markets like JFK, LAX, or LHR anyways... (*rolling my eyes*)

So what’s the cost of these dining when you can access the lounge?

CS, I've never seen tips in any airport lounge.

To answer some questions- at least re Polaris lounge- the dining is free and amazing. I was there from 2:30-4p and had no problem getting a shower in the fantastic shower room, and a custom made lunch (I am a vegetarian and the chef whipped up a vegetarian version of the burger for me). I did tip my waiter because he was so pleasant and helpful when I inquired about vegetarian options. I just shook his hand as I left and said thank you and gave him the tip that way (like you would a car service driver). I had heard about the overcrowding but didn't experience it even at peak arrival/departure of international flights. I cannot wait until the others open. I do agree its taking WAY too long to open the lounges and upgrade the seats on the planes.