Hello from San Francisco, as I’m currently wrapping up my review trip! I just flew United Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER Polaris business class on the short 8hr15min flight from Tokyo (NRT) to San Francisco (SFO).
It had been years since I’ve flown United Polaris business class on the 777, so I figured it was time to take an updated look at how it’s holding up. I’m trying to review more long haul US airline products, since I realize these kinds of reviews are useful, even if they’re not the most aspirational.
While United Polaris business class isn’t perfect, I like the product a lot, on balance. United’s Polaris business class seat are good (but not great), and on top of that, the airline has excellent product consistency throughout the fleet. Furthermore, United’s bedding is the best in the industry, and the entertainment is reasonably good.
What’s unfortunate is the extent to which Polaris business class catering has gotten worse over the years. But that was made up for by the excellent crew I had on this flight, though like on all US airlines, service is consistently inconsistent.
While I’ll have a full trip report soon, in this post I wanted to share some initial impressions of the experience.
United’s 777 Polaris business class seats are solid
The Boeing 777-300ER I was flying featured 60 Polaris business class seats (United’s premium cabins are massive!), in a staggered configuration. If possible, I recommend snagging one of the “true” window seats, which offer the most privacy, and the best views out the window.
At this point United’s Polaris business class seats aren’t cutting edge anymore, though they’re competitive, and quite comfortable. What impresses me the most about Polaris is the product consistency that United offers. The airline has these seats on all of its long haul international 767s, 777s, and 787s — United only has a subset of high density 777s that don’t have these seats.
That level of consistency is incredibly rare. It’s not something you’ll find at American or Delta, and for that matter, it’s something you won’t find on most top foreign airlines. There’s something to be said for knowing exactly what to expect when you board a flight, and to me, that bumps Polaris up a few notches.
In addition to the great seat, United also has extensive entertainment, with a huge variety of movies and TV shows, so it shouldn’t be hard to stay entertained. Furthermore, United’s Wi-Fi on international flights is fine, in my experience.
United’s Polaris bedding is the best in the industry
As I always say, the most important thing about a good business class experience is the seat. As an extension of that, I think good bedding also makes a huge difference in terms of making the most of that seat. United has what’s without a doubt the world’s best bedding in business class, in partnership with Saks Fifth Avenue. This helps turn the seat into a comfortable sanctuary when reclined.
This includes a standard pillow, a cooling gel pillow, a day blanket, and a duvet. It amazes me how United beats even the top international airlines when it comes to bedding. Honestly, I think bedding is the most underrated soft product investment airlines can make, and it’s not even that expensive to offer, since it’s reusable.
What I was much less impressed by was the Therabody amenity kit, which comes in the form of a “belt bag” (aka fanny pack). I know a certain subset of the fashion world claims that fanny packs are making a comeback, but I don’t think these amenity kits are going to be leading the way for that.
I mean, this would be a great amenity kit on a German bus tour, but for a business class amenity kit on a US airline? Nope…
United’s Polaris business class catering isn’t good
When United Polaris first launched many years ago, a big aspect of this was a completely revamped food and beverage experience. United had everything from a chocolate upon boarding, to wine flights. Goodness, how United has backtracked on that. At this point, I’d say United’s business class catering is worse than American’s, which is saying a lot.
On this flight, dinner was served after takeoff, while breakfast was served before landing. Dinner service began with drinks and mixed nuts (I just had a Diet Coke to drink, but for those wondering, United’s current business class bubbles are Champagne Heidsieck Monopole Blue Top Brut)
While there were theoretically two choices for the appetizer, there was no choice anymore when they got to my seat, so I had the steamed scallop and crab with dried tomato, polenta, tapenade paste, and basil mayonnaise. This was also served with a “baby red leafy” green salad, and a stale roll.
I’m sorry, the appetizer just wasn’t good at all, and I’m someone who likes scallop and crab. It was just… flavorless and mushy. When airlines clearly have low budgets for catering, I wish they stuck to the basics, rather than trying to execute that they can’t do properly, like this.
For the main course, I had the tofu isobeage, with Japanese pepper, happo carrots, taro, shishito peppers, rice, and teriyaki sauce (see OMAAT complainers, still no fish). 😉 I love tofu and that dish sounded quite appealing to me, but it was just painfully bland. With the exception of the teriyaki sauce, the whole dish tasted like nothing.
Also, I’m not sure whether to be impressed that the presentation was semi-decent, or to think that it looks like one of those plastic meal displays outside a restaurant in Japan.
For dessert there was the choice of an ice cream sundae, strawberry mousse, or a cheese plate, and I chose the ice cream. That was about the only part of the meal that was decent.
Then breakfast was served before landing. There was both a Western and Japanese option, though they were out of the Japanese option by the time they got to my seat, so I had the Western option, which was… Belgian waffles with caramelized peaches and toasted pecans.
My gosh, talk about an indulgent breakfast (especially when there’s no choice!), hours after most passengers had an ice cream sundae. It just seems weird to feed a bunch of adults waffles, but then again, perhaps that reflects preferences in the US…
A good crew can make all the difference
The only thing consistent about service at US airlines is that it’s inconsistent. I find that to equally be true on American and United, while Delta on average has a somewhat higher standard of service.
The good news is that on this flight I had a phenomenal flight attendant. Rahul was working the section of the Polaris cabin I was in, and he exemplified what I’d consider perfect service to be at a US airline. It’s not that he was overly formal, but he was kind, genuine, efficient, proactive, and personable.
At a US airline, that’s exactly what I hope for, so I was delighted by the job he did. At the end of the flight, I thanked him for his great service, and he simply responded by saying “I’m just doing my job.” I liked his attitude. It’s worth noting that I’ve now had two long haul flights in a row on US airlines with great service — I also had an excellent experience on my recent American 777 business class flight.
Bottom line
I had a great flight in United’s 777 Polaris business class. The seats were comfortable, the entertainment was great, the bedding was unbeatable, and the service was very friendly. United’s business class catering sure has nosedived since the Polaris concept was announced, though.
All things considered, I’d fly Polaris again in a heartbeat, especially if I lucked out with a good crew. But either way, on United you at least know exactly what to expect in terms of the seat and bedding, and that’s a point of differentiation, if you ask me.
What’s your take on United’s 777 Polaris business class?
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