Tomorrow is a big day for United Airlines, as the Chicago-based carrier is expected to officially unveil its new Polaris business class seats. However, the first pictures have just leaked ahead of the reveal.
In this post:
United hints at big announcement for May 13
On Instagram, United is teasing a big reveal for Tuesday, May 13, 2025. A short video simply shows what looks like aircraft windows, with text moving across the screen, reading “BE THE FIRST TO KNOW.” Between each of the words, there’s a picture of one detail of what’s presumably the new cabin.
The airline is hosting an event in Brooklyn tomorrow, which select media and MileagePlus members have been invited to attend. Connecting the dots, it seems pretty clear that this is what the announcement is in reference to.
Here’s a further fun twist — as flagged by reader raylan, the first picture of the new seats from the event has actually been leaked on Reddit. It’s not necessarily the clearest picture, but it gives us a good sense of the updated design.
United introduced its current Polaris business class back in late 2016, so we’re approaching a decade of the current product being in service. United has done a great job with product consistency across the wide body fleet, though presumably United will be trading that consistency for an upgraded and somewhat flashier product.
What we know about United’s new Polaris business class
While nothing is 100% sure, all signs point to United introducing its new Polaris business class product on newly delivered Boeing 787-9s. Not only will the upcoming batch of 787s feature new cabins, but they’ll also be in the most premium configuration we’ve ever seen from the airline, with 64 Polaris business class seats.
I certainly could be mistaken, though my guess is that United’s new Polaris business class will be a customized version of the Adient Ascent seat. That’s because the seat maps that we’ve seen leaked so far shown a mix of reverse herringbone seats along the windows, and herringbone seats along the center. There aren’t many modern products with that layout, other than the Adient Ascent configuration. The above pictures also match that, best I can tell.
Qatar Airways was the launch customer for this product, on its Boeing 787-9s, and Hawaiian Airlines was the second airline to introduce this product, also on the 787-9s. This is also American’s new 787-9 business class, for its newly delivered premium jets.
The expectation is that United will also have a “premium business class” product in the first row, featuring extra space and amenities. It remains to be seen how that will be sold (whether it’s a fixed upgrade fee for any Polaris passenger, or what).
Ultimately this isn’t going to be some sort of earth shattering business class product, but:
- It’ll feature doors at business class seats, which is increasingly becoming the norm
- You can expect greatly updated tech, from bluetooth audio to USB-C charging, which is just a function of the seat being introduced in recent times (seat tech has come a long way in the past few years)
- Ultimately there’s lots of merit to picking one of the “off the shelf” products, since you don’t want to end up in a never-ending certification and supply chain constraint loop, like what we’ve seen with Lufthansa Allegris
So I could be wrong, but that’s my guess, and we should find out all the details in under 24 hours…
Bottom line
United Airlines is making a big announcement tomorrow, and it’s expected that the airline will be unveiling its new business class product. While we don’t officially know any details yet (aside from the above leak), I think it’s likely that the airline selects the Adient Ascent product, with a front row “business class plus” experience.
What are you expecting from United’s new Polaris announcement? Get your guesses in now!
I"ll never understand this 'door fascination/fetish' ...
I hate to think of the absolute waste of $$ & fuel in permanently hauling around that weight penalty not to mention any mechanical issues or unnecessary crew staffing/FAA requirements over such an overrated, silly 'amenity'....
My only other question: from that 'undercover, sneak' pic, where onboard does one store that huge big black tire !
Problem with current Polaris is the difference and desirability of the seats. The angled seats are not as good. Having all seats the same is the best arrangement. And eliminate a fake console at the bulk head allows for the extra room first row.
United may have introduced its current Polaris business class back in late 2016, but when did it finish? According to TPG, it was in 2023. So you are giving United a lot more credit than they deserve. I'm no fan of Delta, but Delta's entire int'l fleet was business direct aisle access in 2016.
How long will this new retrofit take? As will it be made in America, or will it be delayed due to the Orange man's tariff war.
United may have introduced its current Polaris business class back in late 2016, but when did it finish? According to TPG, it was in 2023. So you are giving United a lot more credit than they deserve. I'm no fan of Delta, but Delta's entire int'l fleet was business direct aisle access in 2016.
How long will this new retrofit take? As will it be made in America, or will it be delayed due to the Orange man's tariff war.
Is this the alleged premium world class airline that will take over Delta and join the likes of Qatar, Emirates and ANA? United's CEO is nuts to think he will lead this company to the top with this mediocre business seat, first American now United, feeding avgeeks mediocre cabins to state they can become the only premium airline in the US.
I bet they will come up with something dissapointing and basic like AA did.
Are we really not commenting on the fact that United was charging 40,000 miles for a ticket to the Brooklyn Navy Yard for this event tomorrow night?
As for the location - anything to not be in Newark!
Poor Lufthansa lmao. Didn't we all agree Allegris was on par with Polaris 1?
As others have said, the current Polaris hard product is quite good and has good privacy. That said, the seats are noticeably and disappointingly narrower on 787s than on 777s, so perhaps this new product helps solve this problem. Also appears to have doors if I am interpreting the photo correctly.
I wonder if the "Champagne Button" that they were proposing in that online focus group a bunch of us did made its way into the final product!
Objectively better than DL on day 1
I wonder why Delta doesn't use (more) wood trim in their finishes? Maybe they're headed in that direction starting with their A35Ks on order?
On the product consistency point, I think that matters more if you have a common / base product that is bad.
At least for me, I'm happy with the current Polaris seat - so if that's the default that I get and I occasionally get a new plane / new seats, great. But it's not as if I would go out of my way or book a specific time/route for the new seat since...
On the product consistency point, I think that matters more if you have a common / base product that is bad.
At least for me, I'm happy with the current Polaris seat - so if that's the default that I get and I occasionally get a new plane / new seats, great. But it's not as if I would go out of my way or book a specific time/route for the new seat since the current one is solid.
Lufthansa is a perfect counter point. Their old seat is horrible at this point. Uncomfortable, not all-aisle access, no privacy, etc. etc. So if you were trying to get Allegris and got swapped to the old business class product you'd be understandably upset. That is where product consistency, or lack thereof, poses an issue.
Probs an unpopular take, but UA's current business is better and cooler than Qatar's/other's generic seat. Aisle seats are no bueno, but Polaris is good, and does have a special feel. Not anymore with those new seats.
I agree in that I prefer Polaris to Qatar's 787 product though my biggest complaints with that seat were more to do with how open and exposed it felt. So if they address that with dividers and doors it should be fine.
And that's why Polaris was pretty well designed in the first place. I don't mind that it doesn't have doors because I can't ever see others next to or around me with the staggered layout and divider positions.
All I see is a screen that’ll make AA’s look like a flip phone.
Why does United always have to be so ridiculous with their announcements? It makes you want to slap someone, just to get simple information out of them.
"We've added six new routes. Play this stupid scavenger hunt game to find out where!"
"We have new seats on order. But we're going to treat it like a Bigfoot sighting, and you'll be staring at grainy spy photos for months!"
"We're going to be throwing six...
Why does United always have to be so ridiculous with their announcements? It makes you want to slap someone, just to get simple information out of them.
"We've added six new routes. Play this stupid scavenger hunt game to find out where!"
"We have new seats on order. But we're going to treat it like a Bigfoot sighting, and you'll be staring at grainy spy photos for months!"
"We're going to be throwing six of you out the door, mid-flight. Sing the Duck Tales theme song to find out if it's gonna be you!"
The nerve of these social media tweens, milking buzz out of simply aggravation.
I mean...it works. I wouldn't have noticed a number of their announcements (other than through this blog) but have paid more attention because of the teasers. It's a pretty standard marketing tactic...
If it bothers you so much, stop paying attention to these posts.
Agreed ! ... It's almost as insulting & cheesy as the news media's 'Breaking News' and/or "Details @ 11" come-ons or the National Enquirer or being shamed at retail checkout to 'round up' or donate to some charity.... Funny, I've never been asked to 'round down' !
But actually charging $ or miles to attend the event hits a new low unless UA offered to make an in-kind donation to a charity (other than...
Agreed ! ... It's almost as insulting & cheesy as the news media's 'Breaking News' and/or "Details @ 11" come-ons or the National Enquirer or being shamed at retail checkout to 'round up' or donate to some charity.... Funny, I've never been asked to 'round down' !
But actually charging $ or miles to attend the event hits a new low unless UA offered to make an in-kind donation to a charity (other than their CEO or board, of course , even though they are truly needy in terms of compassion & morals ! ) ...
Someone on Reddit claiming to work the event grounds seems to have snapped some pictures. This person is likely soon to be fired but the pics seem to look legit!
https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedairlines/comments/1kl257k/uniteds_new_polaris/
Reminds me of CXs A350s when you mentioned that the existing product is about a decade old, but I digress.
With the 77Ws getting ripe, I think it'd make sense for them to get retrofitted first while the 772s can slowly get retired with plenty of 787s coming in. Unless of course they plan on keeping the latter longer.
Given that United is in star alliance, it will be way better than Delta which is in skyteam
totally agree. anything outside of sky team is better than anything in sky team
since you went there, doors are clearly "the thing" in business class; whether anyone thinks they are important is not the point. half to 2/3 of people on aircraft w/ doors use them.
DL already has about 60 350s and 339s with suites with doors and is reportedly soon starting on its 330CEO fleet. They will easily have 100 widebodies with suites in a couple years.
AA just rolled out its first aircraft w/...
since you went there, doors are clearly "the thing" in business class; whether anyone thinks they are important is not the point. half to 2/3 of people on aircraft w/ doors use them.
DL already has about 60 350s and 339s with suites with doors and is reportedly soon starting on its 330CEO fleet. They will easily have 100 widebodies with suites in a couple years.
AA just rolled out its first aircraft w/ suites and is taking delivery of about as many new 787s as UA this year as UA while retrofitting 77Ws.
As Ben has noted, LH's premium cabin upgrades have been an unmitigated disaster.
on an alliance basis, Star is probably in last place in terms of suite rollouts and will remain that way for quite a while.
wrong. sky team is the worst and the most behind
the one thing star alliance has got going for it is that it is not skyteam. I'd rather sit on a pedestal for everyone to see in the middle of economy on United than in a Delta One suite.
"half to 2/3 of people on aircraft w/ doors use them."
Because they're there, so why not use it.
But the pertinent question is, would those same people book away or spend less, if the "doors" weren't there? Highly doubtful.
It's an interesting comparison because UA leads at the moment on product consistency (Polaris everywhere, which is a pretty decent product for catching Zs), while DL is leapfrogging on a lot of their fleet, but has just absolute DOG J on their 763s...and those planes will be around until 2030 on a lot of routes. And AA is going to have similar fleet inconsistency between Concept D, Super Diamond, and their new stuff.
Presumably, UA has ordered enough new seats of whatever they unveil (if it is a new seat) to be able to do more than the current number of 787s in production - which will be less than about 10 this year, although UA has been expecting more new aircraft for a year.
No seat manufacturer has huge amounts of surplus manufacturing capacity so it will take years for UA to retrofit its existing fleet even...
Presumably, UA has ordered enough new seats of whatever they unveil (if it is a new seat) to be able to do more than the current number of 787s in production - which will be less than about 10 this year, although UA has been expecting more new aircraft for a year.
No seat manufacturer has huge amounts of surplus manufacturing capacity so it will take years for UA to retrofit its existing fleet even if they get new seats for retrofit at a rate of 2-3 times the rate of new build aircraft. And of course there is time to retrofit aircraft.
and there will be a certain number of aircraft that UA chooses not to retrofit because they cannot get an ROI in the remaining time before the aircraft has to be retired.
It will be interesting to see how different AA and UA's products will be if they both end up using the same platform
christ, the ban wasn't enough to get you to stay away?
Jesus, he actually has the balls to show up again. Clearly he didn’t use his free (ban) time to solve his mental issues.
seriously. get (permanent) help, tim
@Dim Tim @ Eduardo_br
What is wrong with you both? The poster made a reasonable post and all you contribute was this crap. Would you people please stop and stop trying to shut up anyone. The poster has just as much right to be here. If you don't want to see his posts, simply move on. This is getting childish and beyond inane now.
we'll take that as a tacit admission that UA will be the last of the big 3 in the suite dept. for quite some time.
Just debate the topic; when you two have to resort to character assassination, it shows that you have lost the debate.
wrong. UA leading and DL most far behind. no DL aircraft has suites with doors and none ever will. all UA a/c already have doors
Tim for Involuntary Commitment
Is it really character assasination, though?
:)
I’d say it was suicide.
"christ, the ban wasn't enough to get you to stay away?"
Didn't Ben DIRECTLY ask you on another thread to stop using a parody name, and stop trying to rile him up.
You're as bad as he is, especially since his post was actually on topic.
no u
"Polaris First" incoming...
"... reading “TO KNOW BE THE FIRST.”"
I read this a bit differently ;)
@ Lukas -- Lol, whoops, my mistake. Sorry, it has been a long day, which is a topic for a separate post.
In all fairness, I still think the current product is a really good and competitive one.
At least in terms of the seat and bedding.
As you specified, the seats themselves are perfectly fine and comfortable. The 1-1-1 layout, which is featured on so many leisure routes, is so dumb. There's just no good way to put couples, let alone families, together in that product. Especially since many seats will have already been taken when you go to ticket.
The 1-1-1 layout is usually reserved for business-heavy routes (West coast to NYC, NYC-London, etc) no?
@NSFW off the top of my head, they fly it from Newark to Nice, Dubrovnik, Barcelona, Berlin. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few others. Those summer routes are primarily leisure travel. I do agree with Jetset, but I find the 2-2 seats are generally much more spacious so I actually don't mind them (i.e. Turkish, LOT, etc).
Do people really need to engage that much with their spouse during a flight? Obviously I choose adjoining seats when flying together with my partner if available, but if they aren't, it doesn't really impact the flying experience.
Now it's a fair complaint and challenge with kids - especially if random seats around the cabin are taken. I hate changing seats but the one exception I make is for families traveling together especially when colocated...
Do people really need to engage that much with their spouse during a flight? Obviously I choose adjoining seats when flying together with my partner if available, but if they aren't, it doesn't really impact the flying experience.
Now it's a fair complaint and challenge with kids - especially if random seats around the cabin are taken. I hate changing seats but the one exception I make is for families traveling together especially when colocated options may not have been available even months out.
However, I'd rather give up the option to sit next to my partner, than be stuck crawling over a stranger in a 2-2 configuration when airlines continue to offer that...