Questions and Answers

Hi all – Booking a ticket for my 84 year old grandmother to fly LHR-IAD on May 5 and LAX-LHR on Aug 31. Due to her age and my desire to be repay her for being the best grandmother ever (not a lie), I want her to fly comfortably. I’m looking at UA and ideally want her to try the new Polaris flights but I’m not entirely sure how to know that’s what I’m booking (knowing that it could always change). When looking at the seat map the 787 has angled seating. Have any of UA’s 787s been upgraded to the new seats? And if not, any reason to avoid the 787 business class?

Thanks!

Hi Amit. Unfortunately none of the 787s will be upgraded to the new Polaris seats by May. The only routes by then will be San Francisco to Hong Kong and Newark to Tel Aviv.

She would receive the upgraded Polaris service (food, amenities, bedding), but not the nicest seat possible.

Is there a reason you’re leaning towards United? Are you purchasing the ticket or redeeming miles?

I can probably answer my own question, ha. I assume since she’s 84 you are only looking at nonstop options?

[QUOTE=”rickyw, post: 28764, member: 1436″]Hi Amit. Unfortunately none of the 787s will be upgraded to the new Polaris seats by May. The only routes by then will be San Francisco to Hong Kong and Newark to Tel Aviv.

She would receive the upgraded Polaris service (food, amenities, bedding), but not the nicest seat possible.

Is there a reason you’re leaning towards United? Are you purchasing the ticket or redeeming miles?[/QUOTE]

Likely going with United because it has a direct flight to DC and it’s cheaper than BA and other airlines. I normally fly with AA and could redeem for a biz class but it would be to Philly which leaves a 3 hour drive home. Also if the 787 can actually help with jet lag and make the flight more comfortable for her I’m okay with spending a little extra for that.

Makes sense! Would you consider BWI instead of Dulles? British does fly a 787 there.

Also, may be worth looking at Virgin. They do fly an A330 to Dulles, but on the return they fly a Dreamliner out of LAX. They seem to only be $20 more expensive on your dates.

Lucky’s thoughts here from a couple years back: [URL]http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/10/06/virgin-atlantic-upper-class/[/URL]

[USER=2573]@Amit M[/USER] if you are still open for options for the inbound (LAX-LHR), you can consider Air New Zealand. Although I’ve never flown them, the seats on the 777 are on a 1-2-1 configuration, which might provide your grandmother with privacy.

[IMG]http://onemileatatime.img.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Air-New-Zealand-777.jpg[/IMG]