United Airlines launches new 'Polaris' business class seat, lounges
By David Flynn, June 3 2016
United Airlines will rebrand its international business class service as Polaris, with new seats and airport lounges from December 2016.
The Polaris seat is based on the proprietary Viva design from London's Acumen Design Associates, developed and styled by PriestmanGoode, and will debut on United’s new Boeing 777-300ER fleet by the end of this year.
United will also upgrade its Boeing 777-200 and Boeing 767-300 with the new seat, which will also grace the forthcoming Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
The Polaris seat has a full lie-flat bed length of just over two metres and provide each passenger with direct aisle access plus more personal space around the seat itself.
The seats are interleaved in a unique combination of forward-facing and angled versions...
... intended to maximise the room available to each traveller.
"United Polaris will change the game in international business travel with an exceptional level of relaxation and comfort throughout our customers' journeys," said Oscar Munoz, president and CEO of United.
The suite-like Polaris pods include ample room for working and dining, with a 16-inch HD video screen which can be used on a 'gate to gate' basis and a clever tablet holder in the tray table.
There's also a goodly amount of storage for items you want to keep at hand.
Also part of the Polaris concept: pyjamas (on flights longer than 12 hours) and slippers...
... and custom bedding from Saks Fifth Avenue with plush duvets, lightweight day-blankets and both a large and small pillow for each United Polaris customer.
Fussy flyers can also be supplied with mattress cushions and a gel-cooled pillow.
There are even new amenity kits with eye shades, a 'calming lavender pillow mist' and Cowshed Spa products.
And the meals? Get set for seasonal menus with some uniquely regional touches for each route, developed in partnership with The Trotter Project and its chefs such as Bill Kim of acclaimed Chicago restaurants Urbanbelly, bellyQ and Belly Shack.
Those signature scooped-at-your-seat ice cream sundaes remain, of course, and on daytime flights longer than eight hours and all flights longer than 12 hours, hot mid-flight snacks such as lobster macaroni and cheese will be available.
Not enough? Grab a little something else at the snack bar.
Complementing the new seats, United and PriestmanGoode crafted an all-new look for the Polaris cabins.
Polaris lounges
United will also open what it describes as "an exclusive portfolio" of Polaris business class lounges around the world.
Each Polaris lounge will sport a dining area with a buffet selection and a la carte meals, and a tended bar
The Polaris lounges have been designed by UK-based PriestmanGoode and will each lounge will follow a common design plan with the most active areas at the entrance, followed by the bar and buffet, with the 'calmer' zones – including showers suites and daybed rest pods (below) – further inside the lounge.
PriestmanGoode have also created what's called the Quad chair: a bespoke seat which mimics some of the inflight Polaris on the ground, with coat and bag storage, a pull-out table with integrated tablet holder, and AC/USB charging points.
The first new Polaris lounge will open on United's home turf of Chicago on December 1.
Additional Polaris lounges will roll out the welcome mat at Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New York/Newark, Washington Dulles, Tokyo Narita, Hong Kong and London Heathrow throughout 2017.
For more on the wide-ranging and amitious Polaris concept, check out this video:
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PREVIOUS | United Airlines is expected to reveal its next-generation business class seat this week as the centrepiece of what the Star Alliance member describes as a new premium travel experience.
The new BusinessFirst seat will debut on United’s new Boeing 777-300ER fleet which will begin flying by year’s end.
Although the design remains under wraps until United's media event in New York this Thursday June 2, indications are that the business class cabin will alternate between forward-facing and angled seats.
A floorplan reportedly of United’s Boeing 777-300ER revealed the unique layout, which will allow United to retain its revenue-wringing 2-4-2 seating arrangement of the older Boeing 777s but provide each passenger with direct aisle access.
United's new business class seating layout revealed?
briansumers.com
briansumers.com
“We are heavily focussed on creating an amazing international business class” Mark Krolick, managing director of UA’s Marketing & Product Development arm, told Australian Business Traveller last year.
United’s international premium cabin needs a shot in the arm to help the airline compete against American Airlines and Delta, both of which offer a more modern approach to business class compared to United’s Boeing 777-200 eight-across (2-4-2) business class...
… and the 2-2-2 seating of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
AusBT review: United Airlines Boeing 787 'BusinessFirst' business class
Beyond the new seat United is also tipped to introduce a ‘sleep service’ which could include pyjamas, which are now offered on selected American Airlines and Delta Air Lines international business class routes.
Read: United Airlines considering business class pyjamas
Other creature comforts will include an improved meal service and serving Illy coffee inflight.
Follow Australian Business Traveller on Twitter: we're @AusBT
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
31 Aug 2015
Total posts 121
Eh, having never flown United, I can say that both of those seats on the 87 and 77 look absolutely horrible. The new "experience" should include table-side grilled kobe beef and a personal massage service to call that business class. So underwhelming.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Oct 2013
Total posts 6
Nothing like someone else's shoes and feet within 30cm of your head as you try and sleep. A unique experience indeed.
05 Sep 2014
Total posts 14
I won't hold my breath....
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 439
If it's anything to go by what they said about their 787 flying experience, before they introduced them, then I wont expect anything.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
22 Aug 2013
Total posts 171
hope they upgrade the cabin crew too
20 May 2015
Total posts 579
It looks to me like Acumen's old "Viva" design. Acumen took it off their website but you can still find pics with google or bing image search.
It doesn't look too bad IMO. It will fit well in 777s and Dreamliners. And it has enclosed footwells at least. Its not as generous as a Cirrus but its still a great improvement over the current seats and will be industry-competitive.
But still, United are the airline of last resort for a reason.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 439
I'm sorry, no. No it won't be industry competitive. Even American and Delta are leagues above this, and that is saying something.
One thing I can agree on, however. It will fit well in their 'Dreamliners' since they are already dreadful.
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
Agree, this new J for UA is not bad at all and finally industry-competitive now.
Objectively, it's got all the key design features of the contemporary intercon J benchmark such as flat bed and direct aisle access for every seat.... the same benchmark that is not met by, e.g., the best J of LH anywhere or the best J of QF on say, SYD-LAX route today. But of course, objectively is inconvenient and should not get in the way of rallying hatred towards anything UA so popular among posters here.
Also, I find it really funny when someone here implied earlier that UA's new J is inferior because a pax's feet is only 30cm away from the head of another pax. This person must be blissfully ignorant.....the actual physical distance between the head and toe of diff pax is more or less the same 30cm for the vast majority of J layouts used by almost all intercon carriers including sacred cows SQ and CX. It doesn't matter whether it's fishbone or staggered type layout for J, the only thing separating head fm toe is the partition that forms the sidewall /footwell /sidetable.
On the other hand, I disagree with the author's claim that this layout is 8abreast. Judging fm this seatmap(I hv seen it about 6-7 times since it was unofficially leaked on the internet about 4-5mths ago), it's clearly a slight variation on the popular staggered 4abreast - Try this simple geometric exercise to see nd U'll see why:
1. Lay an imaginary straight line across any part of that seatmap @ 90 degree to the fuselage.
2. Pick any spot/section of a seat(e.g. seat cushion) intersecting that line.
3. U'll see the line crosses the very same spot of the seat exactly 4 times in that seatmap.......4 abreast seating layout by industry definition.
QF
02 Sep 2013
Total posts 6
Looks like United plans to discount their prices. Who would pay a premium price for this layout? And United service?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Aug 2014
Total posts 501
Can't wait for the improved J seat with 1cm extra legroom!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Dec 2012
Total posts 38
I agree with FLX above and disagree with the author too that I don't think this is quite the 2-4-2 that it is today. If the seat map within this article is indeed accurate, it even has the seats as A/A D/D G/G L/L implying that they are marketing them as a 1-2-1 layout. You could argue that it's two 1-2-1 clusters, but I think it's a little unfair to call this 2-4-2.
And while I also agree that DL and AA's seats are still leagues ahead, this does close the competition slightly, and frankly from a hard product I would take this over Emirates' new 777 layout. Yes their soft product and everything else totally eclipses United, but I do think it's funny Emirates still seems to get away with minimal backlash even when they announce something that is woefully outdated; they are the masters of covering the bad with bling and selling it to the masses. United should poach their marketing executive! :)
20 Aug 2012
Total posts 117
A terrible airline.
05 Jun 2012
Total posts 3
Too little, too late. IMHO.
03 Sep 2015
Total posts 7
Is it just me or those new seats look cheap and the colours old school?
Aside from that, it is a big step forward for United.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
Very interesting being a totally custom design.
Looks like another take on a herribgbone design.. Standard facing forward seat that then swivels in bed mode to take on a classic herringbone configuration.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
Edit - After looking again, its actually a 1x2x1 stagger
20 May 2015
Total posts 579
Yep. Acumen's Viva. No surprises.
Seriously, this is a massive leap for United. Fully lie flat beds with more privacy, more amenity, direct aisle access, storage space, bedding and pyjamas on 12hr+ flights? That's actually a genuinely competitive product. The design looks nicely futuristic too. It'll fit on a huge array of plane types also.
Sure, the branding may be a little atypical but United are at least trying something new. And I don't think they've ever tried anything new.
United are still, well, not a particularly good airline, but they're obviously trying to get better.
I think the real problem though is they have a monolithic "comfort canyon" between their 9/10-abreast economy and their Polaris class. Seriously, they could address this by making Main Cabin Extra a bit more Extra... i.e. 9-abreast MCE in 777s and 8-abreast MCE in Dreamliners. That plus perhaps free champagne and they wouldn't actually need a "true" Premium Economy product.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Apr 2012
Total posts 319
While I applaud the effort... especially for a U.S based carrier...(competition is bliss), how exactly will this ""change the game in international business travel" ?
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
"...how exactly will this "change the game in international business travel"?"
Possibly by rolling out flat bed+direct aisle access in J on key UA intercon routes where the strongest competitors offer lower seat specs/std such as LAX-SYD by QF, FRA-EWR(NYC) by LH, PEK-JFK(NYC) by CA, etc., etc.
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
12 Sep 2011
Total posts 335
Absulutely QF on A380 is crappy business class - absoulutely not better than UA BusinessFirst PMCO style - and al least the UA PMCO BusinessFirst seats are truly flat So it is a game changer - the LH seats Ive not even tried - which seem only marginally better than the older LH slantbeds on the A380 I was part of a trial for LH FRA-JFK a few years ago The C seats we were trialling then were like CX at least in the middle seats Window seating for 2 with no direct aisle access
SQ still fly their inferior C slant beds to Adelaide and these are a rude shock when connecting from LH F A380 to SQ A330 C So basically all airlines are guilty of penny pinching, not just UA At least UA and LH dont charge credit card surcharges and there is the possibility to pay in local currencies so you avoid foreign exchange fees!
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
"..basically all airlines are guilty of penny pinching.."
And no doubt under the indirect instruction fm shareholders thru the board of the airlines aiming to maximize return on invested capital /share prices.
So all shareholders/investors in airlines are ultimately guilty of seeking to maximize return on their precious money. They should give their money away to airlines to buy the best F or J seat designs in existence for less fare or even free like gov'ts(Or taxpayers) everywhere used to do decades ago when they still owned flag carriers 100%.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
31 Aug 2015
Total posts 121
This is a much welcome improvement and I may consider this when flying to the States, but I still can't help but feel that they should have introduced something new when their 787's first arrived. It's way too late.
03 Jun 2016
Total posts 1
A bit off the seat topic - I am not a United hater, but I haven't flown United for years because of their miserable existing long haul business class seat. The new seat looks more reasonable and I might consider flying United once the new seats are installed. Does anyone have experience with the United IFE headphones. I have found the AA headphones to be more generously sized and comfortable than others - in particular those provided by BA (another terrible 2-4-2 business class cabin to avoid if at all possible). The AA headphones fit around and cradle my ear, whereas the BA headphones are so tiny that they mash my ear against my head.
29 Mar 2014
Total posts 78
AA headphones are class-leading, no doubt about it. Absolutely the best headphones you can find on an aircraft in any cabin, even if you're flying AA biz, which is saying something. Bose FTW!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
19 Aug 2011
Total posts 165
In other words, goodbye Global First. Another international airline drops long haul first class, admittedly one that really was just a good business class.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 439
Wasn't even a good business class..
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
And UA bidding goodbye to Int'l F load system-wide mostly filled by FFP redemption/not actually earning F fare for over a decade...
03 Jun 2016
Total posts 2
Is it me or is the passenger eating his meal directly of his lap? I can't see a table tray or table tray stowage in any of the pics
25 Sep 2013
Total posts 1242
Haha now that you point it out!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Apr 2012
Total posts 319
To maximise space, we have introduced a business class game changing lap eating service...
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
Is U plus possibly 2 more posters aligning with your comment.
See photo 5 fm the top for the direct overhead seat map showing @ least 3 pax using a std sized table extended fm the side wall /armrest.
In other words, classic jumping to negative conclusion re UA so popular among posters here....almost like a sport re how many things U can identify U hate about UA....
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
19 Feb 2014
Total posts 439
It certainly looks up to par, maybe a little cramped as far as total area goes comparing to other legacy carriers, but definitely a vast improvement. Well done.
However, maybe United should now focus on their 1/10 customer service and inflight catering.
21 Apr 2012
Total posts 3006
Assuming UA retains its competitive pricing on the AU/US sector, these changes ups the potential and benefit of retaining Aegean Gold for SQ economy class travel in Asia Pacific. I believe one AU/US sector in J is suffices to retain Gold.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
22 Apr 2013
Total posts 143
This is the seat that UA's 789's SHOULD have been delivered with.
A great step forward. Brings UA up to at least their other US based competitors.
One thing I just can't get my head around, is the tapered backrest leading up to the head rest. This means little to no shoulder support as most people (at least, most men) have shoulders wider than the seat itself. I'm seeing multiple US carriers adopting this design - AA have done the same on their new trans-con domestic lay-flat seating, as have HA on their new J seat.
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
"This is the seat that UA's 789 SHOULD have been delivered with.."
But when the 1st 787 was delivered to UA in 2012, this new J design, along with customization for UA, did not even existed(Not even as a design blueprint and in fact, still not installed on any UA aircraft as of today)......there's a chronological issue with your statement.
I'm guessing many posters here are unaware that CO placed its 1st order for 787 11yrs ago and UA(Itself ordered some 787 in 09) inherited that order after merger in 2010. Like normal airline practice, CO selected & COMMITTED(i.e. certain quantity of a specific seat product U committed to buy fm supplier) to the J design for 787 only a few yrs after its initial order circa 2008. Moreover, flatbed with direct aisle access for J was still uncommon /just emerging around 2007-08. After merger, all UA 787 on order for near-term delivery(e.g. J seats for 1st 30-35 frames) simply aligned around the same J design already selected by CO yrs ago for obvious scale+product consistency reasons.
In a nutshell, the fundamental reason why all UA 787s(Not just 789) are delivered with their current J design is due to a decision made 8yrs ago in a diff era by a predecessor carrier which had a much much smaller intercon network and didn't even really served AU(Except CNS-GUM).
Once committed to a seat design for large number of airframe deliveries(UA hv 787 x49 on firm order or over 6times more than QF), it's very costly for a buyer to get out of or convert the deal with supplier.
Of course, it's always easy to criticize a decision made nearly a decade ago.....hindsight is always 20/20 perfect.
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
12 Sep 2011
Total posts 335
Good to see this from UA The demise of GlobalFirst to/from AU was a step backwards for UA QF does not offer anything better than UA to/from USA in C Last schlepp on QF A380 from MEL-LAX in C reminded me why I stick to Star Alliance carriers Unfortunately I even have to fly the old boiler 747 in C on QF to HKG to pick up LX F on 777 soon
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
12 Sep 2011
Total posts 335
Oh and on A RECENT AWARD SCHLEPP when I did BA F on 777 from SYD-SIN and got to use the rancid QF F lounge in SYD (Love my LH F terminal, F lounges at MUC and FRA LX F lounges at A and E Gates in ZRH!!!!!) BA F is not anything better than UA new C is offering, and the presentation of the UA PJs looks suspisciously like the presentation of PJs in BA F - is this a PriestmanGoode thing?
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
"...demise of GlobalFirst....was a step backwards for UA..."
Actually, it's a logical step forward for UA seat product investment discipline precisely due to many folks doing similar as per your statement as below:
"...on A RECENT AWARD SCHLEPP when I did BA F..."
Except very few upscale(i.e. corp travel policy which still allow F) biz heavy intercon routes worldwide, F capacity is largely not earning F fare but mostly stay empty or used by FFP redemptions......about the worst justifications any airline can find to reinvest in F.
05 Jun 2012
Total posts 3
Those seats look awfully narrow to me. I have to agree with others, UA needs a competitive Premium Economy product to remotely stay competitive in the current market.
Delta Air Lines - SkyMiles
14 Apr 2013
Total posts 325
Hope that UA fits these new Business Seats on the B787-8 & -9 models as well.
It would bring up the standard offered on these plans but only just compared to the other US based airlines
09 May 2015
Total posts 33
That looks like a really premium product...seems UA is really stepping up their game on long-haul international routes. It looks like they're back in consideration for my Asia-USA hops after a decade flying Asian carriers.
07 Feb 2016
Total posts 21
I really applaud the minute but notable innovation in the seating layout, mixing completely forward facing seats and angled seats, in a bid to offer optimal private space. The 1-2-1 staggered configuration is also a good selection, especially with regard to aisle access. No one likes climbing over their fellow passengers. Overall, the new 'Polaris' seems to be a good premium product and a much needed upgrade over their current Boeing 777 and 787 BusinessFirst seats.
I am slightly sceptical about United's decision to fit the Boeing 767 and 787-10 with the Polaris. Their inferior cabin width in comparison to the Boeing 777-300ER and even the Airbus A350-1000 will impact seat width. Perhaps United will change the layout to 1-1-1/1-2-1 (rows alternating between 1-1-1 and 1-2-1) in those aircrafts, putting one forward seat in the middle flanked by two angled versions in the next row. But that is just a speculation on my part.
I am also not sure about United introducing a new set of lounges just for a specific cabin type. It appears to be unnecessary expenditure. It may be better off upgrading its exisiting facilities if wants to renew airport experience for passengers. Excluding access to United Club and MileagePlus members also seems to be a very immature decision.
UA *Gold Lifetime
18 Dec 2015
Total posts 11
I think the Polaris concept is great. It ticks the privacy and direct aisle access boxes much better than the newly announced emirates 777 offering at 2-3-2.
Also like that the lounges (where available) will offer a real meal preflight to maximise sleep on short night flights.
What I don't like is that they don't appear to be planning on rolling this product out onto the existing 787-8 and -9 that serves Australia / NZ.
Given SYD/MEL - US is true long haul, I hope they review the aircraft serving these routes. Ironic given we used to see 3 X 747 daily. At least bring back the refurbished 777-200's with this new Polaris product if you really want to compete with QF/AA/VA
The old CO product on the 787 is SO grim and impersonal IMHO.
Nice to have something new to be excited about on the friendly skies
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
"Ironic given we used to see 3 x 747 daily"
How so? U honestly believe the Trans-Pcf mkt and aircraft tech hv NOT changed dramatically since the days when UA sent 747 x3 daily to AU? I clearly remember it's an era when essentially only 2 players were allowed in that mkt well before today when 5 players(i.e. against 1 competitor before vs against 4 competitors today or 400% increase in the degree of mkt competition....and I don't think the mkt has grown 400% over the decades) are chasing after similar Trans-Pcf customers each with full freedom to add/reduce capacity or change fares @ will.
"bring back the refurbished 777-200's with this new Polaris product if you really want to compete with QF/AA/VA."
I'm guessing U're referring purely to inflight product std but not mkt share/dominace(i.e. AA or VA is much smaller than UA in the U.S.-AU mkt). But then pls educate me in what tech aspects are UA's current J being inferior to Skybed II deployed by QF in that mkt?
Until then and objectively speaking, if your priority is the best J product available in the AU-U.S. mkt, U should choose AA or VA and forget about QF or UA. Claiming UA's J is inferior to QF's J is like the pot sneering @ the kettle for being black.
Like it or not fm the J product std aspects, there's no hurry for UA to move to Polaris until QF move to BusinessSuites on AU-U.S. routes.
"..old CO product on the 787 is SO grim and impersonal..."
And U honestly believe no other J pax in this mkt think the old QF Skybed II is just as(Or even more) grim and impersonal as the old CO J product on 787? Either way, I seriously doubt personal styling preference(i.e. nothing to do with pax comfort nor convenience level) re J seat design QF vs CO/UA has any tangible impact to overall relative mkt competitiveness.
23 Jul 2012
Total posts 21
'Polaris', isn't / wasn't that a nuclear powered submarine - strange name.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 14
It's a star. The North Star. Probably relevant to the Stary Alliance.
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
And United probably stands for ausbt.com.au posters UNITED against UA....
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
1st, others here picking on the colour scheme(Btw, that's UA's corp colours so should we really be expecting any other colors?) of this UA product. Then now, picking on the name of the product....
Wow, hatred of UA here really hv no bounds....may be UA murdered some Australian pax yrs ago.
Air New Zealand - Airpoints
16 May 2015
Total posts 4
POLARISING ........sorry but since when have United delivered anything truly innovative , this isn't even playing catch up. It's playing " we are sorry our old offering was so bad" ...both hard and soft but hey " look at us now" no thanks but others can tell me is this service offered at 30% less. Ummmm look at va offering to USA .....
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
"...since when have United delivered anything truly innovative."
By that std, which player in AU-U.S. has in recent yrs?
I wouldn't dare to name DL despite the fact(Again, an inconvenient thing for posters here) that it was the 1st player to introduce flat bed with direct aisle access in J and remains as the only player to offer such product for 6yrs+ in that mkt.
Of course, the party line here is still no U.S. airline is innovative in inflight products....
"look at va offering to USA..."
I hv and noticed that AA(Sadly another U.S. carrier I assume...) has beaten VA to the same game in J by 2mths earlier this yr.
Of course, AA's J has inferior styling/colour scheme than VA's and as a result, will be non-competitive against VA. The fact that AA has large OneWorld hubs on both ends while VA doesn't(Partner DL's hub ops @ LAX is tiny) must be irrelevant to mkt competitivenss....
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
13 Mar 2015
Total posts 79
I’m not a big fan of UA at all, but being fair and objective, I think this it is a bit accomplishment for them and for the airline industry. I’m hopping that at least one of my flights in Jan 2017 will include the new 773ER we will see.
Many people here seems to have an opinion on paper but not in reality… like have the feet of other next to your face… well every “cubicle” or “pod” have divisional walls and I haven’t flying with other’s feet on my face. Some others mention that they are not compatible with the industry… well bad news for them because they are, you just have to fly NH, LX or OS to find out that these UA seats have some similar distribution, but with more efficiency because they can allocate more seats without compromising much the comfort.
Try JL, NH, AC, CX, AA, BA and AF where when you are in, the sensation of space is not that great.. a bit claustrophobic like in NH, JL and BA… narrow seats with walls around everywhere…CX, AC, AA and AF have a much more feeling but still not that ‘spacious” a seat that become flat bed and you sleep or lounge with very minimalist surround and so much “plastic” not many “natural” touches.
If you go into a long haul fleet of LX or OS, you will see in the left hand side of K seats that are positioned very similar to UA, but straight facing the front, UA reduced the space a bit more positioning some in angle and looks that a bit narrower… but that auxiliary table in “stone” gives a nice touch and they are very useful at all time.
Like the touches of “wood” and some fabrics to warm a bit the environment and not so much plastic like AC, and the little touches in thru the cabin… very important.
But what it calls my attention on this is what the author mention about the “Exclusivity” of the lounge for Business Class only passengers… almost like a Fist Class treatment… in the newsletter that I receved from Mileage Plus doesn’t specify… however, if that is the case it would be amazing, because I’m tired of lounges where the noise level is increasing, hard to find a seat at peak hours, and love the idea of having a full meal before flying to enjoy my airtime more to sleep or work or just lounging.
The KEY component here would be that UA become more on-time and their people change their attitude and become more friendly and professional, without the bitch attitude that become a UA “signature” that make fly in other airline… AA and DL change their attitude time ago and their flights are so pleasant and on-time
31 Mar 2016
Total posts 619
"...auxillary table in "stone' gives a nice touch and they are very useful at all time....touches of wood and some fabrics to warm a bit the environment..."
Agree and for me, the most attractive styling touch of Polaris is that stylish little lamp above the side table. It exudes a warm feeling(Like a side table lamp @ home) and clearly practical but uncommon even among the best J of CX, SQ, NH, OZ, EK and , QR(All SkyTrax 5* carriers). Even QF's latest J only gives U a typical spot light. I can only recall seeing similar design feature on the latest J of CI and the F of LH/LX.
It's the collection of small, thoughtful design touches on Polaris that I believe UA intercon product strategy has fundamentally shifted fm its past(Well, more like 2 diff & unrelated past with 1 of CO + 1 of pre-merger UA....Polaris is the 1st truly new J produced by a merged UA). While fellow U.S. Big3 intercon players DL and AA(Plus AC in Canada) settle with off-the-shelf J design with little to no customization, U can tell UA has spent a lot more development hours(May be not that much more in terms of manufacturing$) on Polaris.
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