YOWgary

The photo I posted is representative of what you're most likely to get on a long-haul United flight in the next year or more.

I'm sure all three of the Polaris planes are very nice, what with United finally discovering basically the same pods AC have been flying for what, two years now, and several other carriers for years longer than that. When the Polaris rollout is finished in a couple of years, United and AC will finally have relatively comparable J seating, but for now, United's 2-4-2 nonsense should really be classed as very nice Premium Economy.

It's great that one of the United lounges in Chicago is nice now. Basically every other United Club in the world is still a total dump.

It's great that they got new blankets, and are working on passable food.

Overall, to me, this represents United finally getting up on one knee, after years lying face down in the mud.

If I were an AC exec trying to win over pax who have to choose between YOW-YYZ-PVG and YOW-ORD-PVG, or between SEA-SFO-HKG and SEA-YVR-HKG, I wouldn't be losing a ton of sleep over Cole Haan socks.

Wpgjetse

You are the perfect customer branding people look for. Falling for the made up promo offerings.

capedreamer

For those claiming that AC domestic J is superior to UA domestic F (which is really just J), when was the last time you flew UA?

IME, UA has meaningfully improved its catering, both on the ground and in the air, and I now prefer its domestic product to AC.

For international flights, UA's J catering is leaps and bounds ahead of AC. And while UA's hard product still lags behind (especially on the 8-across 777s), that will change with the new Polaris product.

So yes, AC should really take note.

SparseFlyer

Honestly, although all these bed sheets and ... kissing perks seem good, I can't help to think that most of these things are completely useless to most of ACs high margin clients.

I feel like most frequent spenders will care more about peace and quite and getting from A to B as efficiently as possible, and not about getting a 33rd amenity kit to add to the closet...

Wpgjetse

Last Nov. UA short haul J is close to AC's. Any flight over 3 hours, UA has a long way to go compared to AC. Polaris is just a marketing term, for their new J, that are smaller than AC's currents wide body seats.

SparseFlyer

What do you mean marketing terms?

It's not just J, bro, it's P.O.L.A.R.I.S.

Jumper Jack

Well, if one can actually sleep on their side without that stupid tray table on POLARIS then even if its a smaller I guess some might be okay with it?

capedreamer

I'm curious what makes you think that?

My comparison of the two is largely based on transcons (SFO/YVR-YYZ/YUL vs. SFO-IAD/EWR), and I would say:

In-flight food: UA much better than AC
In-flight service: A draw
Seats: A draw
IFE: I rely on BYOD, and UA's in-flight wifi is more ubiquitous and more reliable
Lounge food: UA better than AC as UA has upped its game while AC has dramatically cut back its domestic/TB lounge offerings
Lounge decor: UA better than AC as new/revamped United Clubs are increasingly rolled out

Fiordland

Ah amenity kits, those half open things that are sitting on the floor in the J cabin after it arrives at its final destination.

capedreamer

Btw, for those who haven't experience UA domestic J/F catering recently, here are some random examples plucked from the UA forum:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27636647-post915.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27539411-post866.html
www.flyertalk.com/forum/27761837-post34.html
www.flyertalk.com/forum/27734766-post9.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27559840-post879.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27580978-post893.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27558777-post878.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27556375-post877.html
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27524207-post859.html

Just from the pictures, it's obvious that in terms of quantity, variety, and presentation, these are better than what AC offers on comparable routes. And if you read the comments, they are generally quite positive. Compare that to the at-best mixed reviews that dominate this forum re: AC's J catering.

I firmly believe that the conventional "wisdom" that AC's domestic J is superior to UA's (or AA/DL's for that matter) is an outdated view.

lcohen999

I would just be happy if AC retired that Omelette

It is been exactly the same for almost 10 years, if not longer

Wpgjetse

By flying both products multi X per year.

Wpgjetse

The last amenity kit I even looked at was Eva's. Mostly because of the Rimowa case, which I still have. After my second one, I have not even opens a Eva kit since then. As Sparseflyer said, who needs 33 amenity kits. I think these kits have zero effect on Frequent international travellers.

eastcoastcan

I was eating some pickles yesterday, after my 13th TATL in a year, and was staring at the Amenity kit that I for some reason took with me off the plane. Have done most long hauls with AC, but a few with Virgin and United each and one with Delta all in biz/first, I was struck by just how paltry the AC kit is in comparison.

When paying cash for a J fare, the flimsy socks and promotional lip balm/body cream get a little old. Don't get me started on the toothbrush that leaves bristles in your mouth.

United has basically put the kitchen sink in their kit. Decent toothbrush, hand cream (vs just moisturizer), comb!, a pen, etc. Virgin was all higher quality stuff except the toothbrush.

AC's kit just doesn't stand up but I am curious, what is really important in an amenity kit and what do you think AC might realistically do about the sad state of theirs in the coming year?

jsfrSE

AC has had the same exact kit since the launch of the Dreamliner in autumn 2014... While other carriers changed their amenity kits once or twice a year, i.e. United or CX for instance.

Of course, there are those who will always say "I don't care for the amenity kits", perhaps because they've seen the same amenity kits for the last 3 years now on AC...

Agreed with you, it's time for some improvements in this area.