EpsilonZer0

Yes, they added more seats because everyday it is completely packed. I overheard people complaining to ANA at the ticket counter about the situation. There are several high capacity international codeshare flights that depart from terminal C and they all have to share that tiny Polaris lounge.

I wish they would just move those flights to Terminal 5 and make a star alliance lounge like LAX.

cranky1K

Here's a reply I got on Friday in response to an email I sent to 1Kvoice complaining about the overcrowding in the B clubs and asking when the C club would reopen (bolding mine):

Dear cranky1K:

I thank you for sharing your experience and feedback regarding our
United Club in Chicago and apologize for the inconvenience.

Unfortunately, we do not have this information available to us.
Information will be posted online regarding Club updates. Once
renovations are complete, we hope you'll appreciate the changes with our
user-friendly products, chef-inspired cuisine, expertly-crafted
cocktails and more space for you to work, recharge and take care of any
other travel needs. We've heard great feedback and look forward to
earning the same feedback from you.

Our open Clubs in Terminal 1 quickly reach capacity as we continue
renovations. If you plan on traveling through O'Hare again before the
year's end, we recommend the United Club at Terminal 2 near gate F8. We
also plan on opening a temporary United Club in the connecter tunnel
between the B- and C-gates, to help relieve the capacity issues. I hope
this information helps for your next trip.

For any updated information the Clubs, we ask you visit our website link
or contact United Club:

https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...s/default.aspx

As a MileagePlus Premier 1K member, we thank you for your support.

Regards,
Corporate Customer Care

Wooglin

I'm quite curious to see how that turns out. There really isn't much space in that tunnel unless theres some sort of large room behind one of those maintenance doors, or else they take up one side of the tunnel between the moving sidewalk and the wall?

milepig

I'm thinking more and more that they just don't have a plan. They didn't have the capacity for the Polaris Club right, and they're overwhelmed, causing a total of work stop on the planned regular club space and now this unimaginable temporary club in the tunnel. I see Cafe tables along the moving sidewalk. No way will this work. And then as others have said, temporary until what? Leave C with no club? There will be a rebellion.

autobahnal

Not sure about the size of the grain of salt here, but...

The last time I was in the Polaris Lounge the agent mentioned that they had proposed building a new upper floor (so, like LAX), but the City of Chicago nixed the idea. So, now they are thinking about adding a floor to the Polaris lounge below (i.e. at ground level...like the IAD clubs). There are some offices and maybe baggage facilities directly below, but apparently moving them is not impossible. Nothing set in stone yet, however. Either way, not sure how/whether this impacts the C United Club.

LIH

Spoke with one of the B bartenders and she noted that the company line to them from United (the bartenders in the UC clubs are contractors) is that they still want to use the C club space for a UC. Bartender still thinks they expand Polaris which was bad for them because they are currently part-time with a promise of full-time once the fourth UC club opens (apparently Polaris is staffed by a different group). In any event, basically just tells me that no-one knows what's going on, just that it isn't going to be resolved anytime soon.

ORD clearly needs a sizable UC club in C but given how much the airline was "betting" on coming up the service curve with Polaris you have to imagine that takes priority and has been what is creating this cluster****.

Hipplewm

Polaris club is woefully inadequate. I was there for 5 hours (Yeah, that is part of the problem) but only after 5pm could i even get a table where they serve food.

What good does it do to have a nice menu if you can't get a seat. People were good about moving on, but people were hawking the tables as well.

They could easily swallow C club and at peak times be full, but others the club will probably seem empty. Not having a UC in C at all is also pretty crappy.

NH_Clark

Have to +1 this.. at peak times the Polaris lounge is not big enough and taking the rest of the UC club would make sense. But, that does mean there needs to be a UC club in C and limited options of where it should go.

villox

Every time I dine in Polaris I feel rushed to complete the service as quickly as possible so I can get to a non-dining chair/table to stop taking up space, before they all get full. This isn't so much a problem on the 2pm to FRA or a 9pm to LHR but any of the 6pm departures you pretty much need to be in there by 3pm or you're out of luck.

For frequent travelers I actually expect that the novelty of the lounge will wear off someday (I know I'll stop making a point to spend a bunch of time there at some point). Not sure if that will have an impact or not until they expand.

I don't envy the situation they're in - they were obviously trying to offer up an enticing product to differentiate their offering, and it's not easy to switch the strategy on a dime especially when you've got to deal with the city of Chicago.

chavala

at Polaris now, forget about getting a table. Even the buffet is looking dismal. The novelty of this place has sure worn off.

transportprof

Can one order room service in the shower suites?

chavala

and now some guy is SCREAMING "I paid 7000 dollars for a ____ first class seat and you're tellin' me there is nowhere for me to _____ sit!!!????". Wow. I'm outta here to the peace and quiet of the concourse.

StuckinITH

Because when I fly Polaris Business I'm connecting from/to a small town, I'm usually stuck in the Polaris lounge many hours. I still prefer it to the other clubs because I really don't like the lasagna and even worse the chicken pasta in a white sauce. And in the Polaris Lounge they have Veuve Clicquot.

Still, a Club in the C terminal is needed for when I'm unlucky not to fly Polaris Business. Sometimes the price is way too much, like the $16000 they wanted for Shanghai in October even buying the ticket two months prior to the trip. At this moment, my favorite Club in ORD is the one in the F terminal but it's far from my planes leaving for Europe or Asia.

chavala

There is a line to get into the lavs, so I think people are doing just that

milepig

Well, he won't be able to buy an F seat for long in any case. That having been said, what was so wrong with the quiet GF lounge where a nice person appeared to escort you to your flight? I miss it!!