Originally Posted by
djsflynn
Quick update on the Polaris lounge situation at SFO (in case this hasn't been reported as yet): a United lounge attendant at SFO tells me they've this week been advised that the United Club (which is on the right, just after you pass through security at the international terminal) will become the new Polaris lounge while the Global First lounge (situated further along the terminal, between gates 98-100) will become a United Club. Yes, they're essentially swapping the lounges around with the upgrade.
Given that the current Club has a larger footprint than the Global First lounge (I imagine that extra room is needed to allow for the special Quad seating, daybeds etc), the lounge staffer was unaware if this meant an expansion for the Global First space while it's upgraded to become a United Club.
Great news. The international United Club is probably the most centrally-located of all the UA lounges and is a reasonable walk from any of the gate areas in which UA boards longhaul flights. It also confirms the rather self-evident truth that the Polaris lounges are going to need to be large facilities (certainly larger than GFLs), especially at hubs, to accommodate the volume of pax at peak international departure banks.
I'm not sure if the soon-to-be-former GFL further down the concourse will need to be expanded significantly when it becomes a United Club, as it would presumably only be serving Y pax (*G and members) on international departures from the G boarding area. This will also distribute the United Clubs pretty evenly across the various concourses and shorten average walking time.
I like the idea.