Originally Posted by
MrAndy1369
I respectfully disagree. The original inception of Polaris was an upgrade, with upgraded meals, additional desserts (petit fours), new crockery, wine flights, and so on. It was only after the initial rollout of Polaris, that UA kept decimating the service, thus where we are today. If UA kept the original, initial Polaris rollout the way it was, then it wouldn't be a downgrade. Unless there's something I'm missing.
Question: Is there any way the service can realistically get worse? I mean, it could go to a domestic-style all-at-once service, with cheesecakes/pies replacing the sundae service, and the small domestic-style salad replacing the salad course, but that wouldn't be competitive. Is there anything UA can further do to decimate the service, while remaining competitive? In other words, have we hit rock bottom here?
UA is competitive on the lounge(and then some) and seats; everything else however seems to be marginally better than what's offered in domestic F. Actually I would say that domestic F seems more personalized in food/drinks delivery in that it doesn't use carts in the aisles.
To that point, other than the seat and lounge access, what differentiates Polaris from Premium Plus? Catering wise I would say, especially since Polaris has downgraded to domestic F plating, its not going to be all that different save for maybe the appetizer, wines, and dessert. Which seems to go back to the issue that dogged BusinesFirst and GlobalFirst.....seat was better, different wines, different appetizer, and soup. Maybe that's the mindset of where UA is trying to shift their model to. I also really thinking that people on exUSA flights won't really be impacted by the downgrade because they will eat in the lounges, resulting in a decrease in the uptake/need for more substantial catering. UA will spin this as "our premium class customers have indicated that they prefer the ability to eat before flights in order to maximize their sleep on the flight". So even if they do head to the domestic F style service, which at this point wouldn't surprise me, they will surely justify this by promoting the lounge and seats.