EWR-SFO
1/16

First opportunity to try the full upgraded premium Transcon since the investments.

Service began with warm nuts and beverage hand-delivered, not from a cart as you will see on International Polaris services. New upgraded wine selection is of good quality, but a miscater meant that no red wines were available, only the two whites and the rosé plus the JCB sparkling. Purser explained this occurred in his last segment as well, so there is a supply issue of some sort with the new wine menu.

Chose the beef tenderloin as my pre-ordered entree, which was served all at once with the salad and whipped ricotta appetizer. Other entree choices are chicken, sea bass, or rigatoni.

The sides of the dish were very good, but the beef itself was tiny (smaller than the small rye bread roll) and so tough it could not be cut with the knife - everyone struggled and many sent it back uneaten. Tenderloin is always a risk versus a short rib, and I rolled the dice! The fish did actually look good, lesson learned.

Following standard dessert cart, service was complete two hours after takeoff following a delay getting going and staffing of four FAs total covering all 50 passengers and both galleys.

There was a break of just under 75 minutes, then the new full tray arrival service started with a choice of salad with a side of chicken or sweet potato gnocchi. A fruit plate side is included. I passed on this option as was still full from the earlier service.

The investments show well, but there are kinks being worked out - such as wine provisioning. It’s now a lot of food for a 5-6h segment in either direction, and with the minimum staffing levels and service flow the pace is quite slow.

Good crew that were attentive but very harried / not warm. Still some gaps to close overall versus D1, but still love the Polaris hard product and bedding.