worldtrav

Or you could fly ANA, they have a fold down platform in the lav to stand on when you get changed.

FlytheTail

As with AA, there are 2 gender-less PJ sizes on UA: S/M and L/XL.

Indeed, I wish UA (and especially fellow pax!) did a better job keeping the lavs clean. Many airlines periodically clean them, sometimes after every passenger (in J). On UA, it's hit-and-miss, with more misses than hits.

JerseyCityS

Were all the courses on one tray because you requested express dining? I would hate to have salad, appetizer and entree all at once.

Eadward

Just boarded EWR - BOM. Got the teddy bear. Amenity kit is nicer. Bedding products seem like a big step up. Food choices seem improved. We boarded about 10 minutes late due to some crew instructions, likely on the Polaris product. I notice there seems to be a different and more calming background music playing. FAs definitely seem to be trying hard to deliver on the service side too. Got an ice water as PDB served on the little glass and tray combo with a chocolate.

physioprof

Can anyone report whether you can order regular PDBs, or only the bubbly wine is offered? Also, what about the supposed bloody mary PDB service?

BigBossman

Just buy the hospital grade disposable blue and white absorbent squares. You can buy all sorts so sizes and they come prefold and compressed. We use them as a clean place to set our kids while changing diapers in public places.

flyer121

I'm watching this post very closely since I'm a business class flyer and considering leaving AA for UA. I'm not picky and outside of the lounges. I'm not overally impressed. Limited pjs and bedding? Food also looks very similar and subpar.

MMProfessor

Just got off my Polaris Business flight. The red wine selections were not what was on the menu. A cheap Malbec slipped on board. Hopefully they were just trying to get rid of their stock from before. Will know in a few days when I take the return flight.

Wayside

The Bloody Mary/mimosa cart is done in flight.

UK Stages

i was on flight 940 from EWR ---> LHR on december 1st, polaris inaugural day. it was a miles flight for me, as i'm on holiday. as a GS, i used a GPU to upgrade to business and it cleared a day or two after booking. a few days before the flight, i had noticed that the first cabin (six seats) was entirely empty, except for one seat reserved for crew rest. i figured the other seats would be for united execs supervising the roll out. but no, in the end there appeared to be no united management types on this flight. about an hour before the flight, i was upgraded to first... the coveted and elusive double upgrade! on miles!

as i said, i've been on holiday, so i didn't rush to visit flyertalk in the past few days... and i have to say now that i have, i'm rather surprised at some of the negative feedback on the polaris launch. but then i realized that most of the pushback is coming from people who haven't actually experienced the service yet.

in my opinion, this is a huge improvement over what UA had been offering. the food, the linens, the wines, the serving ware, the bedding, the PDB... even something as seemingly inconsequential as having pellegrino for sparkling water. my goodness, even the salt and pepper shakers received an upgrade! (contrary to a previous poster... i liked them. they appear to be carrying forth the globe theme... and mine dispensed pepper well.... i didn't try the salt).

gel pillows and slippers were on demand on my flight and i asked for neither... and the flight was too short for PJs.

the menu choices i had in first were the same as the menu shown upthread. and i, too, chose the asian fusion soup... which is poorly named... it's really more of a thai curry. and i share villox's assessment that it was delicious... one of the best onboard entrees i've had on any airline ever. i'm looking forward to having it again.

the fig, cheese and grape skewer was not pre-departure for us... it was sort of an amuse bouche in flight. we got a chocolate. but that may be because the flight attendants were still figuring things out... it was all new to them, just as it is to us. sure, they were trained on it, but that's different than actually serving it in flight. those kinks will get worked out over the next month or so.

as for PDB... yes, you can order whatever you want, not just champagne. that champagne glass that slides onto the plate, however... that looks rather precarious to me and the FAs were a little nervous about serving them and keeping them steady. i think the best way to deliver that (to avoid spilling) is to carry the plate and the glass separately, then slide the glass on once you've delivered the plate.

as for dessert, yes, you can order them all! at least you could in first. other than the sundae, the desserts are all small sample sizes, like you might find at a buffet. i had a caramel thingie and a small glass filled with a deconstructed lemon meringue pie... interestingly, they give you a very small lightweight plastic spoon for the desserts in the small glasses... and those spoons aren't really strong enough to work with those desserts. you might have to struggle to get anything out.

the bears and the bedding were all piled high on the seats as we arrived just as depicted in the previously posted photos. the bears were indeed ogled by most people passing through the cabin. (i did not see any bear pilferage, however. i was among the first on the plane, so i would have seen it and could have caught them bear-handed.) the hangtag on the bear says "first to fly," so that clearly suggests that it's for the first days of service... we've heard various reports on this thread of a week to a month.

but the bears are such a big hit... i wonder if UA will take note... they could start a thing like conrad by giving highly collectible stuffed plush animals in polaris class... they could change them quarterly or vary them by destination, like conrad does. i'm not saying that people will spend thousands of dollars for a polaris ticket just to get a two dollar bear, but stranger things have happened. and it would be a point of difference.

i must add that all this stuff is branded ingeniously. the bear's paw has the polaris star, as do the socks in the amenity kit, if i remember correctly. the branding is carried out in every customer touch... really well handled from a brand perspective.

i have my return flight to EWR in a couple of days and i'll be flying ORD ---> NRT next week and HKG ---> EWR at the end of the month, so i'll be interested to see how this looks and feels on other flights.

overall, despite a few hiccups (some of the business class meals and amenities on my flight wound up in first and vice versa and the flight was about twenty minutes delayed, due to late catering), this was an outstanding debut for the polaris soft product.

respectfully, YMMV.

does it make up for the delays and IRROPS on three of my last four flights?

well, yes, actually i really think it does.

and i'm much more inclined to continue to fly united.

Melodsal

+1. I go out of my way to fly KLM for the delft houses and Lufthansa first for the ducks. i would probably do the same for the Bears.

Coskigirl

Yes. We were delayed 3.5 hours and it was after 1am when we took off. I wanted to eat and sleep asap. Monday I leave from SCL at 10:40pm but am keeping my body on mountain time while here so expect to dine normally.

villox

One or the reps in the lounge told me they have enough to stock every flight for the first week and then will continue "while supplies last". People really do seem to be going crazy over them, so I hope someone at United is taking note.

As another poster confirmed, yes you can order whatever you want, and they have special PDB glasses that also slip onto the tray as the champagne flute does. I remember people complaining that UA was going to be still using plastic for PDB but it really is quite classy.

Wx4caster

It's not Polaris, but fwiw hawaii config 777s also seem to be provisioned with new blankets and duvets.

FlightNurse

It's been talked about that for Polaris to really work, the FA's need to step up to the plate and hit a home run each and every flight, and I just can't see that happening. UA need to be proactive in monitoring the FA's in how they interact with passengers. It should be an honor to work a Polaris flight not a right (because of seniority.)