UAinAUS

The pj's and gel pillows are designed to be available by request, not on the seat like the amenity kit and slippers. They stock for 60% of premium passengers. Same goes for the mattress pad.

WineCountryUA

Since it is only the gel pillows that folks are suggesting to be retrieved and the pillows are not normally provided expect on request, they must be stored somewhere, so return them to where they were originally stored.

BlaiseBOS

Shall soon be flying Polaris First NRT-IAD. Getting short of breath just fretting about the soup course. Now there's something else to create pre-flight jitters of the etiquette sort!

I realize that PJs are not offered on all routes; however, on those on which they are offered, is it indeed the expectation that they also are to be left behind (presumably to be washed and issued to another passenger)? On all my various "PJ" flights -- Air France, BA, Virgin, etc., passengers have been free to take them; they were not for re-use by the airline, in the way that a hospital re-uses a johnny.

cricketer

You can keep the PJ's. I imagine they're not explicitly mentioned because they're a secret 60% item, reserved for the special people like us. If everyone knew...

mrswirl

Maybe if UA charged $14.99/day for the pillow then the comparison would be accurate. More like taking a pen from the counter then leaving it in the car when you return it. I don't think many people would have a problem with this.

Borrowing a pillow from one plane to use on the next flight simply does not rise to the level of "stealing" in my opinion.

WineCountryUA

What do you call removing it from the original plane?

If you return it later, does that undo the first act?
How is it clear to others you plan or no to return it?

How does one define "borrowing" something with the intent of perhaps returning it at some point in the future?

mrswirl

Because all pillows and bedding are removed during cleaning anyway and replaced with fresh items (at least I hope they are). Leaving the pillow on the next flight means no net loss to UA. If UA charged a use fee for said pillow (like Hertz does for a GPS unit) then I can see a loss of potential revenue but that's not the case here.

As for how others see it? It's not really their business anyway. My original point is don't assume others are thieves because you see them doing something you may disagree with.

narvik

If United doesn't allow pillows to be removed, and someone removes them, it's stealing. If one returns the pillow later it's simply the return of stolen property.

cricketer

Theft is theft, whether or not you agree with it. You can debate whether the theft is material, and whether or not the person stealing should face any consequences, but that's a separate matter. Airlines, hotels, and the like, all model their businesses with some amount of theft built in. Even retailers do that. Some hotels won't pursue thefts that are worth under $1,000. They assume it will happen from time to time. That doesn't mean it's not a theft.

Also, I would argue that UA does charge a fee for the pillow - it's part of what you get by buying up to business class, either through fare paid, or GPU, or mileage upgrade. It's not a freebie that they give you because they're feeling kind.

I rent from Hertz, and often find a GPS unit in the car even though I didn't rent or pay for it. Is it your contention that in those scenarios, I am free to take the GPS with me until my next rental, but if I paid for it, then I can't do so?

I'm not judging people here incidentally. We all have our own codes, and it's not for me to say mine is right and someone else's is wrong. Also, it's likely that most of us have stolen something in our lives (think the pen from the office supply cabinet example).

euslaner

I haven't traveled for a while (due to illness, much better now and am ready to fly to DXB via FRA on Sunday. I am in C and today received the following email from United:

"Your upcoming travel includes our brand new United PolarisSM experience, which brings a new level of quality to every aspect of premium cabin travel. The transition to United Polaris service represents our largest product transformation in a generation."

I am flying a 777 on UA 932. I did not expect any changes yet (maybe the meal would be better) but perhaps I am wrong. What differences, if any, might I expect from the same flight taken last fall?

findark

New food and drink, much improved bedding including the much-discussed optional gel pillow, access to the Polaris Lounge if flying to/from/via ORD.

I might be forgetting something but I think that's most of it.

lotemblizej

Plus PJs if flight is over 12 hours (US website lists which flights have PJs).

euslaner

Thanks. Unless they take a very wrong turn leaving IAD I won't be anywhere near ORD.

jsn55

The kind of thinking equating stealing with borrowing is the same as those dopes who steal food from their comp hotel breakfast to have for lunch. If you don't already know the definition of stealing, you weren't raised right. And if you want to argue about it, you definitely weren't raised right.

PsiFighter37

My brother is flying IAH-NRT right now and said the Japanese-style meal in Polaris was one of the best meals he's had on a plane. He flies a lot more than me, so that says something. I wasn't as impressed by the Japanese-style meal when I flew EWR-NRT last year.