Kacee

AC or UA? If AC, the published rules allow access. If UA, they do not.

"Polaris business class" is by definition long-haul. None of the Canada/Mexico/Caribbean flights will be labeled "Polaris."

IAH-OIL-TRASH

ORD-YYZ is Business, not Polaris business. Don't get your hopes up. The stupid thing is - the same flight in a Air Canada front cabin would result in access.

LASUA1K

Thanks. I'm going to try and see. I'm doing alot of ORD-YYZ so I'm going to try booking a ORD-YYZ on AC and see how it is. I have no future long haul so just the chance to visit the lounge is all I'm looking for.

margarita girl

In lounge now (snowing like crazy outside). Bartender took 3 stabs at making me a margarita and it was too sweet, too limey, something was off. Finally figured out what's wrong. They don't have any Cointreau in the lounge (or Grand Marnier, or Triple Sec). Can't make a good margarita without Cointreau!

I've had some great margaritas in other United Clubs (before they started charging for tequila). But alas not in Polaris Lounge.

emcampbe

Not even that. Canad/Mexico/Carribean/Central America routes are officially titled "United Business". Really stupid name if you ask me, since its domestic First service. So consistently call it whatever they call the domestic premium product. PMUA used to call these markets United First, which makes sense since the benefits are consistent with domestic F service (the only difference being Club access). There is absolutely no difference in service in F otherwise, on say, ORD-SFO than ORD-YVR.

I would not count on AC front cabin getting access to Polaris lounge. Maybe if you're connecting YYZ to international, but even then, rules seem to prohibit access since *A premium cabin only gets 'departing' access and not 'connecting'.

Kacee

I know this is what UA initially said but it's not what the published rules say. There is no reference to "long-haul" or flight length as an entrance requirement when flying a *A carrier.

WineCountryUA

There was a reference to a six-hour rule in some of the earlier materials, but no signs of that now.

IAH-OIL-TRASH

UA rules for *A admittance, verbatim, for a *A, non-UA flight from ORD:

"A boarding pass for travel in international business class on a Star Alliance member airline
Customers may only access a United Polaris lounge at the departure airport for their international business class flight."

AC front cabin, ORD-YYZ is international and it is business class. Time will tell how UA sorts this out.

As usual, UA institutes a policy that is unclear and/or inane. The current access wording provides a front-cabin AC passenger ORD-YYZ access to an elevated lounge experience in a Polaris lounge and a UA front-cabin passenger is relegated to the United Club. Brilliant.

United really should restrict Polaris lounge access explicitly to 6+ hour international flights on non-UA *A flights.

Kacee

I wonder if that's what UA originally intended but ran into issues with *A. Under *A rules, you can have a J only lounge (e.g., SKL in SIN), or a *G only lounge (e.g. SEN lounge), but they really don't allow for a flight length restriction.

FlytheTail

Indeed, I thought it was in the Polaris FAQ but I don't see it now; perhaps it's been modified.

dank0014

Denied access: tried to enter with a ticketed United Polaris Business ticket flying ORD-IAD-CDG. Was informed screen says no access. Escalated to manager who confirmed that only international long haul from departing airport (if it was ORD-CDG). Since connecting in IAD I could use a Polaris lounge, which of course isn't open yet.

Sent note to 1K as that doesn't seem right unless I am misunderstanding rules?

IAH-OIL-TRASH

Seriously?

Here are the rules. Vertabim.

"A boarding pass for travel in United Polaris business class
Customers in United Polaris business class may access a United Polaris lounge at connecting airports and their final destination within 24 hours of arrival or departure of their flight."

Maybe the manager is reading "connecting airport" to be IAD in this case (ie he/she's determined you'd get access there because it's a connecting airport - nevermind it's also the departing airport). Again - incompetence in United policy wording leads to confusion, either on the part of the traveler or Polaris lounge personnel. In this manager's mind (and if Polaris lounges were all in place) IAH-ORD-IAD-CDG would get access in ORD and IAD because they're connecting airports, but not IAH. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

Poor training or slow-learning personnel. If the manager has no clue, how do the regular personnel get one? I guess it's gonna be like the 1K food/drink policy - we'll have to teach the lounge personnel the admittance rules. In a month or so, they might get it.

dank0014

Yes this is exactly what was shown to me. I wasn't clear by that language so I wasn't really in a place to contest further as what was being explained was long haul from the originating airport or the connecting airport. Since this says connecting airports is where the confusion now exists. Hopefully clarity will come back from 1K Voice or maybe UA Insider??

NH_Clark

Except it has taken them a year+ to "get it". <face_palm> doesn't bode well for consistent Polaris service 😟

IAH-OIL-TRASH

I would expect clarity from UA Insider and an answer back from 1K that would range from 100% right to 100% wrong.