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Everything You Want to Know About Where to Sit on a 777-300ER

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Old Dec 9, 2016, 2:37 pm
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Last edit by: drewguy
United is rolling out the 777-300ER to its fleet. These planes will be the first to feature the new Polaris business class seating, with direct aisle access.

Information about the plane from the United website is here


The plane features 60 Polaris class seats, 24 Premium Plus seats, 62 Economy plus seats, and 204 Economy seats. All economy seating is in a 3-4-3 format (except for 2-4-2 in the last two rows of the plane).

Seat width in economy is 17", down from the 18" in the sUA 777-200, and slightly narrower than the 787 width of 17.3". Bassinets are provided in 20EF, 30EF, and 46EF - the center seats on the three bulkhead rows.

Polaris seats have their own power outlets; Economy seats also have power (2 outlets per 3 seats or 2 per 4 seats; all bulkhead seats have their own power). Each seat has a dedicated USB power port as well.

Detailed seating plan: AeroLOPA -- https://www.aerolopa.com/ua-boeing-77w




From sbm12:
I flew on the media preview flight this week and wrote up a detailed report on which seats are good and bad on the new United 77W. Here's a summary of my thoughts.

Polaris Seating



General notes
  • Accessible lav at 2L is the largest on board and useful for PJs changing.
  • Row 1 has no overhead bins in the center.
  • Galley at 2L/R handles crew meals so will be busier than the forward galley throughout the flight. There is also a "passthrough" at 2L/2R that is not a galley but has shelves for food prep and snacks. As a result, the front row of the second cabin isn't quite as directly exposed to galley noise.
Seating choices
  • Bulkhead seats remain the best choice for foot well reasons. "Straight" seats are second best while angled seats have a tapered foot well for the last 10 inches of the bed length.
  • The downside of the "straight" seats is the 9" notch to slide in through but overall those will remain my seats of choice. Avoid 6/7/8 for noise reasons IMO.

  • Even-row "window" seats are a bit of a misnomer. The window, if any, is across a utility table and not well-positioned for viewing. They're more semi-aisle seats.
  • Row 16 has no window. Row 18 has one window far to the rear and part of another forward. The angles are such that you can barely see out of either.
Best Window Seat (best to worst):
  • 9A (good seat, but proximity to galley/light/noise and lav should be considered)
  • 9L (good seat, but proximity to galley/light/noise and lav should be considered)
  • 1A (good seat, but proximity to galley/light/noise should be considered)
  • 1L (good seat, but proximity to galley/light/noise should be considered) Picture from 1L
  • any other odd-numbered A/L (slight preference to A over L)
  • any other even-numbered A/L (slight preference to A over L)
  • 7A/L
  • 8A/L
  • 6A/L
  • 16A/L
Best Center Pair Seat (best to worst):
  • 9D/G (slight preference to D over G)
  • 1D/G (slight preference to D over G)
  • Any other odd
  • Any other even
  • 18
  • 6

Economy Plus
  • AVOID 3024A/L [seats renumbered with addition of PP at all costs. Freezing cold in flight and the narrowest seats on board. Plus no window.
  • Aisle seats are a smidgen narrower and the center 4-block has legroom issues.
  • Bulkhead seats have good legroom, very similar to what extending your feet on a normal row would offer.

Economy
  • Row 5650 outside pairs are some of the best, though all the way at the back. A little extra space (especially under-seat stowage) and still some overhead space, something 57 lacks. Row 57 also has a misaligned window.
  • Aisle seats are a smidgen narrower and the center 4-block has legroom issues.
  • Baby Bassient Positions in Business: 9A & 9L, PP 20EF, E+ 30EF, 46EF
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Everything You Want to Know About Where to Sit on a 777-300ER

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Old Jan 5, 2018, 2:41 pm
  #451  
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Originally Posted by gold23
the 777-300 felt a bit cramped to me- especially since there's absolutely no storage
??? There are several closable storage cubbies plus the space below the ottoman. Plus when you're in flight, you have a huge shelf to use. The only UA J seat that compares for in-seat storage is the 744 upper deck, and of course that's now gone.
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Old Jan 5, 2018, 4:28 pm
  #452  
 
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Originally Posted by Kacee
??? There are several closable storage cubbies plus the space below the ottoman. Plus when you're in flight, you have a huge shelf to use. The only UA J seat that compares for in-seat storage is the 744 upper deck, and of course that's now gone.
With several other airlines, I've found that the larger storage areas- where I could store an ipad and several other small items- were much better. The storage on the 300 I found to either be exposed (I could store something, but it was not secured), or too small of a space. Below the ottoman held my computer bag.

Simply my impression...I was expecting to be blown away. I was comfortable, but for example I much preferred the AC dreamliner to this. The cabin just felt very cramped as a whole. To be fair, it's possible the absolute worst and most incompetent crew may have added to my being underwhelmed.
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Old Jan 5, 2018, 8:15 pm
  #453  
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Originally Posted by gold23
Simply my impression...I was expecting to be blown away. I was comfortable, but for example I much preferred the AC dreamliner to this.
I don't think many would call the Polaris seat an industry-leading product, nor is it without flaws. But I find it to be a meaningful upgrade over UA's other offerings - including the (now gone) 744 UD, since I value direct aisle access on a 10-14 hour flight pretty highly.

Originally Posted by gold23
To be fair, it's possible the absolute worst and most incompetent crew may have added to my being underwhelmed.
Agreed, that doesn't help.
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Old Jan 5, 2018, 10:16 pm
  #454  
 
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NRT-SFO in 7L or 11L? I've read that 11L is pretty good, but I haven't seen anything good or bad on 7L.
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Old Jan 5, 2018, 11:20 pm
  #455  
 
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Originally Posted by Kacee
I don't think many would call the Polaris seat an industry-leading product, nor is it without flaws. But I find it to be a meaningful upgrade over UA's other offerings - including the (now gone) 744 UD, since I value direct aisle access on a 10-14 hour flight pretty highly.
Different groups of potential buyers. UA loyalists who are happy that Polaris is better than the dated (sCO) or really dated (sUA) J product. UA flyers who expected great things of Polaris, and were under-impressed. People who have actually flown OALs in J. Poster falls in the second two categories. He expected more than the cramped seats he got. His response is what a lot of flyers will have who have experience with other better J products think, and that combined with UA's badly substandard food+drink, and inconsistent CS, is not going to end well for United as the product ages even as it is rolled out slowly.

What United has done with Polaris reminds me of what AA did 10+ years ago with its "lie flat" "slippy" seats. It was an improvement when it came out over prior AA seats, but was not leading in any respects. A few years later it was a competitive disadvantage. But at least AA then had a good F product. UA does not offer either a better F product or a decent PE product.
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Old Jan 5, 2018, 11:35 pm
  #456  
 
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Originally Posted by iflyabunch
NRT-SFO in 7L or 11L? I've read that 11L is pretty good, but I haven't seen anything good or bad on 7L.
7L is quite close to the galley. A friend sat there (actually 7A) and did not seem to be bothered by it but I would think 11L is better...
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 2:14 am
  #457  
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Originally Posted by iflyabunch
NRT-SFO in 7L or 11L? I've read that 11L is pretty good, but I haven't seen anything good or bad on 7L.
Originally Posted by daisyatl
7L is quite close to the galley. A friend sat there (actually 7A) and did not seem to be bothered by it but I would think 11L is better...
Well, I'm a fan of 11L - but then I'm a big fan of windows: Everything You Want to Know About Where to Sit on a 777-300ER

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Old Jan 6, 2018, 7:45 am
  #458  
 
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Originally Posted by Kacee
I don't think many would call the Polaris seat an industry-leading product, nor is it without flaws. But I find it to be a meaningful upgrade over UA's other offerings - including the (now gone) 744 UD, since I value direct aisle access on a 10-14 hour flight pretty highly.



Agreed, that doesn't help.
The direct aisle access and the privacy are absolutely huge improvements over anything UA has provided in the past. In fact, if I were travelling alone I would value this layout greatly. I preferred the CO 772 on the return because I could easily converse with a family member, but I would not want to spend 12 hrs next to a sleeping stranger where I needed to perform gymnastics to excticate myself from the seat.

I do think UA found a nice sweet spot between maximizing revenue in J and upgrading the experience for most passengers. I was just a bit surprised by how cramped it all felt....It reminded me of a BA cabin in terms of closeness.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 11:36 am
  #459  
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Originally Posted by gold23
I do think UA found a nice sweet spot between maximizing revenue in J and upgrading the experience for most passengers. I was just a bit surprised by how cramped it all felt....It reminded me of a BA cabin in terms of closeness.
Given that UA needs to make money, giving people a C seat with more room means either 1) fewer C seats or 2) less money for UA. This why the new Polaris seat is cramped.
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Old Jan 6, 2018, 12:23 pm
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Originally Posted by halls120
Given that UA needs to make money, giving people a C seat with more room means either 1) fewer C seats or 2) less money for UA. This why the new Polaris seat is cramped.
And why I pay as little as possible to fly J on UA on 2-cabin flights! @:-)
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Old Jan 9, 2018, 12:30 pm
  #461  
 
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My first-world problem for today was not being able to decide between 17-L and 1-A. I went with 17-L but will obsessively keep monitoring to see if an odd aisle closer to the front opens up in the next 20 hours.
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Old Jan 11, 2018, 6:58 pm
  #462  
 
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Originally Posted by catocony
My first-world problem for today was not being able to decide between 17-L and 1-A. I went with 17-L but will obsessively keep monitoring to see if an odd aisle closer to the front opens up in the next 20 hours.
My wife totally loved 1A on NRT-EWR in early December.
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Old Jan 11, 2018, 9:18 pm
  #463  
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Originally Posted by catocony
My first-world problem for today was not being able to decide between 17-L and 1-A. I went with 17-L but will obsessively keep monitoring to see if an odd aisle closer to the front opens up in the next 20 hours.
Originally Posted by physioprof
My wife totally loved 1A on NRT-EWR in early December.
+1

Although through some odd series of coincidence I have only sat on the L side of the plane, I would every time choose 1A over 17L.
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Old Jan 14, 2018, 4:23 pm
  #464  
 
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Got an email from UA this morning.... apparently my flight had been switched to this 777-300ER. They just randomly stuffed me in a window seat.

I'm looking at the seat map right now and the only seats remaining in E+ are all windows and middles. I do see 39A(exit row window) as being available.

Is 39A an acceptable seat? I know the exit door slide is right in front of it, but can't remember how much it intrudes into 39A's legroom....

Thanks!
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Old Jan 14, 2018, 4:44 pm
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9L booked on TPAC ... can't wait!!!!!! Any reason this seat is noted as better (in the wiki) than odd numbered L's that are further away from lavatories and gallies?
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