May 29, 2017, 1:21 pm
Last edit by: kirkwoodj
Check the current status of aircraft reconfigured (or delivered) with new Polaris seats: http://view.ceros.com/united/polaris...-desktop-4/p/3.
A Polaris Update and Polaris Mod Schedule to indicate the status of specific aircraft are maintained by those that manage the United Airlines Fleet Website.
Except for 773- and 781-operated flights, and those markets selling Premium Plus, Polaris-equipped planes have not been allocated to specific routes. You won't know until approx. 36-48 hours before departure if you'll have a newly reconfigured aircraft, and even then, it may be replaced with a non-retrofitted aircraft.
777-300ER - All 22 aircraft have Polaris (60 seats) and installation of Premium Plus cabins (24 seats) is complete.
767-300ER - As of September 2020, 31 of the 38 aircraft have been reconfigured with the Polaris seats.
- Retrofit is from 3-cabin to 2-cabin with direct-aisle-access seats. No 3-cabin 767s remain in service.
- 76A configuration is 30J/50Y+/134Y, total of 214; fleet to consist of 17 ships (former 3-cabin 767s).
- 76L configuration is 46J/22PE/47Y+/52Y; fleet to consist of 21 ships (18 former 2-cabin 76C and 3 used ships from Hawaiian).
767-400ER - [16 aircraft] None updated yet; modifications put on hold due to Covid-19.
777-200ER - As of September 2020, 46 of the 50 aircraft have been reconfigured with Polaris and Premium Plus seats.
- Configuration is 50 Polaris seats, 32 in the front cabin and 18 in the second cabin (behind 2L/R)
- Configuration is 10 across in economy, with 24 Premium Plus seats, 4686 E+ seats and 156 E seats, with E+ in front economy cabin plus exit rows and bulkhead at 3L/R, i.e., almost the same as current pmCO planes, except with 4 seats in middle section.
- Seat map (v5) on united.com
787-8, 787-9 - As of November 2022, all 787-8/9 are converted or in mod. No chance of flying old configuration anymore.
- 788 configuration has 28 Polaris seats (20 in front cabin, 8 in rear mini-cabin), and 21 Premium Plus seats (2-3-2).
- 789 configuration has 48 Polaris seats (32 in front cabin, 16 in rear mini-cabin), and 21 Premium Plus seats (2-3-2).
787-10 - 13 787-10s have been delivered in 2020. All come with Polaris and Premium Plus cabins factory-installed. Another 19 should be added by 2024.
FAQ:
Q: Does a Polaris ticket mean the aircraft has the new Polaris seat?
A: No, Polaris is the label UA uses for long haul international business class. It is also the label UA uses for the new seats, so this does create some confusion.
All the 773s and 787-10s are 100% the new seat.
The rest of the long haul fleet in various stages of conversion, see http://view.ceros.com/united/polaris...-desktop-4/p/3
Q: How to tell if my aircraft is the new style Polaris seats?
A: If the unassigned business class section is showing orange seats or all the seats are side-by-side or there is a section for 4 adjacent seats in the middle, this is an old style lie-flat aircreaft
If the unassigned bussines class seats are dark blue seats or the all the seats appear to have direct aisle access, then you aircraft is the new Polaris seat.
You can also look at the FT maintained, United Fleet Site and crosscheck the tail number or check thePolaris Update tab
Q: How to tell if my aircraft has the new PremiumPlus (PP) / Premium Economy seats?
A: If the unassigned seats just behind business class are purple seats or the aircraft is 773 or 787-10, then yes. However, the purple color seat will only show on routes where PP is being sold.
Aircraft with PP seats are being used on some routes but are not being sold as PP. In those cases, the seats are considered to be a part of E+. In those cases, an indicator of PP sold as E+ will be if the first few rows of economy, there are just 2 seats on the sides (with the rest of E+ showing 3 seats).
Q: Will the aircraft I see at booking be the same configuration at flight time?
A: Unfortunately with the fleet in transit, aircraft swaps happen. UA tends to use placeholders until 2 days before travel and even after that last minute swaps do happen.
Q: My flight seat map shows 772 with polaris seats is it a retrofit?
A: Possibly. The flight status page shows the most accurate scheduled aircraft. If a 77W is swapped in, it will list the aircraft as 777-300ER. However, if the 772's seatmap shows blue rectangular boxes in the business class cabin instead of orange "pointy rounds", this would indicate that a retrofit aircraft has been swapped.
See also: United Future/Changed Routes w/ Polaris seats
A Polaris Update and Polaris Mod Schedule to indicate the status of specific aircraft are maintained by those that manage the United Airlines Fleet Website.
Except for 773- and 781-operated flights, and those markets selling Premium Plus, Polaris-equipped planes have not been allocated to specific routes. You won't know until approx. 36-48 hours before departure if you'll have a newly reconfigured aircraft, and even then, it may be replaced with a non-retrofitted aircraft.
777-300ER - All 22 aircraft have Polaris (60 seats) and installation of Premium Plus cabins (24 seats) is complete.
767-300ER - As of September 2020, 31 of the 38 aircraft have been reconfigured with the Polaris seats.
- Retrofit is from 3-cabin to 2-cabin with direct-aisle-access seats. No 3-cabin 767s remain in service.
- 76A configuration is 30J/50Y+/134Y, total of 214; fleet to consist of 17 ships (former 3-cabin 767s).
- 76L configuration is 46J/22PE/47Y+/52Y; fleet to consist of 21 ships (18 former 2-cabin 76C and 3 used ships from Hawaiian).
767-400ER - [16 aircraft] None updated yet; modifications put on hold due to Covid-19.
777-200ER - As of September 2020, 46 of the 50 aircraft have been reconfigured with Polaris and Premium Plus seats.
- Configuration is 50 Polaris seats, 32 in the front cabin and 18 in the second cabin (behind 2L/R)
- Configuration is 10 across in economy, with 24 Premium Plus seats, 46
- Seat map (v5) on united.com
787-8, 787-9 - As of November 2022, all 787-8/9 are converted or in mod. No chance of flying old configuration anymore.
- 788 configuration has 28 Polaris seats (20 in front cabin, 8 in rear mini-cabin), and 21 Premium Plus seats (2-3-2).
- 789 configuration has 48 Polaris seats (32 in front cabin, 16 in rear mini-cabin), and 21 Premium Plus seats (2-3-2).
787-10 - 13 787-10s have been delivered in 2020. All come with Polaris and Premium Plus cabins factory-installed. Another 19 should be added by 2024.
FAQ:
Q: Does a Polaris ticket mean the aircraft has the new Polaris seat?
A: No, Polaris is the label UA uses for long haul international business class. It is also the label UA uses for the new seats, so this does create some confusion.
All the 773s and 787-10s are 100% the new seat.
The rest of the long haul fleet in various stages of conversion, see http://view.ceros.com/united/polaris...-desktop-4/p/3
Q: How to tell if my aircraft is the new style Polaris seats?
A: If the unassigned business class section is showing orange seats or all the seats are side-by-side or there is a section for 4 adjacent seats in the middle, this is an old style lie-flat aircreaft
If the unassigned bussines class seats are dark blue seats or the all the seats appear to have direct aisle access, then you aircraft is the new Polaris seat.
You can also look at the FT maintained, United Fleet Site and crosscheck the tail number or check thePolaris Update tab
Q: How to tell if my aircraft has the new PremiumPlus (PP) / Premium Economy seats?
A: If the unassigned seats just behind business class are purple seats or the aircraft is 773 or 787-10, then yes. However, the purple color seat will only show on routes where PP is being sold.
Aircraft with PP seats are being used on some routes but are not being sold as PP. In those cases, the seats are considered to be a part of E+. In those cases, an indicator of PP sold as E+ will be if the first few rows of economy, there are just 2 seats on the sides (with the rest of E+ showing 3 seats).
Q: Will the aircraft I see at booking be the same configuration at flight time?
A: Unfortunately with the fleet in transit, aircraft swaps happen. UA tends to use placeholders until 2 days before travel and even after that last minute swaps do happen.
Q: My flight seat map shows 772 with polaris seats is it a retrofit?
A: Possibly. The flight status page shows the most accurate scheduled aircraft. If a 77W is swapped in, it will list the aircraft as 777-300ER. However, if the 772's seatmap shows blue rectangular boxes in the business class cabin instead of orange "pointy rounds", this would indicate that a retrofit aircraft has been swapped.
See also: United Future/Changed Routes w/ Polaris seats
✨ Polaris (& PP) Retrofits: Schedule, ....
Jul 16, 2019, 11:29 am
#1801
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
My guess is some cabin monuments are moved around creatively to allow 28 seats in A-zone, the full number of J seats. Following 2L/R is a complex of lav/closet/cart stowage units, then 3 rows of PE at 38" pitch, 3 rows of E+ at 34" pitch and the balance standard Y at 31" pitch. The additional capacity is enabled by consolidating business class into one cabin.
Jul 16, 2019, 11:52 am
#1802
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORF, RIC
Programs: UA LT 1K, 3 MM; Marriott Titanium; IHG Platinum
Posts: 6,958
According to the graphic in this article (https://centreforaviation.com/analys...s-fleet-411254), the average seat count (all operators worldwide, ranging from 161 to 335) is 245 for 787-8. UA's original configuration is at 219, which is now bumped to 243. This number matches with AA's 787-8 count. Is this just coincident? Please ask Mr. Kirby. 
Jul 16, 2019, 1:02 pm
#1803
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,509
For comparison
788
UA: 28/21/194 (235 total)
AA: 20/28/191 (239 total)
AC: 20/21/214 (255 total)
BA: 35/25/154 (214 total)
789
UA: 48/21/188 (257 total)
AA: 30/21/224 (275 total)
AC: 30/21/247 (298 total)
AF: 30/21/225 (276 total)
Although more seats on the UA Polaris 787, the premium cabin is still decently large compared to competitors.
788
UA: 28/21/194 (235 total)
AA: 20/28/191 (239 total)
AC: 20/21/214 (255 total)
BA: 35/25/154 (214 total)
789
UA: 48/21/188 (257 total)
AA: 30/21/224 (275 total)
AC: 30/21/247 (298 total)
AF: 30/21/225 (276 total)
Although more seats on the UA Polaris 787, the premium cabin is still decently large compared to competitors.
Jul 16, 2019, 1:05 pm
#1804
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,604
My guess is some cabin monuments are moved around creatively to allow 28 seats in A-zone, the full number of J seats. Following 2L/R is a complex of lav/closet/cart stowage units, then 3 rows of PE at 38" pitch, 3 rows of E+ at 34" pitch and the balance standard Y at 31" pitch.
Jul 16, 2019, 1:50 pm
#1805
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
Jul 16, 2019, 3:25 pm
#1806
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,429
I was willing to move to AA when they had MRTC, but they got rid of it soon enough .... of course, I'm p;probably one of few who would be willing to pay for extra legroom.
Jul 16, 2019, 5:35 pm
#1807
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,413
Right, that's the problem. There is a small number of people who are willing to pay for space on an aircraft, but there aren't enough of us to fill the whole plane.
Jul 16, 2019, 5:45 pm
#1808
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,631
788 going from almost a copy of 763 totals, to having Y within 10 of 772ER.
788 and 789 Y totals almost equal. 788 should be real low CASM, HNL-EWR/IAD?
I put together a table (below) of Polaris aircraft seats and totals along with a graph showing seats by class and total seats starting with lowest total seat aircraft.
My guesses on seats.
788:
Zone 1 - Polaris vs Diamond, between Zone 1 and 2 -8 seats
Zone 2 Minimum 1 Row J removed, 3 Rows PE (+18), only 3 Rows E+ (-36), Y (+25) 6 due to galley removal
Zone 3 +9, 1 Row added, pitch 32 to 31 (5 E+ remain)
789:
Zone 1 Polaris vs Diamond, between Zone 1 and 2 no change
Zone 2 J may take more room, add 21PE, convert 56 E+ seats to 49Y to allow Polaris and PE
Zone 3 +9, 1 Row added, pitch 32 to 31 (5 E+ remain)
764: Add 18 PE, Lose 4J and 21E+/Y Total -8 seats
Zone 1 Lose 4 Polaris vs. Diamond
Zone 2 Add 18 PE, drop E+ to 34 from 35 inches. Probably convert 4 E+ rows to Y for PE spacing
Zone 3 No change already at 31 inch pitch
788 and 789 Y totals almost equal. 788 should be real low CASM, HNL-EWR/IAD?
I put together a table (below) of Polaris aircraft seats and totals along with a graph showing seats by class and total seats starting with lowest total seat aircraft.
My guesses on seats.
788:
Zone 1 - Polaris vs Diamond, between Zone 1 and 2 -8 seats
Zone 2 Minimum 1 Row J removed, 3 Rows PE (+18), only 3 Rows E+ (-36), Y (+25) 6 due to galley removal
Zone 3 +9, 1 Row added, pitch 32 to 31 (5 E+ remain)
789:
Zone 1 Polaris vs Diamond, between Zone 1 and 2 no change
Zone 2 J may take more room, add 21PE, convert 56 E+ seats to 49Y to allow Polaris and PE
Zone 3 +9, 1 Row added, pitch 32 to 31 (5 E+ remain)
764: Add 18 PE, Lose 4J and 21E+/Y Total -8 seats
Zone 1 Lose 4 Polaris vs. Diamond
Zone 2 Add 18 PE, drop E+ to 34 from 35 inches. Probably convert 4 E+ rows to Y for PE spacing
Zone 3 No change already at 31 inch pitch
Jul 16, 2019, 5:50 pm
#1809
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,174
The 789 config is leaving money on the table - should have more Polaris than they have today for SFO-SIN missions.
Jul 16, 2019, 5:58 pm
#1810
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,005
Disappointed about the 788 getting downsized; I would think some of the routes it flies (like SFO-PPT and DEN-NRT) generally sell 36 J seats at a decent price.
Jul 16, 2019, 6:05 pm
#1811
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,174
Polaris of 52-60 and PP 28 would work here. The last 3 rows of Y are easy award seats and/or low cost (I have purchased sub $1k RT fares within 36 hours of departure myself).
A richer 789 works to LHR, NRT as well.
As with so many things Smisek and now Kirby, missed opportunity to do great things.
Jul 16, 2019, 6:25 pm
#1812
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: UA-1K MM, AA-Gold, DL-Silver, AS-MVP
Posts: 2,509
Polaris of 52-60 and PP 28 would work here. The last 3 rows of Y are easy award seats and/or low cost (I have purchased sub $1k RT fares within 36 hours of departure myself).
A richer 789 works to LHR, NRT as well.
As with so many things Smisek and now Kirby, missed opportunity to do great things.
A richer 789 works to LHR, NRT as well.
As with so many things Smisek and now Kirby, missed opportunity to do great things.
Jul 16, 2019, 7:11 pm
#1813
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2003
Programs: UA 1K 1MM (finally!), IHG AMB-Spire, HH Diamond
Posts: 60,174
Might work for SIN, but that would mean a subfleet of 789. It's probably too premium for the majority 789 markets, such as US-Australia/PVG routes where the 789 primarily flies to. Even LHR/NRT might be too premium, considering UA only flies 789 on LAX/IAH-LHR and LAX-NRT without the strong connection traffic.
keep in mind the 763 now has 3 subfleets - one high J with PP, one Polaris no PP, and one CO Biz class no PP. when they want it they can do it
the new lesser J 788s could put BKK in play <ducking>
Jul 16, 2019, 7:57 pm
#1814
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,429
Ya, make that a no
No love for BKK at Wills Tower ...... maybe if they could figure out how to cram 3x4x3 seating on 788 
Jul 16, 2019, 8:30 pm
#1815
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Portland OR
Programs: United 1K 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 560
So not just a straightforward seat replacement then. That will lengthen the mod times above some of the optimistic predictions, which were significantly lower than the 763/772. UA is going to have to increase the number of mod lines above the high of 8 in order to make the December 2020 completion deadline, especially considering the summer slowdown (covering for MAX?). That’s still possible given the 13 new delivery 789s next year and (should they decide) not retiring the seven 763s until 2021.
Last edited by usbusinesstraveller; Jul 17, 2019 at 12:41 am