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, ....
Jan 28, 2020, 7:55 am
#2131
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I was very surprised they didn't do the 2-3-2 pattern on the 787 given how much narrower it is. I assume they had to reduce the angle to fit the 2-4-2? (Not trying to cast aspersions on Polaris by double counting rows - it's just how it looks for a geometric design standpoint).
Having now flown the Diamond seat on other carriers I can confirm that UA's configuration (on everything except 772) is excessively tight - it doesn't have to have that short bed such that the constricted footwell becomes a real problem. Now UA has carried that "too many seats in not enough space" approach over to Polaris because they insisted on a space neutral configuration.
Jan 28, 2020, 8:09 am
#2132
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I was very surprised they didn't do the 2-3-2 pattern on the 787 given how much narrower it is. I assume they had to reduce the angle to fit the 2-4-2? (Not trying to cast aspersions on Polaris by double counting rows - it's just how it looks for a geometric design standpoint).
After about 6 long haul flights in the Polaris 787, in each of the seats (window/aisle/center), I don't find it nearly as bad as some, and I'd take one without a second thought, were it a match for my price/schedule needs. But, some sacrifices clearly were made to preserve density...
Philosophically, it's an interesting shift. Continental (with the Diamond configuration) historically prioritized width over length, so the BF beds, with retractable armrests, were plenty wide, but too short, with awkward footwells, such that I couldn't sleep without bending my knees. Laying in the bed on a 787-10 the other day, I remember thinking that the seat was narrow (but not uncomfortably so), yet was gratified that my knees did not have to stay flexed the entire flight!
Jan 28, 2020, 8:19 am
#2133
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I stared at the diagrams for a bit and I think that makes sense... you have an extra aisle access worth of dead space on what would be the "throne" center seats. I was under the impression they had to straighten the aisle seats to fit in the 787, but I do see that it's slightly more efficient.
Jan 28, 2020, 9:22 am
#2134
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Not really (though it is shorter on the 781). The big issue with Polaris is width, whereas the issue with Diamond is length. That's a result of the seat designs and the geometry of the configuration. When UA squeezes too many seats into too little space, the Diamond seats get scrunched lengthwise, while the Polaris seats get squeezed (primarily) in width.
Jan 28, 2020, 8:50 pm
#2135
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Other airlines are also upgrading their business class pods in the next couple of years. If they're still upgrading a couple of years from now, it could look dated compared to the competition.
Jan 29, 2020, 6:26 am
#2136
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That's always going to be a problem - an airline can't constantly have the latest and greatest. It's going to be the first mover, and then fall behind until the next upgrade cycle.
Jan 29, 2020, 7:58 am
#2137
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Of course, DL and LH are both in the same category, so some good company there. DL is still flying lots of 763s with the horrible Vantage seat. Interestingly, AA, generally considered the worst of the three legacies, has the best long-haul J seating on a fleetwide basis.
Jan 29, 2020, 8:08 am
#2138
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UA has some development opportunities with the existing seat, as the basic Optima design can accommodate a door. If suite-with-doors product becomes essential to a top-tier business class product in the future, it's something that can be added later without replacing the entire seating unit. We might also see some incremental changes with deliveries several years from now, like a (slightly) larger or higher-resolution monitor.
Jan 29, 2020, 8:28 am
#2139
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738:
Another thread states that in Earnings call, UA will have all 772s converted to Polaris by the summer season. With 7 total mod lines at HKG and XMN UA should be able to have all IPTE and Diamond seats units either converted or in mod by the middle of May. Assuming the next PW units in will be future Polaris units, all PW engined international aircraft should be converted and flying by early May.
Another thread states that in Earnings call, UA will have all 772s converted to Polaris by the summer season. With 7 total mod lines at HKG and XMN UA should be able to have all IPTE and Diamond seats units either converted or in mod by the middle of May. Assuming the next PW units in will be future Polaris units, all PW engined international aircraft should be converted and flying by early May.
Jan 29, 2020, 8:43 am
#2140
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Jan 29, 2020, 2:17 pm
#2142
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My flight IAH-FRA early may just changed too. If the Coronavirus gets crazy it could slow down the process significantly, possibly stop it altogether. However, UA could pull aircraft from Asia to Europe.
Jan 29, 2020, 3:26 pm
#2144
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Perhaps the expected multi-month China HKG swoon can help keep those mods moving briskly. Really hope for Polaris on my SFO-SIN in April/May, and PP for leisure later this year
Jan 29, 2020, 3:59 pm
#2145
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I'd argue that the more flights get cancelled due to Coronavirus, the more planes UA can retrofit at once (assuming there's sufficient space at HKG/XMN to do them), thereby speeding up the process rather than slowing it down.