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✨ Polaris (& PP) Retrofits: Schedule, ....

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Old May 29, 2017, 1:21 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
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, 46 86 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

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✨ Polaris (& PP) Retrofits: Schedule, ....

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Old Feb 4, 2020, 6:19 pm
  #2161  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: Delta, Marriott
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Got rerouted from a route I was really excited about because of Coronavirus.

What can I expect on UA1 SFO>SIN next week on a 787-9 Dreamliner?
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Old Feb 4, 2020, 6:33 pm
  #2162  
 
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If you're asking if the plane will have the Polaris seating, the answer is definitely No. There aren't any 787-9s in service with the Polaris Configuration.
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Old Feb 4, 2020, 6:48 pm
  #2163  
 
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Originally Posted by phkc070408
If you're asking if the plane will have the Polaris seating, the answer is definitely No. There aren't any 787-9s in service with the Polaris Configuration.
Damn. Burned a bunch of miles for this. Coronavirus =(
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Old Feb 4, 2020, 6:52 pm
  #2164  
 
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Originally Posted by jasonNYC85
Got rerouted from a route I was really excited about because of Coronavirus.

What can I expect on UA1 SFO>SIN next week on a 787-9 Dreamliner?
Maybe 1% UA has their first Polaris in induction right now. Tiny chance itll be in revenue service then.
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Old Feb 4, 2020, 10:00 pm
  #2165  
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Originally Posted by jasonNYC85
Got rerouted from a route I was really excited about because of Coronavirus.

What can I expect on UA1 SFO>SIN next week on a 787-9 Dreamliner?
As mentioned the 789, in a 2-2-2 config, is not presently the newer seat (although the first updated 789 is in process, one recent left CHS but no revenue flights, and another in XMN).
For more on the flight, see
United Starting nonstop flight SFO-SIN - June 2016
UA Ending LAX-SIN, going 2x daily SFO-SIN, 27 OCT 2018

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Feb 4, 2020 at 10:18 pm
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Old Feb 4, 2020, 10:36 pm
  #2166  
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Originally Posted by mike2003242
The wildcard is how much staff at XMN/HKG will be effected by the coronavirus. I'd guess it will slow down progress at XMN more than HKG but at the very least the next 8 weeks should be almost all Polaris birds flying.
Hardware supplier(s) might be an issue too.
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Old Feb 4, 2020, 11:47 pm
  #2167  
 
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Originally Posted by cesco.g
Hardware supplier(s) might be an issue too.
Yes, I don't think the supply chain has a few hundred Polaris pods lying around. It probably takes 4-8 to get these built...
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Old Feb 5, 2020, 4:00 am
  #2168  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
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Originally Posted by jasonNYC85
Damn. Burned a bunch of miles for this. Coronavirus =(
FWIW, I gave up the opportunity to fly in a 787-10 with Polaris Seats for a 757-200 with the sCO seats. The seat wasn't the reason for this decision, but IMHO, the sCO seat is pretty good. Keep in mind I was traveling with the wifey, so being able to sit together at a window was nice.

While I understand the desire to try the Polaris seats, I rate the sCO seats pretty high as well. Assuming that the consensus that the 78J Polaris seat is too narrow, after I eventually get to experience a 787 Polaris seat, I'm thinking I wouldn't be that concerned with which seat I got. YMMV
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Old Feb 5, 2020, 7:00 am
  #2169  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: Delta, Marriott
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Originally Posted by phkc070408
FWIW, I gave up the opportunity to fly in a 787-10 with Polaris Seats for a 757-200 with the sCO seats. The seat wasn't the reason for this decision, but IMHO, the sCO seat is pretty good. Keep in mind I was traveling with the wifey, so being able to sit together at a window was nice.

While I understand the desire to try the Polaris seats, I rate the sCO seats pretty high as well. Assuming that the consensus that the 78J Polaris seat is too narrow, after I eventually get to experience a 787 Polaris seat, I'm thinking I wouldn't be that concerned with which seat I got. YMMV
Thanks - this is nice to hear. My wife and I are both small framed people under 5'8 so not expecting the width to be a huge issue. The SFO>SIN flight is the longest flight I've ever taken so having any kind of bed will be a dream.
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Old Feb 5, 2020, 11:52 am
  #2170  
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
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Originally Posted by jasonNYC85
Thanks - this is nice to hear. My wife and I are both small framed people under 5'8 so not expecting the width to be a huge issue. The SFO>SIN flight is the longest flight I've ever taken so having any kind of bed will be a dream.
As a couple the old seats are fine. If you want a window you can have it and it's your spouse youd have to step over not some stranger. If you don't line the window, take a middle pair.
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Old Feb 5, 2020, 4:39 pm
  #2171  
 
Join Date: May 2017
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Originally Posted by mike2003242
As a couple the old seats are fine. If you want a window you can have it and it's your spouse youd have to step over not some stranger. If you don't line the window, take a middle pair.
Booked aisle and window.
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Old Feb 6, 2020, 12:45 am
  #2172  
 
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Originally Posted by jasonNYC85
Booked aisle and window.
I didn't realize it was two of you. Yes, I think you'll definitely be happier in the old configuration. The Polaris configuration, on all aircraft, is catered towards singles.
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Old Feb 6, 2020, 12:51 am
  #2173  
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Originally Posted by phkc070408
FWIW, I gave up the opportunity to fly in a 787-10 with Polaris Seats for a 757-200 with the sCO seats. The seat wasn't the reason for this decision, but IMHO, the sCO seat is pretty good. Keep in mind I was traveling with the wifey, so being able to sit together at a window was nice.

While I understand the desire to try the Polaris seats, I rate the sCO seats pretty high as well. Assuming that the consensus that the 78J Polaris seat is too narrow, after I eventually get to experience a 787 Polaris seat, I'm thinking I wouldn't be that concerned with which seat I got. YMMV
FWIW, tangentially, I don't find the 781 Polaris seat too narrow.

I do agree with everything you wrote. The sCO seat is a good seat, and for a couple it's a better configuration assuming the window sitter is physically able to step over the aisle sitter.
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fumje is offline  
Old Feb 6, 2020, 7:30 am
  #2174  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Originally Posted by fumje
FWIW, tangentially, I don't find the 781 Polaris seat too narrow.
I do. I'm a side sleeper and a bit on the large side. the difference between window 777 and window 781 is so stark, I will avoid the 78x in the future. It really feels like a coffin to me, and there is no good way for me to roll. I may try the diagonal seat for the larger opening, and/or the bulkhead to see if a larger footwell helps.

If you think about it, the J cabin is effectively 8 across, while the PE cabin is 7 across. That should tell you something.
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Old Feb 6, 2020, 7:59 am
  #2175  
 
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 4,771
Originally Posted by jasonNYC85

What can I expect on UA1 SFO>SIN next week on a 787-9 Dreamliner?
World leading mediocrity and slop for meals.
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