May 29, 17, 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, ....
Sep 13, 17, 1:28 pm
#511
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: DTW and ORD
Posts: 662
After having flown only EWR<->LHR so far, N644UA (the first Polaris retrofit sUA763) is scheduled to make a few trips to Hamburg and back to EWR starting this evening through at least Friday of this week! If this plane continues to be swapped in and out of several 763 routes, I may be a lucky ducky and can grab a Polaris seat when I fly to HAM in October.
Sep 13, 17, 1:29 pm
#512
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: MRY - CNX - TXL
Programs: UA 1K / *G / Marriott PE / Expedia Gold+ / Hertz PC
Posts: 7,059
There's a slight upward pitch to the plane when it's cruising. So if you are fully flat in a forward facing seat your head is slightly below your feet. If you're in a backwards facing seat your head is slightly above your feet.
Sep 13, 17, 1:46 pm
#513
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1K 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott Ti, LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 53,501
Sep 13, 17, 2:31 pm
#514
Join Date: Nov 2014
Programs: UA 2MM
Posts: 1,599
Sep 20, 17, 9:52 pm
#515
formerly bulgarianfreak55
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: United 1K, Marriott Platinum, SPG Platinum, Hertz Pres
Posts: 142
Polaris Seats on 787-10/9
Perhaps this has been discussed, but will the 787-10s come with Polaris seats?
What about the 4 787-9s left to be delivered in December 2017 thru Jan 2018?
Would make sense to get the last 4 789s in Polaris seats and deploy them on the longer routes such as SFO/LAX-SIN.
What about the 4 787-9s left to be delivered in December 2017 thru Jan 2018?
Would make sense to get the last 4 789s in Polaris seats and deploy them on the longer routes such as SFO/LAX-SIN.
Sep 20, 17, 10:08 pm
#516
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR but currently stuck in Texas
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,177
As I understand it, it would be MORE expensive to rewrite the contract than to take deliveries, tear out Biz and install Polaris by third party.
Sep 20, 17, 10:13 pm
#517
Moderator: United Airlines; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Plat 1.9MM, Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott Plat/LT Gold, Hilton Silver, IHG Plat
Posts: 63,167
A number of folks have reported hearing the following from UA folks
Sep 21, 17, 7:19 pm
#518
Join Date: Nov 2014
Programs: UA 2MM
Posts: 1,599
It may also make sense for consistency, UA appears that they are going to convert the 763s extremely quickly, it actually makes sense to not upgrade the product on a few planes then to have an inconsistent 787 fleet for years... I would also note certification of a new seat takes a good amount of time and UA has been announcing routes with the anticipation of these a/c.
Sep 22, 17, 8:02 am
#519
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 606
Originally Posted by Pat89339
.... The 787-900 will not be retrofitted with Polaris seats, even those still not delivered. The 787-10 orders will be delivered with the Polaris seats. ....
The airline will retrofit its 787-8s and -9s with Polaris as they come up for heavy maintenance checks, says Walter. These occur roughly every six years with the first 787 due for a D check around 2018, she adds.
Sep 25, 17, 8:14 pm
#520
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Houston TX
Programs: United Premier 1k, Hertz Presidents Circle, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 396
N648 is still in Hong Kong, it's been about a month. I thought once they got the first one done it was only going to take a couple of weeks to knock out each retrofit?
Sep 25, 17, 11:58 pm
#521
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Delta DM CO PE OZ GE AMTRAK
Posts: 524
probably will take 2 months each. there are two in HKG right now. We should see them out toward end of oct/beginning of nov at this speed. There are probably two more done by the end of December. So basically if this calculation is correct, UA should have 5 767 configured by the end of 2017 and all the rest 3-class 767 by the end of 2018.
Sep 26, 17, 1:00 pm
#522
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Houston TX
Programs: United Premier 1k, Hertz Presidents Circle, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 396
probably will take 2 months each. there are two in HKG right now. We should see them out toward end of oct/beginning of nov at this speed. There are probably two more done by the end of December. So basically if this calculation is correct, UA should have 5 767 configured by the end of 2017 and all the rest 3-class 767 by the end of 2018.
Sep 28, 17, 2:04 am
#523
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,299
I went back and found Pat 89339's original post which appears to reference info from a September '16 family day. United has made statements since then that the 787's will receive Polaris whenever they're due for heavy maintenance checks, which begin for some aircraft in 2018. This was discussed previously in the thread in mid-February and references this article: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...ris-re-434124/
Anybody have additional insight? Guessing we'll find out for sure in 2018.
Anybody have additional insight? Guessing we'll find out for sure in 2018.
I am also hoping to see a Polaris Cabin on an EWR-FCO/CDG open Jaw trip in 4 years, but we'll see. A lot can happen and change over the next couple of years.
Sep 28, 17, 2:24 am
#524
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: SEA, WAS, PEK
Programs: UA 3K UGS 3MM
Posts: 2,176
I do the opposite and go out of my way to fly the sUA 772s because they have GF! @:-)
Sep 28, 17, 3:10 am
#525
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,324
I try and book my loved 3-class 763. I love F cabin and the Biz is great at 2-2-2 with rearward facing window right of the engine. Many great experiences landing into wintery snowy Geneva, Zurich, Newark, and Chicago while looking straight at the engine. Those moments always struck me and I won’t soon forget them.
