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, ....
Aug 8, 2018, 4:04 pm
#1202
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORF, RIC
Programs: UA LT 1K, 3 MM; Marriott Titanium; IHG Platinum
Posts: 6,958
Looks like flight #896 to ORD on Friday.
Aug 8, 2018, 5:10 pm
#1203
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Houston TX
Programs: United Premier 1k, Hertz Presidents Circle, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 408
Aug 9, 2018, 4:04 am
#1206
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,393
So N223UA is out, N786UA should be out in a day or two, and N788UA appears to be going in for a PE MOD, which took less than 2 weeks for N786UA. In less than 2 weeks, UA will probably have 5 Polaris 772s, all with PE. Since selling PE as Y+ is costing UA money, I would think they would be anxious to start selling PE as PE. How many planes does UA need to have 1 or 2 dedicated routes? One would think that they would want to start to sell the seats now for service to commence in the future (say 2-3 months out). Also, at the rate the conversions are going, we very well could have 2 or 3 more planes configured in 3 months.
Last edited by phkc070408; Aug 9, 2018 at 6:07 am
Aug 9, 2018, 8:18 am
#1207
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 21,400
How many planes does UA need to have 1 or 2 dedicated routes? One would think that they would want to start to sell the seats now for service to commence in the future (say 2-3 months out). Also, at the rate the conversions are going, we very well could have 2 or 3 more planes configured in 3 months.
While I agree that they're likely anxious to get started, they're probably also anxious to avoid the bad press they'd get if they started selling P+ for travel on, say, October 1, only to find that they couldn't deliver what they promised in their marketing material.
Aug 9, 2018, 8:33 am
#1208
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,450
I don't think the issue is the planes, at this point, but rather training staff, preparing catering, etc. UA needs hundreds of mini-amenity kits, dining sets, etc., which may need to be sourced at both ends of the route, and they need to be able to take the cabin crews off of planes to do Premium Plus training.
While I agree that they're likely anxious to get started, they're probably also anxious to avoid the bad press they'd get if they started selling P+ for travel on, say, October 1, only to find that they couldn't deliver what they promised in their marketing material.
While I agree that they're likely anxious to get started, they're probably also anxious to avoid the bad press they'd get if they started selling P+ for travel on, say, October 1, only to find that they couldn't deliver what they promised in their marketing material.
It's a panoply of factors. Customer service, as you note. Technology (selling the product) and reliability (actually having the product you sell on the airplane) are hurdles, too. United will soon have 11 767-300ER in a Polaris configuration and still will not 'guarantee' the product on a single route. In fact it's totally opaque until an aircraft is assigned to a given flight, and even then is subject to change.
I expect United to have all the 77W fitted with PP this winter, and to start selling the product at that time on 77W routes only, gradually expanding as the 77E reconfigurations roll on.
Aug 9, 2018, 1:10 pm
#1209
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Houston TX
Programs: United Premier 1k, Hertz Presidents Circle, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 408
That's true... I don't think United has even begun the process of training crews on the Premium Plus service flow.
It's a panoply of factors. Customer service, as you note. Technology (selling the product) and reliability (actually having the product you sell on the airplane) are hurdles, too. United will soon have 11 767-300ER in a Polaris configuration and still will not 'guarantee' the product on a single route. In fact it's totally opaque until an aircraft is assigned to a given flight, and even then is subject to change.
I expect United to have all the 77W fitted with PP this winter, and to start selling the product at that time on 77W routes only, gradually expanding as the 77E reconfigurations roll on.
It's a panoply of factors. Customer service, as you note. Technology (selling the product) and reliability (actually having the product you sell on the airplane) are hurdles, too. United will soon have 11 767-300ER in a Polaris configuration and still will not 'guarantee' the product on a single route. In fact it's totally opaque until an aircraft is assigned to a given flight, and even then is subject to change.
I expect United to have all the 77W fitted with PP this winter, and to start selling the product at that time on 77W routes only, gradually expanding as the 77E reconfigurations roll on.
Aug 9, 2018, 2:35 pm
#1210
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,410
Certainly no sooner. They also have to effect some form of fare class retirement in order to free up alphabet space for PE, and re-code IT for the new cabin. My suspicion is that the introduction of PE for sale will coincide with the permanent retirement of F, and probably with the physical retirement of the last GF seats too.
Aug 11, 2018, 1:51 pm
#1212
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: LBB, Texas
Programs: UA 1K, 1.6MM
Posts: 111
Looks like I could get to fly retrofited #796 on Tuesday CDG/SFO - still waiting for them to update seat map, guess seating could be a bit of a cluster in Polaris once the computer reallocates everyone - hey at least I think the new Polaris seating is an upgrade, always enjoy my 773 trips..
Aug 12, 2018, 10:42 am
#1213
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Houston TX
Programs: United Premier 1k, Hertz Presidents Circle, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 408
Looks like I could get to fly retrofited #796 on Tuesday CDG/SFO - still waiting for them to update seat map, guess seating could be a bit of a cluster in Polaris once the computer reallocates everyone - hey at least I think the new Polaris seating is an upgrade, always enjoy my 773 trips..
Aug 17, 2018, 8:23 pm
#1214
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,005
Is this the case across the board? I've been refreshing my EWR-GVA flight next Tuesday zealously over this week. Should I be waiting until I am in the T-48 hour window to see if I get a retrofitted 763?
Aug 18, 2018, 2:43 am
#1215
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Houston TX
Programs: United Premier 1k, Hertz Presidents Circle, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 408
I believe for now that's how they all are. Anytime Sunday you will be able to see if it's the Polaris bird because at that point it will have been designated a specific plane.