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, ....
Sep 28, 2018, 1:46 pm
#1321
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: Marriott Platinum Elite, National Executive, United Gold
Posts: 1,181
I don't think the range different between the sUA (648K MTOW) and sCOs 772s (656K MTOW) is statistically significant. After all, EWR-HKG is only ~270 miles longer than ORD-HKG. I believe EWR-BOM is out of range for the sUA 772 because of routing issues through the Himalayas, I believe both India flights carry auxiliary oxygen tanks onboard for this reason.
Back on topic, how many 77Ws have PE installed at this point?
Back on topic, how many 77Ws have PE installed at this point?
Sep 28, 2018, 11:49 pm
#1322
formerly 1984SW
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
Programs: UA
Posts: 1,058
During its brief existence, didn't UA downgauge from a 747 to a 777 on the JFK-HKG route for a little while?
Sep 29, 2018, 12:00 am
#1323
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Portland OR & Bangkok
Programs: United GS, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 662
Sep 29, 2018, 12:05 am
#1324
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,455
Sep 29, 2018, 5:38 am
#1325
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: UA*Lifetime GS, Hyatt* Lifetime Globalist
Posts: 12,332
Sep 29, 2018, 7:46 am
#1326
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: UA MileagePlus 2MM
Posts: 1,567
I flew JFK-HKG on UA's nonstop 747 so it definitely had the range. I flew JFK-HKG once in coach, where I had 4 seats together but it was a long and boring flight with limited entertainment options. The service didn't last long - began 1 April 2001 and got yanked right after 9/11. I think UA announced it was cancelling the flight prior to 9/11 but the tragic events sped up this flight's demise. I don't recall any 777 flying the route from JFK - while the flight was mostly half empty the 4 times I flew it so maybe UA's 777's could have done it? Back on topic, the United 777's UA currently uses from EWR to HKG are the ex-CO birds with 50 Business First 'Polaris' seats.
Sep 30, 2018, 3:30 am
#1327
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,393
What's up with N791UA? It's been in XMN for now almost 2 months, shouldn't the retrofit be done by now?(Incidentally, it looks like unitedfleetsite has the wrong XMN entry date for that one)https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N791UA
Also, I have a feeling that N792UA is not getting Polaris. The aircraft that 792 replaced in the hanger did not get Polaris. There is one line of maintenance going on in HKG that is not getting Polaris seats, and I suspect that is the current one in that line.
Sep 30, 2018, 8:52 am
#1328
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Denver, CO
Programs: UA 1K | Marriott Ambassador (LT Plat) | National Exec Elite | Global Entry | HH Silver
Posts: 419
I was thinking it was going on 3 months, but I see what you mean about the dates. That's a weird one.
Also, I have a feeling that N792UA is not getting Polaris. The aircraft that 792 replaced in the hanger did not get Polaris. There is one line of maintenance going on in HKG that is not getting Polaris seats, and I suspect that is the current one in that line.
Also, I have a feeling that N792UA is not getting Polaris. The aircraft that 792 replaced in the hanger did not get Polaris. There is one line of maintenance going on in HKG that is not getting Polaris seats, and I suspect that is the current one in that line.
Side note: Wiki has been updated as of 30 September 2018.
Oct 4, 2018, 6:30 pm
#1330
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,005
Hopefully they add the 787-9 to the retrofit status page at some point - with the new 789s and 78Js being delivered with the new seat, I would imagine a Dreamliner retrofit line should open up at some point.
Oct 4, 2018, 6:44 pm
#1331
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Portland OR
Programs: United 1K 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 560
N791UA just completed a test hop at XMN as UA2688. It's scheduled to exit Saturday to HKG as UA2672.
The seat map wasn't available on the flight status on ua.com so we can't be sure it's Polaris. But if UA's own fleet tracker is saying 6 completed, this is probably the 6th.
The seat map wasn't available on the flight status on ua.com so we can't be sure it's Polaris. But if UA's own fleet tracker is saying 6 completed, this is probably the 6th.
Oct 4, 2018, 7:17 pm
#1332
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Bay Area
Programs: DL SM, UA MP.
Posts: 12,729
Oct 4, 2018, 8:06 pm
#1333
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Portland OR
Programs: United 1K 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 560
Just the 772s., and the long haul international 772s to boot (the domestic/Hawaii high density planes won’t get it).
But, United has 55 long haul 772s, 33 pmUA and 22 pmCO. So either that’s a mistake on that tracker site or it points to 4 aircraft being retired (or being switched to domestic) before end-2020. Hmm.
But, United has 55 long haul 772s, 33 pmUA and 22 pmCO. So either that’s a mistake on that tracker site or it points to 4 aircraft being retired (or being switched to domestic) before end-2020. Hmm.
Oct 5, 2018, 2:26 am
#1335
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Portland OR
Programs: United 1K 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 560
N791UA just completed a test hop at XMN as UA2688. It's scheduled to exit Saturday to HKG as UA2672.
The seat map wasn't available on the flight status on ua.com so we can't be sure it's Polaris. But if UA's own fleet tracker is saying 6 completed, this is probably the 6th.
The seat map wasn't available on the flight status on ua.com so we can't be sure it's Polaris. But if UA's own fleet tracker is saying 6 completed, this is probably the 6th.