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, ....
Oct 10, 2017, 8:58 am
#556
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,420
Oct 10, 2017, 9:16 am
#557
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
Polaris Tracker is not showing the 773 on SFO-FRA city pair. Flights changed from the 744 last THU 10/5 (UA58) and FR 10/6 (UA59).
Btw, isn't there a second converted 763 returning as well? and how many are in the shop at this time as they are supposed to ramp up the conversions?
Oct 10, 2017, 12:21 pm
#558
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, AA, DL
Posts: 7,418
Oct 10, 2017, 2:48 pm
#560
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: Marriott Platinum Elite, National Executive, United Gold
Posts: 1,181
Oct 10, 2017, 6:20 pm
#562
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,427
Oct 10, 2017, 9:21 pm
#563
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Tx
Programs: AA, UA, WN
Posts: 812
So 18 months to convert 14 763s...
remember these are the only 767s on deck to be retrofit and the first of any retrofit aircraft. It has been over 1 yr from polaris announcement and we only have 1 retrofit aircraft and 1 lounge....slow down UA and keep up the ad campaign we don't notice 
remember these are the only 767s on deck to be retrofit and the first of any retrofit aircraft. It has been over 1 yr from polaris announcement and we only have 1 retrofit aircraft and 1 lounge....slow down UA and keep up the ad campaign we don't notice
Oct 11, 2017, 12:54 am
#565
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,392
Oh, and throw a little OCD and craziness in there as well. :-)
Oct 11, 2017, 8:01 am
#566
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Houston
Programs: UA LT GS 4.2 MM, AA Gold 1MM, HH Lifetime Diamond, Marriott Lifetime Gold
Posts: 394
If they were just converting to Polaris it might take 3 weeks, but these planes are having a lot of other work done at the same time. They will probably spend closer to 2 months in HKG.
Oct 11, 2017, 8:33 am
#567
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Haze gray and underway
Programs: UA 1K 2MM, HH Diamond, Marriott 'clink clink' Titanium
Posts: 1,784
Years is correct. Considering we can't afford $18,000 for two adults in J EWR-SYD, I figure it will take us that long to get enough miles to be able to take the trip. Also, I will be graduating college in 2023 or 2024 (one class per semester while working full time) and the kiddos will be older then and be able to stay with their grandparents for a few weeks. I know it's a little over the top, but everything seems to fall in place for then.
Oh, and throw a little OCD and craziness in there as well. :-)
Oh, and throw a little OCD and craziness in there as well. :-)
Oct 12, 2017, 1:15 am
#568
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Seoul
Programs: None anymore
Posts: 983
Otherwise I'm lucky if I book a week or two out.
Oct 13, 2017, 9:07 am
#569
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: YYZ
Programs: UA1K MM, JL JMB SAPPHIRE, Marriott Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,267
United Airlines will add at least 23 seats to its long-haul Boeing 777-200s
https://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...etrofi-442165/
The Chicago-based carrier will configure the aircraft with 50 lie-flat Polaris business seats and 242 economy seats, shows a seating diagram sent to flight attendants and provided to FlightGlobal by a source.
Asset Image
Polaris configuration of United's 777-200s
United
United configures its long-haul 777-200s with either 267 seats or 269 seats, depending on whether they are former Continental Airlines or United aircraft. Its domestic 777s have 364 seats and will not receive Polaris.
The airline joins competitors American Airlines and Delta Air Lines adding seats to its 777-200s. American is reconfiguring its fleet of the type with up to 289 seats compared to 247 seats previously, and Delta plans to retrofit its fleet with 296 seats versus 291 seats today.
United debuted Polaris on its 777-300ERs, which entered service in February, and then on the Boeing 767-300ER in September.
Asset Image
United Polaris on the 767
United
United has previously said that it will begin retrofitting its 777-200 fleet with Polaris in the fourth quarter.
The carrier was not immediately available to comment on the 777 retrofits.
Separately, United has set the configuration of its new Boeing 737 Max 9 at 179 seats, with 20 in first class and 159 in economy, a flight attendant seating diagram viewed by FlightGlobal shows. This is the same number of seats as on its 737-900ERs.
The airline is scheduled to take delivery of its first 10 737-9s in 2018, a September fleet plan shows.
United has firm orders for 61 737-9s and 100 737-10s, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows.
Asset Image
Polaris configuration of United's 777-200s
United
United configures its long-haul 777-200s with either 267 seats or 269 seats, depending on whether they are former Continental Airlines or United aircraft. Its domestic 777s have 364 seats and will not receive Polaris.
The airline joins competitors American Airlines and Delta Air Lines adding seats to its 777-200s. American is reconfiguring its fleet of the type with up to 289 seats compared to 247 seats previously, and Delta plans to retrofit its fleet with 296 seats versus 291 seats today.
United debuted Polaris on its 777-300ERs, which entered service in February, and then on the Boeing 767-300ER in September.
Asset Image
United Polaris on the 767
United
United has previously said that it will begin retrofitting its 777-200 fleet with Polaris in the fourth quarter.
The carrier was not immediately available to comment on the 777 retrofits.
Separately, United has set the configuration of its new Boeing 737 Max 9 at 179 seats, with 20 in first class and 159 in economy, a flight attendant seating diagram viewed by FlightGlobal shows. This is the same number of seats as on its 737-900ERs.
The airline is scheduled to take delivery of its first 10 737-9s in 2018, a September fleet plan shows.
United has firm orders for 61 737-9s and 100 737-10s, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows.
Oct 13, 2017, 10:01 am
#570
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Tx
Programs: AA, UA, WN
Posts: 812
What is interesting is that a retrofit UA 772 will have 50J and 242 economy in a 3-4-3 configuration total 292 seats whereas DL will have 28 J, 48 PE and 220 economy in a 3-3-3 configuration. Should be an interesting comparison when stats come rolling in.
On another note funny/sad how no comment on the 772 retrofits. I guess UA took my advice and decided to slow down as customers don't want to see 8 across J go away
On another note funny/sad how no comment on the 772 retrofits. I guess UA took my advice and decided to slow down as customers don't want to see 8 across J go away