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, ....
Nov 18, 2018, 9:52 am
#1441
Join Date: Nov 2018
Programs: BA, United
Posts: 71
Hi All, New Here - not sure if this is the right thread, but a question on Premium Plus (which presume is being delivered as part of the fleet refit)
We are flying SFO-AKL on 8 Feb on 777-300ER and noticed that the seat map recently updated to reflect what I assume is going to be the new 'Premium Plus' Seat, row 19-21 in a 2-4-2 configuration - so jumped on it, and excited to try it out. Does anyone know if this will be the Hard product only or whether by this time the full Premium Plus product will have rolled out. United have previously said Q1 2019 for the full roll out.
This is presuming my upgrade to Polaris does not clear. (what are the chances? guess that's a question for another thread).
We are flying SFO-AKL on 8 Feb on 777-300ER and noticed that the seat map recently updated to reflect what I assume is going to be the new 'Premium Plus' Seat, row 19-21 in a 2-4-2 configuration - so jumped on it, and excited to try it out. Does anyone know if this will be the Hard product only or whether by this time the full Premium Plus product will have rolled out. United have previously said Q1 2019 for the full roll out.
This is presuming my upgrade to Polaris does not clear. (what are the chances? guess that's a question for another thread).
Nov 20, 2018, 11:53 pm
#1442
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,393
Hi All, New Here - not sure if this is the right thread, but a question on Premium Plus (which presume is being delivered as part of the fleet refit)
We are flying SFO-AKL on 8 Feb on 777-300ER and noticed that the seat map recently updated to reflect what I assume is going to be the new 'Premium Plus' Seat, row 19-21 in a 2-4-2 configuration - so jumped on it, and excited to try it out. Does anyone know if this will be the Hard product only or whether by this time the full Premium Plus product will have rolled out. United have previously said Q1 2019 for the full roll out.
This is presuming my upgrade to Polaris does not clear. (what are the chances? guess that's a question for another thread).
We are flying SFO-AKL on 8 Feb on 777-300ER and noticed that the seat map recently updated to reflect what I assume is going to be the new 'Premium Plus' Seat, row 19-21 in a 2-4-2 configuration - so jumped on it, and excited to try it out. Does anyone know if this will be the Hard product only or whether by this time the full Premium Plus product will have rolled out. United have previously said Q1 2019 for the full roll out.
This is presuming my upgrade to Polaris does not clear. (what are the chances? guess that's a question for another thread).
Even though you state you are a newbie, it sounds like you're did your homework and are up to date on the terminology.
It will definitely be the hard product only. There aren't enough 77Ws (the plane used on that route) for UA to guarantee the soft product, so they just sell the seats as Economy Plus for now. Even f the E+ up-charge for these seats is more than that for a standard E+ seat, I, personally, would still be all over it.
Remember, UA doesn't know 2.5 months out which 77W will be on that route. Only 4 out of 19 in service are P+ equipped. UA is only showing this seating's map and to avoid promising people seats (numbered seats) that may not nothing exist. You are paying for E+ and are only guaranteed an E+ seat. If you happen to get a P+ seat, enjoy the extra perk.
Nov 20, 2018, 11:56 pm
#1443
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,393
I chose to post this separately from the above post because they are two different topics, but I found this on TPG
United Will Fly Its New Boeing 787-10s on 6 European Routes From Newark
"Currently, United operates a Boeing 777 aircraft on several of these European routes. A United spokesperson told TPG that some of those 777s will go into Polaris conversion, while some will be used in markets that the airline will upgauge, an industry term for putting more capacity on a route by using larger airplanes."
Hopefully this is true.
United Will Fly Its New Boeing 787-10s on 6 European Routes From Newark
"Currently, United operates a Boeing 777 aircraft on several of these European routes. A United spokesperson told TPG that some of those 777s will go into Polaris conversion, while some will be used in markets that the airline will upgauge, an industry term for putting more capacity on a route by using larger airplanes."
Hopefully this is true.
Nov 21, 2018, 11:15 am
#1444
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,416
We are flying SFO-AKL on 8 Feb on 777-300ER and noticed that the seat map recently updated to reflect what I assume is going to be the new 'Premium Plus' Seat, row 19-21 in a 2-4-2 configuration - so jumped on it, and excited to try it out. Does anyone know if this will be the Hard product only or whether by this time the full Premium Plus product will have rolled out. United have previously said Q1 2019 for the full roll out.
This is presuming my upgrade to Polaris does not clear. (what are the chances? guess that's a question for another thread).
This is presuming my upgrade to Polaris does not clear. (what are the chances? guess that's a question for another thread).
Premium Plus soft product and class-of-service rollout starts 30-Mar-19.
Fri/Sat/Sun upgrades to ANZ are a bad bet -- at J9 Z5 P0 I would not hold my breath. AKL tends to be better than SYD though.
"Currently, United operates a Boeing 777 aircraft on several of these European routes. A United spokesperson told TPG that some of those 777s will go into Polaris conversion, while some will be used in markets that the airline will upgauge, an industry term for putting more capacity on a route by using larger airplanes."
Hopefully this is true.
Hopefully this is true.
Nov 21, 2018, 7:44 pm
#1445
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Alexandria, Longboat Key
Programs: UA Gold Marriott Gold AA Gold Choice Gold Wyndham PLAT IHG PLAT Avis President's Club Amtrak Select
Posts: 2,263
I think TPG meant sCO 777s will be undergoing Polaris mods as the 787-10s take over six EWR-Europe routes. The sUA fleet will finish next year while its probably going to be 2020 when the sCO fleet is complete.
Nov 21, 2018, 11:13 pm
#1446
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,393
That's what I was thinking as well.
Last edited by phkc070408; Nov 25, 2018 at 1:38 am Reason: Spelling
Nov 29, 2018, 2:26 pm
#1447
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,393
So N660UA is still flying around as a 3-class plane, but N666UA is in for mod. I see a few possibilities:
1. They are doing more of the 30J version 763s than the originally planned.
2. They are starting the 46J planes. Since the first one usually takes longer, due to needing certifications, learning curves for the workers, etc., this explains why they dropped to 1 mod line. This doesn't explain why they left the lone 3-class plane in service.
1. They are doing more of the 30J version 763s than the originally planned.
2. They are starting the 46J planes. Since the first one usually takes longer, due to needing certifications, learning curves for the workers, etc., this explains why they dropped to 1 mod line. This doesn't explain why they left the lone 3-class plane in service.
Nov 29, 2018, 3:07 pm
#1448
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NYC
Programs: Marriott Platinum Elite, National Executive, United Gold
Posts: 1,181
I think this would be a good move. TATL/LHR J yields won't be around forever especially with some of the economic forecasts coming out of the EU and Brexit.
Nov 29, 2018, 3:57 pm
#1449
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Virginia, USA
Posts: 4,510
Hi All, New Here - not sure if this is the right thread, but a question on Premium Plus (which presume is being delivered as part of the fleet refit)
We are flying SFO-AKL on 8 Feb on 777-300ER and noticed that the seat map recently updated to reflect what I assume is going to be the new 'Premium Plus' Seat, row 19-21 in a 2-4-2 configuration - so jumped on it, and excited to try it out. Does anyone know if this will be the Hard product only or whether by this time the full Premium Plus product will have rolled out. United have previously said Q1 2019 for the full roll out.
This is presuming my upgrade to Polaris does not clear. (what are the chances? guess that's a question for another thread).
We are flying SFO-AKL on 8 Feb on 777-300ER and noticed that the seat map recently updated to reflect what I assume is going to be the new 'Premium Plus' Seat, row 19-21 in a 2-4-2 configuration - so jumped on it, and excited to try it out. Does anyone know if this will be the Hard product only or whether by this time the full Premium Plus product will have rolled out. United have previously said Q1 2019 for the full roll out.
This is presuming my upgrade to Polaris does not clear. (what are the chances? guess that's a question for another thread).
Nov 29, 2018, 7:34 pm
#1451
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Portland OR
Programs: United 1K 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Hilton HHonors Gold
Posts: 560
So N660UA is still flying around as a 3-class plane, but N666UA is in for mod. I see a few possibilities:
1. They are doing more of the 30J version 763s than the originally planned.
2. They are starting the 46J planes. Since the first one usually takes longer, due to needing certifications, learning curves for the workers, etc., this explains why they dropped to 1 mod line. This doesn't explain why they left the lone 3-class plane in service.
1. They are doing more of the 30J version 763s than the originally planned.
2. They are starting the 46J planes. Since the first one usually takes longer, due to needing certifications, learning curves for the workers, etc., this explains why they dropped to 1 mod line. This doesn't explain why they left the lone 3-class plane in service.
I also reckon the 2-Class may be in for the first Hi-J. It’ll take longer due to the need to get certification.
Nov 30, 2018, 10:42 am
#1452
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,393
Nov 30, 2018, 8:59 pm
#1454
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Delaware
Programs: UA Mileage Plus, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 1,393
On another note, according to a different thread, it looks like PE is going live sometime around 30-March-19. I looked at a bunch (but not all) of the 77W routes and they all show PE as a separate class. I guess this means that UA is expecting to have most/all of the 77Ws configured to PE by then.
I also checked SFO-PEK, the only route I know of that uses a dedicated Polaris/PE 772 and that route is also showing a true PE cabin.
On a different note, where will the first couple of 46J 763's be assigned? Unlike the 30J planes that could be swapped for a non-polaris plane, or the 772s that can sub in for an older 772, there is no plane with a similar seat count that this plane could sub for. Without displacing passengers, the best I see they can do is sub it in for a 752 or a 753 and give a bunch of upgrades.
I also checked SFO-PEK, the only route I know of that uses a dedicated Polaris/PE 772 and that route is also showing a true PE cabin.
On a different note, where will the first couple of 46J 763's be assigned? Unlike the 30J planes that could be swapped for a non-polaris plane, or the 772s that can sub in for an older 772, there is no plane with a similar seat count that this plane could sub for. Without displacing passengers, the best I see they can do is sub it in for a 752 or a 753 and give a bunch of upgrades.
Nov 30, 2018, 11:54 pm
#1455
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
On a different note, where will the first couple of 46J 763's be assigned? Unlike the 30J planes that could be swapped for a non-polaris plane, or the 772s that can sub in for an older 772, there is no plane with a similar seat count that this plane could sub for. Without displacing passengers, the best I see they can do is sub it in for a 752 or a 753 and give a bunch of upgrades.