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 8, 2018, 11:21 pm
#1351
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: Portland OR
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So...since it say sall 777-200 will be converted, does that mean that finally I'll have a good lie flat experience on United returning home to Hawaii every year during the holidays? I find myself paying for AA since their 777 seats are much better, even though I could probably use my miles for United. I want proper Polaris to/from Hawaii!!!
I'm the 0.1% exception. On Labor Day my 772HD HNL-SFO was switched to 77W so we got Polaris. A lot of pax at the airport were confused by the seat swaps but when explained were very happy, as were a lot of pax on the upgrade wait list. Of course it was Polaris seats (I got 9A) but with domestic F meals and service.
But you'll mostly be the 99.9% and not get Polaris on HNL-SFO.
Oct 8, 2018, 11:23 pm
#1352
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Oct 8, 2018, 11:33 pm
#1353
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Oct 9, 2018, 12:05 am
#1354
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Oct 9, 2018, 7:04 am
#1355
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Washington DC
Programs: Delta DM CO PE OZ GE AMTRAK
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UA has 17 out of around 83 (763 and 772, not counting the 7 to be retired 763) retrofitted with new Polaris, that's around 20%. QR announced Q-suites 2 years ago, and they only have around 23 out of 85 (777 and A359) aircraft retrofitted (27%).
And to be fair, the UA 763 and 772 all have to be retrofitted with new lavs, new overhead bins on 763, install premium economy and new economy seats. Basically a nose to tail retrofit. QR only had to replace the J cabin with Q-suites and they're only slightly faster.
And noted above, DL doesn't even have a retrofit plan for their 767 and AA 767 refits were half-baked (missing IFE and old overhead bins in econ).
And to be fair, the UA 763 and 772 all have to be retrofitted with new lavs, new overhead bins on 763, install premium economy and new economy seats. Basically a nose to tail retrofit. QR only had to replace the J cabin with Q-suites and they're only slightly faster.
And noted above, DL doesn't even have a retrofit plan for their 767 and AA 767 refits were half-baked (missing IFE and old overhead bins in econ).
United also has 17 Polaris 77W done. 17* 60 =1020, that is a lot of seats to deliver. The bottleneck is the capacity of seats that can be delivered for both new and retrofitted planes, not necessarily at United.
Oct 9, 2018, 8:29 am
#1356
Join Date: Jan 2005
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The fact is, major airline interior retrofit programs take a lot of time. The pace will never be good enough for more "aware" travelers, nor will the logistical/regulatory challenges of these products ever truly be appreciated by the general public. The perception of an interminably slow Polaris hard product rollout seems to be a bit of a lagging indicator, too, because the numbers show a significant ramp-up in progress over the last year.
It's been said quite a bit, but bears repeating: there are far more examples out there of slower or comparable hard product rollouts than there are of counterpoints where airlines completed similarly-ambitious projects at a faster pace. It's been about 26 months since Delta announced their D1 Suite product, yet you'll find it on exactly 12 airplanes at the moment, 11 of which are new-builds. The second retrofit fleet (764) isn't even at the STC stage yet, though that should change within the next few weeks.
OTOH, United is a little over 28 months since the Polaris unveil in June 2016, and the product appears on 34 in-service aircraft, with 3-6 simultaneous mod lines, depending on season, and 10 new-builds scheduled for delivery in the next 12 months. UA will begin the STC process on a new configuration (763 high-J) this autumn and 787-8/9 will commence by late spring 2019.
Similarly, despite only announcing the product 10 months ago, 8 aircraft are already in service with the Premium Plus hard product, with short-stay retrofits (a few days) underway on the 77W fleet and modded 772s coming out of XMN with it. Even though the product isn't yet being sold, since a critical mass hasn't been achieved to actually deliver it at an acceptable rate as a distinct class of service, hundreds of pax daily are sitting in the seats right now. That's a pretty good start, IMO.
It's been said quite a bit, but bears repeating: there are far more examples out there of slower or comparable hard product rollouts than there are of counterpoints where airlines completed similarly-ambitious projects at a faster pace. It's been about 26 months since Delta announced their D1 Suite product, yet you'll find it on exactly 12 airplanes at the moment, 11 of which are new-builds. The second retrofit fleet (764) isn't even at the STC stage yet, though that should change within the next few weeks.
OTOH, United is a little over 28 months since the Polaris unveil in June 2016, and the product appears on 34 in-service aircraft, with 3-6 simultaneous mod lines, depending on season, and 10 new-builds scheduled for delivery in the next 12 months. UA will begin the STC process on a new configuration (763 high-J) this autumn and 787-8/9 will commence by late spring 2019.
Similarly, despite only announcing the product 10 months ago, 8 aircraft are already in service with the Premium Plus hard product, with short-stay retrofits (a few days) underway on the 77W fleet and modded 772s coming out of XMN with it. Even though the product isn't yet being sold, since a critical mass hasn't been achieved to actually deliver it at an acceptable rate as a distinct class of service, hundreds of pax daily are sitting in the seats right now. That's a pretty good start, IMO.
Oct 9, 2018, 8:37 am
#1357
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United is a little over 28 months since the Polaris unveil in June 2016, and the product appears on 34 in-service aircraft, with 3-6 simultaneous mod lines, depending on season, and 10 new-builds scheduled for delivery in the next 12 months. UA will begin the STC process on a new configuration (763 high-J) this autumn and 787-8/9 will commence by late spring 2019.
Oct 9, 2018, 9:50 am
#1358
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They've pretty much recovered from the initial Zodiac UK production issues. I'd argue that the actual hard product installation is going pretty well.
Oct 9, 2018, 10:32 am
#1359
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UA 901 10 Oct
Update - Did more research to see that this a 777-300ER and that UA has a incorrect listing. It is one of reconfigured PE planes.
I am on UA 901 from SFO to LHR tomorrow, plane is swapped from the normal 777-300ER to a converted 777-200 (ship# 2131).Interesting that the seat map shows 60 Polaris seats and not 50,plus 24 PE,etc. Seat map is not on Seatguru nor is the plane # (2131) on the United Mainline Fleet from what I can see.
Total seating looks to be 60 Polaris, 24 PE, 60 E+, 201E.
Thanks
I am on UA 901 from SFO to LHR tomorrow, plane is swapped from the normal 777-300ER to a converted 777-200 (ship# 2131).Interesting that the seat map shows 60 Polaris seats and not 50,plus 24 PE,etc. Seat map is not on Seatguru nor is the plane # (2131) on the United Mainline Fleet from what I can see.
Total seating looks to be 60 Polaris, 24 PE, 60 E+, 201E.
Thanks
Last edited by martusd; Oct 9, 2018 at 10:43 am Reason: see that it is a 777-300ER,UA has incorrect info on app
Oct 9, 2018, 10:43 am
#1360
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The error here is the "777-200" in the United frame description. The tail number is N2331U and it's a 77W (not 772) with 60J/24W/62E+/204Y.
It's not the first frame with PE as there are several actual 772s and another 77W with PE now.
It's not the first frame with PE as there are several actual 772s and another 77W with PE now.
Oct 9, 2018, 9:04 pm
#1361
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Location: Delaware
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I also agree with the mistake in expectations. For example, we see a lot of people on FT ask if they get Polaris Lounge access on a non Polaris Route that has a plane with Polaris seats. Since International aircraft are frequently seen on domestic routes, maybe UA should have chosen a different name for the seating configuration than the class of service.
Oct 9, 2018, 9:06 pm
#1362
Join Date: Mar 2015
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To add merrit to this, if you consider that UA is getting 10 787-10's with Polaris factory installed over the next 12 months, that's one Polaris bird every 36.5 days. Add these to the current retrofit of 777-200's of 4 lines at about 9 weeks (63 day) per line, and we could be seeing close to, or even above, the average of one bird every 10 days for a while.
Oct 23, 2018, 4:53 pm
#1363
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So, summer peak season has been over for a month and a half now and there has been no increase in the number of retrofit lines. Since they the sCO 772s were scheduled to start retrofit in October 2018, I assumed that this would be the increase in service lines that we were expecting. There's only a week left in October and they haven't started the sCO 772s, or increased any other line yet.
Oct 23, 2018, 5:08 pm
#1364
Join Date: Mar 2015
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So, summer peak season has been over for a month and a half now and there has been no increase in the number of retrofit lines. Since they the sCO 772s were scheduled to start retrofit in October 2018, I assumed that this would be the increase in service lines that we were expecting. There's only a week left in October and they haven't started the sCO 772s, or increased any other line yet.
