halls120

villox

Other than removing a pillow which they did because we wanted them to and sporadic unavailability of the wine flights, what have they cut?

Hipplewm

I answered this on one of the other 7 threads about this topic....

Lounges watered down (Although probably a good thing) in that Int'l J tickets on AC no longer qualify for access
On plane experience:
Already removed one pillow
Wine flights are incredibly sporadic at best
Gel pillows are hard to come by (At first they were hard to find (FA's weren't sure where they were or what they were) now they are plain scarce
Mattress Pads are also scarce
Sundaes - enough said - paper cups - really
Plane conversions are going horribly slow

In general not a SINGLE lounge has opened in 2017 - which means as of next week it will be 13 months and counting since the Chicago Polaris Lounge opened and nothing else has been opened on the lounge front - that to me is a huge "Watering Down"

But, I mean other than that, Polaris is a HUGE success

halls120

I would say sporadic availability of wine flights, as my Polaris flights in late 2017 were far different than in December 2016 when Polaris was rolled out. Wine lists with boarded wines disappeared - no doubt in order to hide the fact that they had started serving lower quality wines. Subtle cutbacks in the quality and selection of food - my last Polaris flight, two of the entrees had fava beans as the side dish. What, UA can't be bothered to have 4 different dishes?

They did keep the chocolate with the PDB drink, so I guess we should cut them some slack.

villox

halls120

An upgrade, yes. "Massive," not, at least until they restore decent wines and have more than one Polaris lounge.

Hipplewm

My last trip to PL was 2 days before the expansion, and I couldn't even get a table to eat. All but one trip I haven't been able to eat, although i try to avoid ORD for Int'l trips, i went thru there 4-5 times this year. EWR, OTOH, I can't even get into a lounge with decent food at ALL, PERIOD. I was just there 2 weeks ago and nothing, nada, zip, zero. This is 18 months after the announcement and 1 year and 2 weeks after the rollout of PL in Chicago.

Yes, my statement above covered more than you were talking about as I said I cut/pasted from a different thread

Yes, I agree people who steal gel pillows should find a special place in airport hell (not real hell as that is overkill) but maybe 10 transfers in PEK type of hell. Same for all the assclowns I see stuffing the bedding into their giant oversized roller bags.

villox

Hipplewm

Maybe I look at it differently, I will give you the PL haven't had "Cutbacks" per se as I don't think anything has changed. To me, once the overcrowding issue was known (ie last January, the 12 months it took to open an extra 25 feet was absolutely crazy) there should have been a CONCENTRATED effort to increase the tempo of not only fixing Chicago, but rolling out the others.

The nonchalant method of roll out to me constitutes a cutback. I can see where others wouldn't look at it this way. To me it gives the attitude UA doesn't care. I am fine with that as I have also taken the attitude to shift almost all of my Int'l flying to others. I figure that is fair, I care about them as much I deem they care about me. I still book on 016 stock as i enjoy the PQD and the corresponding miles and rewards. *A is light years ahead of the other 2 for my personal travel plans.

I also do not drink per se - so I don't know the difference between top notch scotch and house brands. That being said they have so many different wines on board that the wine flights help me not only decide what i want with dinner, but they also help to educate me for the future. I do usually have a glass of wine with dinner and go right to sleep like a baby.

halls120

Serving swill instead of good wine isn't a way to save money? When Polaris was rolled out at the end of 2016, the wines were a distinct improvement over the post merger swill. We're now back to pre-merger dreck. If they aren't saving appreciable $$, something is wrong.

demkr

Polaris is a total joke. The salad size keeps getting smaller. No new lounges in 2017. Timelines keep continuously changing without explanation. Lounges crowded during yearlong no end in sight construction periods. This airline seems to be the only one to overpromise and under deliver on a routine basis.

One "subtle" cut after the next. How is it that almost every other global carrier somehow managed to do all aisle access in a timely manner, and we still have to fly from California to London in a 2-4-2 configuration ...

All those press releases about Polaris food improvements and domestic improvements, combined with a few months of everything getting better across the board. Why do that if you're only going to make cutbacks just a few months later on both fronts? I almost miss the old soft product service internationally. At least the salads were normal and there were legitimately good beef options.

JVPhoto

Everyone and the damn wine list.
How does not printing a wine list allow them to serve cheaper wine? The bottles are there and labeled on the cart at your seat. It's not like they moved to having unmarked carafes or decanters of red and white.

Halo117

i guess if they had a menu that only said assorted food and drink ask your flight attendant...that would work as well.

Having the notice "ask your flight attendant" is a cop out of actually paying for consistency that is surely tied to cost. That puts the onus on the FA to know what they are serving but how many actually explain the wine? At least we know most FAs are not color blind when their response is "we have red or white".

to me polaris is neutral...the bedding and amenities are a plus...food is mixed..i used to have hot apps, soup, choice of dressing, croutons, choice of bread (not preplated) and glass bowls in J. The mid snacks and variety of desserts is a plus. Lastly and this is a big one...the onboard changes could have happened without this stupid campaign touting new seats and lounges that are not available on over 75% of J flights.

halls120

This. I defy anyone to suggest that UA wines in business and first are the same quality as they first fielded when Polaris was rolled out.

goodeats21

From an email received today, a hint on the updated timings for the Polaris Lounges... SFO, EWR, and IAH are all listed as "this summer", and LAX this fall.

Interesting that LHR is not mentioned at all, as it was previously identified as 2018.