Oct 29, 2018, 2:14 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
UA has started installing Premium Plus / Premium Economy seats in 772s and 773s. Other long haul aircraft will also be receiving these new seats.
For 77x it is a 2-4-2 (vs economy 3-4-3) with 3 rows - 24 seats
For 76x it is believe it will be 2-2-2 (vs 2-3-2) with 3 rows ( and maybe a partial row) - 22 seats
For 78x it is believed it will be 2-3-2 (vs 3-3-3) with 3 rows - 21 seats
UA has not yet started selling this new cabin but has restructured its fare class -- which appears to be in preparation of selling the new cabin (and removed 3-class F)
In the meantime, the Premium Plus cabin is being treated as an extension of E+ and those with E+ access can select the new seats.
In many cases UA is initially using an interim seat maps, such as https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/1926142-interim-772-seat-map-polaris-potentially-premium-economy-2018-a.html
Things start to firm up about 2 days prior but last minute changes can happen
For 77x it is a 2-4-2 (vs economy 3-4-3) with 3 rows - 24 seats
For 76x it is believe it will be 2-2-2 (vs 2-3-2) with 3 rows ( and maybe a partial row) - 22 seats
For 78x it is believed it will be 2-3-2 (vs 3-3-3) with 3 rows - 21 seats
UA has not yet started selling this new cabin but has restructured its fare class -- which appears to be in preparation of selling the new cabin (and removed 3-class F)
In the meantime, the Premium Plus cabin is being treated as an extension of E+ and those with E+ access can select the new seats.
In many cases UA is initially using an interim seat maps, such as https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/1926142-interim-772-seat-map-polaris-potentially-premium-economy-2018-a.html
Things start to firm up about 2 days prior but last minute changes can happen
Real Premium Economy is Coming [Update: UA studying "Real" Prem Y in domestic market]
Jan 18, 2018, 5:34 pm
#91
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Oh boy I wonder how long it will really take for UA to roll this out!!!!
Jan 18, 2018, 5:50 pm
#92
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The makes sense. But the "P fares now book into PE" thing is completely absurd. Also I don't think it's the end of the world if it's Y -> PE for GPUs; certainly not the end of 1K. I don't have a lot of issues booking PE and waitlisting an upgrade to J, as long as it doesn't require an absurdly expensive fare for PE. The system and price point with LH E fares works great for me right now.
Jan 18, 2018, 5:51 pm
#93
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Jan 18, 2018, 5:59 pm
#94
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Jan 18, 2018, 6:02 pm
#95
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PE was probably in the works for the last several months. Maybe the reason for the slow Polaris seat rollout was UA preparing to launch PE, then accelerate the retrofits once they are able to install both Polaris J and PE simultaneously.
Jan 18, 2018, 6:07 pm
#96
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Jan 18, 2018, 6:34 pm
#97
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Jan 18, 2018, 6:53 pm
#98
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For seat width, there are actually two separate metrics, both important -- the width of the seat itself and the width of the armrest. I wouldn't mind a PE that was only say 1 inch wider, if the armrest was in the 5-6" range so that two people can share the same armrest without bumping elbows etc. Hard to tell from the lateral view in the photo, but it looks like the armrest might be about 4" wide or more?
Jan 18, 2018, 7:08 pm
#99
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Why do I think we’re gonna see 8- (787s) and 9-across PE (777s) regardless of what the picture looks like?
Jan 18, 2018, 7:15 pm
#101
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 304
Thumbs up for better seats. Dump everything else. I'm not paying $100 more to eat of a real plate and get a "complimentary" $3 amenity kit
Jan 18, 2018, 7:19 pm
#102
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I thought the same thing along with all planned retrofits to Polaris. Makes sense to pull the frame out of service for one visit only. I imagine we all knew this was coming after AA and DL
Last edited by PSPAirliner; Jan 18, 2018 at 9:32 pm
Jan 18, 2018, 7:22 pm
#103
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For seat width, there are actually two separate metrics, both important -- the width of the seat itself and the width of the armrest. I wouldn't mind a PE that was only say 1 inch wider, if the armrest was in the 5-6" range so that two people can share the same armrest without bumping elbows etc. Hard to tell from the lateral view in the photo, but it looks like the armrest might be about 4" wide or more?
Jan 18, 2018, 7:28 pm
#104
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That seems like the most reasonable way for them to test the product, especially with the small size of the fleet (at least in the beginning).
But would the 789 be the next ones up? Seems they are used for the ultra-longhaul (i.e. LAX/SFO-SIN; IAH-SYD), where I would expect PE to be very desirable to passengers. And the need to make sure these seats exist on those flights, so they can be sold. Also, the -9 to -10 interchangability would.help on shorter routes (i.e. SFO-HND, LAX-NRT).
As others state, the 772 Polaris retrofit seems like an opportunity to do this, but there's just so many of them, and it would be hard to control which routes they fly during the transition. I'm thinking maybe plan they do it as a E+ -> PE swap later, which could potentially be much faster. (i.e. at MIA, instead of HKG/XMN heavy maint).
All this total speculation on my part, of course. Just because it's way too much fun.
But would the 789 be the next ones up? Seems they are used for the ultra-longhaul (i.e. LAX/SFO-SIN; IAH-SYD), where I would expect PE to be very desirable to passengers. And the need to make sure these seats exist on those flights, so they can be sold. Also, the -9 to -10 interchangability would.help on shorter routes (i.e. SFO-HND, LAX-NRT).
As others state, the 772 Polaris retrofit seems like an opportunity to do this, but there's just so many of them, and it would be hard to control which routes they fly during the transition. I'm thinking maybe plan they do it as a E+ -> PE swap later, which could potentially be much faster. (i.e. at MIA, instead of HKG/XMN heavy maint).
All this total speculation on my part, of course. Just because it's way too much fun.
Last edited by wh6cto; Jan 18, 2018 at 7:30 pm Reason: fixed grammar
Jan 18, 2018, 8:04 pm
#105
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I hope this is just their beta design photo. If you look at more ergonomic seats there is at least some attention to center-line cushioning/cradling versus the flat back as shown. It does not look like a sleeping seat versus designs on other carriers which cradle the body.
