Mar 25, 2018, 4:42 pm
Last edit by: WineCountryUA
Word is out on another site (not my post) regarding a company memo about the May 1 "enhancements".
Some key points:
- Return of the salad/appetizer cart, although I suspect it's just going to be the meal cart with a fancy cover, to reduce the number of galley trips with hand-run trays
- Beverage carts coming back to the aisle (similar to DL and the former 3-cabin sUA business class service) with branded cart covers
- Soup is gone in Polaris First (so no more differentiation; the product isn't expected to last the full year, anyway)
- Wine tasting arches are gone
- No bloody mary carts (already announced)
- Hot bites will stay
- Bread refills to be offered (return of the bread basket?)
- Pre-departure chocolates returned to the pre-arrival tray
In many ways, this is going to look like the former three-cabin BusinessFirst service with nicer linens and serviceware. Overall, not the sweeping change (or depth of cuts) I was expecting. No word on provisioning of the other items (gel pillows, mattress pads, slippers, PJs, etc.)
POLARIS SERVICE ENHANCEMENTS
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When do the service updates go into effect?
A: The service updates are effective May 1, 2018, on all long-haul international flights.
2. Why are we making changes to our United Polaris® service?
A: Customers have positively received our United Polaris lounge, and this year we are opening more United Polaris lounges beginning this summer in San Francisco, Houston and New York/Newark and in the fall, Los Angeles. As we continue to add more lounges, we want to take into account the feedback that customers have given us — they’ve emphasized their desire to rest and relax during their journey, especially onboard. The updates to the service flow will allow us to continue providing a premium product with high-quality food, wine, amenities and more, but it’ll be delivered in a more efficient way.
3. What is the new international United Polaris meal service flow?
A: The meal service flow for both first and business class will be the same:
Pre-departure
• Pre-poured sparkling wine, orange juice and water offered from a silver tray, with other beverages available upon request.
Main meal service
• Hot towels
• Linen placement
• Pre-meal beverage cart
• Appetizer and salad cart
• Bread and beverage refills
• Entrées
• Bread and beverage refills
• Dessert and pre-plated cheese cart
• Individual water bottles with hang tags
Mid-flight service (when applicable)
• Display mid-flight snacks on console, self-service unit, fold-down trays or galley countertop.
• Heat and serve hot on-demand items (when applicable) upon customer request.
Pre-arrival service
• Hot towels
• Pre-arrival tray setup with entrée and choice of beverage
• Breads and pastries
4. Will we be able to offer other pre-departure beverages?
A: Yes, upon customer request fulfill other pre-departure beverages in accordance with each departure country’s pre-departure liquor procedures. Refer to the Flight Attendant Policies and Procedures Manual to determine if you are allowed to open beverage carts/carriers that contain alcohol on the ground.
5. Is there still a chocolate offered during pre-departure?
A: Pre-departure chocolates/dessert will be catered on the pre-arrival tray instead for customers to enjoy during or after their flight.
6. What’s changing with the Bloody Mary and wine specialty beverage carts?
A: Wines and Bloody Marys will continue to be available upon request, but the dedicated cart service will change. This was a common flight attendant suggestion for improvement. A new branded cart cover is being sourced to improve presentation in the aisle and will be available shortly after launch.
7. Can we still offer wine tastings?
A: Absolutely. Although the wine arches with the 3 tastings will not be boarded, we can continue to honor customers’ requests to sample select wines.
8. What about the United Polaris first class soup and salad course?
A: The salad and appetizer will be delivered at the same time on a tray setup, instead of having a soup course.
9. What about the turndown service?
A: We will continue to offer the turndown service upon request.
10. Will Express Dining continue to be offered?
A: Yes, Express Dining will continue to be offered and can be requested and delivered at any point during the flight.
11. Will we continue to offer the mini desserts and fruit and cheese?
A: The mini desserts will continue to be offered from the three-tier cart with the signature ice cream service. In addition, pre-plated cheese will be added to the dessert cart. To make room for the fruit and cheese on the dessert cart, the specialty tea box will be removed from the cart, although specialty teas will continue to be available from the galley.
12. Are there any updates to the mid-flight and pre-arrival services?
A: There will be a few updates to both the mid-flight and pre-arrival service.
Mid-flight service (when available) – While we’ll no longer have formal presentation of mid-flight snacks, snack provisioning levels will remain the same and will continue to be displayed near the galley as is done today. Hang tags advising the customers that mid-flight snacks are available will be added to the individual bottle waters distributed after the main meal service. Hot snack items, when available, will also be delivered upon request.
Pre-arrival service – We’re removing tray table linens to reduce trips through the aisle. The tray itself will continue to have a linen liner. The pre-departure chocolate/dessert will be catered on the pre-arrival tray for customers to enjoy during or after the flight.
13. Will there be any new service items introduced to support the new United Polaris service?
A: Yes, there are a few new elements that will be introduced, including:
Cart covers – Similar to some of our competitors, branded cart covers for both the half and full carts will be boarded for use in the aisle on both the beverage and meal tray carts. Cart covers will be available shortly after launch.
Hang tags – To be placed on individual bottle waters at the end of the main meal service to advise customers that mid-flight snacks are available.
14. Will we be changing the domestic meal service procedures to align with the new United Polaris service (e.g. pre-poured pre-departure beverages)?
A: We will continue listening to the feedback of our customers and our flight attendants and will adjust our processes where necessary to deliver the best service for our customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. When do the service updates go into effect?
A: The service updates are effective May 1, 2018, on all long-haul international flights.
2. Why are we making changes to our United Polaris® service?
A: Customers have positively received our United Polaris lounge, and this year we are opening more United Polaris lounges beginning this summer in San Francisco, Houston and New York/Newark and in the fall, Los Angeles. As we continue to add more lounges, we want to take into account the feedback that customers have given us — they’ve emphasized their desire to rest and relax during their journey, especially onboard. The updates to the service flow will allow us to continue providing a premium product with high-quality food, wine, amenities and more, but it’ll be delivered in a more efficient way.
3. What is the new international United Polaris meal service flow?
A: The meal service flow for both first and business class will be the same:
Pre-departure
• Pre-poured sparkling wine, orange juice and water offered from a silver tray, with other beverages available upon request.
Main meal service
• Hot towels
• Linen placement
• Pre-meal beverage cart
• Appetizer and salad cart
• Bread and beverage refills
• Entrées
• Bread and beverage refills
• Dessert and pre-plated cheese cart
• Individual water bottles with hang tags
Mid-flight service (when applicable)
• Display mid-flight snacks on console, self-service unit, fold-down trays or galley countertop.
• Heat and serve hot on-demand items (when applicable) upon customer request.
Pre-arrival service
• Hot towels
• Pre-arrival tray setup with entrée and choice of beverage
• Breads and pastries
4. Will we be able to offer other pre-departure beverages?
A: Yes, upon customer request fulfill other pre-departure beverages in accordance with each departure country’s pre-departure liquor procedures. Refer to the Flight Attendant Policies and Procedures Manual to determine if you are allowed to open beverage carts/carriers that contain alcohol on the ground.
5. Is there still a chocolate offered during pre-departure?
A: Pre-departure chocolates/dessert will be catered on the pre-arrival tray instead for customers to enjoy during or after their flight.
6. What’s changing with the Bloody Mary and wine specialty beverage carts?
A: Wines and Bloody Marys will continue to be available upon request, but the dedicated cart service will change. This was a common flight attendant suggestion for improvement. A new branded cart cover is being sourced to improve presentation in the aisle and will be available shortly after launch.
7. Can we still offer wine tastings?
A: Absolutely. Although the wine arches with the 3 tastings will not be boarded, we can continue to honor customers’ requests to sample select wines.
8. What about the United Polaris first class soup and salad course?
A: The salad and appetizer will be delivered at the same time on a tray setup, instead of having a soup course.
9. What about the turndown service?
A: We will continue to offer the turndown service upon request.
10. Will Express Dining continue to be offered?
A: Yes, Express Dining will continue to be offered and can be requested and delivered at any point during the flight.
11. Will we continue to offer the mini desserts and fruit and cheese?
A: The mini desserts will continue to be offered from the three-tier cart with the signature ice cream service. In addition, pre-plated cheese will be added to the dessert cart. To make room for the fruit and cheese on the dessert cart, the specialty tea box will be removed from the cart, although specialty teas will continue to be available from the galley.
12. Are there any updates to the mid-flight and pre-arrival services?
A: There will be a few updates to both the mid-flight and pre-arrival service.
Mid-flight service (when available) – While we’ll no longer have formal presentation of mid-flight snacks, snack provisioning levels will remain the same and will continue to be displayed near the galley as is done today. Hang tags advising the customers that mid-flight snacks are available will be added to the individual bottle waters distributed after the main meal service. Hot snack items, when available, will also be delivered upon request.
Pre-arrival service – We’re removing tray table linens to reduce trips through the aisle. The tray itself will continue to have a linen liner. The pre-departure chocolate/dessert will be catered on the pre-arrival tray for customers to enjoy during or after the flight.
13. Will there be any new service items introduced to support the new United Polaris service?
A: Yes, there are a few new elements that will be introduced, including:
Cart covers – Similar to some of our competitors, branded cart covers for both the half and full carts will be boarded for use in the aisle on both the beverage and meal tray carts. Cart covers will be available shortly after launch.
Hang tags – To be placed on individual bottle waters at the end of the main meal service to advise customers that mid-flight snacks are available.
14. Will we be changing the domestic meal service procedures to align with the new United Polaris service (e.g. pre-poured pre-departure beverages)?
A: We will continue listening to the feedback of our customers and our flight attendants and will adjust our processes where necessary to deliver the best service for our customers.
- Return of the salad/appetizer cart, although I suspect it's just going to be the meal cart with a fancy cover, to reduce the number of galley trips with hand-run trays
- Beverage carts coming back to the aisle (similar to DL and the former 3-cabin sUA business class service) with branded cart covers
- Soup is gone in Polaris First (so no more differentiation; the product isn't expected to last the full year, anyway)
- Wine tasting arches are gone
- No bloody mary carts (already announced)
- Hot bites will stay
- Bread refills to be offered (return of the bread basket?)
- Pre-departure chocolates returned to the pre-arrival tray
In many ways, this is going to look like the former three-cabin BusinessFirst service with nicer linens and serviceware. Overall, not the sweeping change (or depth of cuts) I was expecting. No word on provisioning of the other items (gel pillows, mattress pads, slippers, PJs, etc.)
[Rumor] More Polaris "Enhancements" coming May 1, 2018? ...
Feb 9, 2018, 7:41 am
#106
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
The amount of food served on the redeyes to Europe is ridiculous.
I would also argue that if UA wants to pinch pennies, they should allow people to sign up to bypass dining service (either dinner or breakfast, or both) on these short red-eyes and hold passengers to it. Once the Polaris lounge opens in EWR, if I were flying J, I would be much more inclined to show up early and eat before getting on the plane, especially for TATL redeyes.
I would also argue that if UA wants to pinch pennies, they should allow people to sign up to bypass dining service (either dinner or breakfast, or both) on these short red-eyes and hold passengers to it. Once the Polaris lounge opens in EWR, if I were flying J, I would be much more inclined to show up early and eat before getting on the plane, especially for TATL redeyes.
Bypassing dinner options sounds like an interesting idea, might be difficult to implement systemwide though. Other issues would be delayed connections, e.g. I fly SFO-ZRH, plan to eat at Polaris lounge, now my LAX-SFO is delayed with no time to visit Polaris. I barely make it on my ZRH flight, where I opted out of dinner service.......
Truly hope, the Polaris lounges will keep their initial high standard. But, I am somewhat sceptical, that the penny pinchers get in the way, once lounges are open systemwide and true operating costs are known.
Feb 9, 2018, 8:16 am
#107
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,451
FYI, this is apparently confirmed.
Feb 9, 2018, 8:18 am
#108
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 553
EWR764: any other details?
Can see eliminating hot bites on east coast red-eyes to Europe.
Can see eliminating hot bites on east coast red-eyes to Europe.
Feb 9, 2018, 8:22 am
#109
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,451
East Coast redeyes to Europe never had hot bites, and initially, the Polaris service standard called for hot bites on all daytime flights over eight (8) hours, which included EU-USA westbound flights. I believe the hot bites were cut in those markets on December 1, leaving the service only for flights 12+ hours.
Frankly, the main meal + hot bites + pre-arrival service for a flight like FRA-EWR was probably too much food, but more than once I swapped the 'hot bite' for my pre-arrival plate.
Feb 9, 2018, 8:25 am
#110
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 57,587
As of now, it's just the bloody mary/wine cart at the start of the service. Drinks will be hand-run and the special "bloody mary bar" will be eliminated. I suspect the trays for the wine flights will also be eliminated but do not have any confirmation on that. Wine consumption was way up with greater merchandising of choices, so naturally, the cost-cutting approach leads to the service being pulled.
Feb 9, 2018, 8:29 am
#111
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,451
Feb 9, 2018, 8:35 am
#113
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,324
Well Ill take the contrary approach.
I would rather see higher paying labor contracts, larger profit sharing, and happier employees, than stuff like mid-flight hot bite options (on short intl.) or bloody Mary carts.
Of course, should the company materially (b/c these reductions are about as material as getting rid of the 2nd pillow Polaris originally had) change the club or onboard soft-product, I have my pitchfork ready and willing to go.
I would rather see higher paying labor contracts, larger profit sharing, and happier employees, than stuff like mid-flight hot bite options (on short intl.) or bloody Mary carts.
Of course, should the company materially (b/c these reductions are about as material as getting rid of the 2nd pillow Polaris originally had) change the club or onboard soft-product, I have my pitchfork ready and willing to go.
Feb 9, 2018, 8:37 am
#114
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K, UA Gold, Marriott LTT, Avis President's Club
Posts: 1,539
Gotta make cuts to fund those Polaris lounges that are "coming soon"
Feb 9, 2018, 8:54 am
#115
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,451
Well Ill take the contrary approach.
I would rather see higher paying labor contracts, larger profit sharing, and happier employees, than stuff like mid-flight hot bite options (on short intl.) or bloody Mary carts.
Of course, should the company materially (b/c these reductions are about as material as getting rid of the 2nd pillow Polaris originally had) change the club or onboard soft-product, I have my pitchfork ready and willing to go.
I would rather see higher paying labor contracts, larger profit sharing, and happier employees, than stuff like mid-flight hot bite options (on short intl.) or bloody Mary carts.
Of course, should the company materially (b/c these reductions are about as material as getting rid of the 2nd pillow Polaris originally had) change the club or onboard soft-product, I have my pitchfork ready and willing to go.
Feb 9, 2018, 9:12 am
#116
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
So, now I could have an FA making 4 roundtrips back to the galley to see the actual labels of the 3 whites, 3 reds and one champagne, they supposedly have on board ......... Really ??? and that's speeding up service ???
Feb 9, 2018, 9:12 am
#117
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 16,901
No question, but it is obvious the momentum has shifted from a mode of improving (actually "enhancing") the customer experience to a cutback-oriented regime. These are low-hanging fruits, but as fuel continues to rise and the company is under pressure to control CASM/expand margins while revenue growth is slower than competitors, what's next?
Last edited by milepig; Feb 9, 2018 at 10:46 am
Feb 9, 2018, 9:19 am
#118
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: ORD
Programs: 1K
Posts: 121
As of now, it's just the bloody mary/wine cart at the start of the service. Drinks will be hand-run and the special "bloody mary bar" will be eliminated. I suspect the trays for the wine flights will also be eliminated but do not have any confirmation on that. Wine consumption was way up with greater merchandising of choices, so naturally, the cost-cutting approach leads to the service being pulled.
East Coast redeyes to Europe never had hot bites, and initially, the Polaris service standard called for hot bites on all daytime flights over eight (8) hours, which included EU-USA westbound flights. I believe the hot bites were cut in those markets on December 1, leaving the service only for flights 12+ hours.
Frankly, the main meal + hot bites + pre-arrival service for a flight like FRA-EWR was probably too much food, but more than once I swapped the 'hot bite' for my pre-arrival plate.
East Coast redeyes to Europe never had hot bites, and initially, the Polaris service standard called for hot bites on all daytime flights over eight (8) hours, which included EU-USA westbound flights. I believe the hot bites were cut in those markets on December 1, leaving the service only for flights 12+ hours.
Frankly, the main meal + hot bites + pre-arrival service for a flight like FRA-EWR was probably too much food, but more than once I swapped the 'hot bite' for my pre-arrival plate.
Feb 9, 2018, 9:51 am
#119
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 553
Although the seat is no where near budget airline, if they keep making cuts, the experience will be significantly degraded, and I think I and others will be wondering why we'd pay a premium for it.
Certainly the seat is important, but there is also a point where it's not worth the higher cost, especially if one is paying with one's own money/miles. But I guess they're after the less price-sensitive business market!
Certainly the seat is important, but there is also a point where it's not worth the higher cost, especially if one is paying with one's own money/miles. But I guess they're after the less price-sensitive business market!
Feb 9, 2018, 10:31 am
#120
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: San Francisco/Tel Aviv/YYZ
Programs: CO 1K-MM
Posts: 10,762
I'm more anti- cuts, than anti-these particular ones (though the hot bites seems to be a bigger issue).
I (personally) don't care for bloody marys, I don't mind tasting wine but would rather have better selections than more selections.
Look at how Amex approaches it.. they have a decent baseline wine, and you can freely ask for lots of generous pours of it no problem. But if you know better you can ask for tickets fo the vinomatic devices and get a higher level of wine.
I'm more disappointed they dropped espresso makers, especially since their competitors all have them
I (personally) don't care for bloody marys, I don't mind tasting wine but would rather have better selections than more selections.
Look at how Amex approaches it.. they have a decent baseline wine, and you can freely ask for lots of generous pours of it no problem. But if you know better you can ask for tickets fo the vinomatic devices and get a higher level of wine.
I'm more disappointed they dropped espresso makers, especially since their competitors all have them