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 8, 2018, 9:48 pm
#91
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: UA*Lifetime GS, Hyatt* Lifetime Globalist
Posts: 12,309
A game changer indeed!
Glad I don’t have to pay to earn UA status anymore.
Glad I don’t have to pay to earn UA status anymore.
Feb 8, 2018, 9:52 pm
#92
Formerly known as caveruner17
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: ORD
Posts: 432
Even on 14 hour TPACs, I skip the pre-arrival meal. Why eat airplane food when I can get dinner in Hong Kong by waiting two more hours?
I do appreciate the hot snacks midflight though, and always looked forward to the noodle soup. I'd rather see UA cut the pre-arrival meal and upgrade the midflight snack.
I do appreciate the hot snacks midflight though, and always looked forward to the noodle soup. I'd rather see UA cut the pre-arrival meal and upgrade the midflight snack.
Feb 8, 2018, 10:04 pm
#93
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Wichita
Posts: 628
I switched to AA in April '14 and have been reasonably happy. I don't think anything AA, DL or UA have these days is worth writing home about. The thing about AA is there is much less of the "bait and switch" than UA constantly engages in. .
Feb 8, 2018, 10:05 pm
#94
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2001
Posts: 10,964
No. Before Polaris, they had things like wanton noodle soup or beef noodle soups on the longer flights to Greater China.
Feb 8, 2018, 10:11 pm
#95
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: SYD, CBR, BDL
Programs: UA 1K, VA Platinum
Posts: 1,196
SYD-IAH at the end of January.
The menu said Hot Bites were offered and to ask about the selection. I never asked but when I told the attendant I wasn't interested in either breakfast choice she said she'd give me the Hot Bites item. It was GC & tomato soup as it has been on every single flight I've taken. Never once have they had anything else for Hot Bites.
In addition, the pre-departure 'chocolate' was some disgusting toffee thing in a 10c wrapper. I'm assuming it was a local Australia sweet but I'm not sure. It wasn't even presented in a box. It was something you'd find in coach. And during the flight the snacks they had out were an abundance of these chocolates and some small potato chip bags (I also don't eat them). So, I didn't have a mid-flight snack on a 16 hour flight. No huge deal for me; I wasn't starving. But it would be nice to see them offer something healthy and definitely a wider choice.
-RM
The menu said Hot Bites were offered and to ask about the selection. I never asked but when I told the attendant I wasn't interested in either breakfast choice she said she'd give me the Hot Bites item. It was GC & tomato soup as it has been on every single flight I've taken. Never once have they had anything else for Hot Bites.
In addition, the pre-departure 'chocolate' was some disgusting toffee thing in a 10c wrapper. I'm assuming it was a local Australia sweet but I'm not sure. It wasn't even presented in a box. It was something you'd find in coach. And during the flight the snacks they had out were an abundance of these chocolates and some small potato chip bags (I also don't eat them). So, I didn't have a mid-flight snack on a 16 hour flight. No huge deal for me; I wasn't starving. But it would be nice to see them offer something healthy and definitely a wider choice.
-RM
Feb 8, 2018, 11:48 pm
#96
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: SDF
Programs: -=- UA: GS + 3.9 Million Miler; Hilton: Diamond; Marriott: Gold; Hertz: President's Circle
Posts: 676
Tomato soup was offered on ORD-PVG last weekend.
Feb 9, 2018, 12:12 am
#97
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 1,115
Funny I thought I noticed this on my round trip EWR-HKG last week. But I slept from hour 9-14 and couldn’t remember when it came out.
all I saw was a few sandwiches goosed in a bowl and leftover pastries from dessert. The presentation and choices were gone.
the crazy part is my memory says the cart was always picked through and mostly empty come the end of a 16 hour flight.
i hate the meal options for “Polaris” I just want a normal salad. I don’t eat fish so the cold appetizer is always gross to me. Then the actual entree is meh. I’ve cream is served in a part cup.
yet my paid J ticket has risen 30% in the last 2 years as profits have soared and oil prices have maintained or come down...
Compaining on FT is one thing. But maybe starting a social media campaign will get to them. They only make changes when it’s bad PR. So maybe it’s time to make some bad PR
all I saw was a few sandwiches goosed in a bowl and leftover pastries from dessert. The presentation and choices were gone.
the crazy part is my memory says the cart was always picked through and mostly empty come the end of a 16 hour flight.
i hate the meal options for “Polaris” I just want a normal salad. I don’t eat fish so the cold appetizer is always gross to me. Then the actual entree is meh. I’ve cream is served in a part cup.
yet my paid J ticket has risen 30% in the last 2 years as profits have soared and oil prices have maintained or come down...
Compaining on FT is one thing. But maybe starting a social media campaign will get to them. They only make changes when it’s bad PR. So maybe it’s time to make some bad PR
Feb 9, 2018, 1:47 am
#98
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: LAX IAH AMS
Programs: UA GS 1MM
Posts: 1,266
Guys..... seriously, you've got it all wrong.
The key here is to set your expectations at the lowest point possible for business class (dumpster-level low).
That way, it's always a good experience!
But seriously, the only reason I stick with UA is for award redemption on *A carriers. I just did AMS-IAH, IAH-SYD, AKL-SFO-IAH, IAH-AMS over a 2 week period. Had two ok flights and 2 bad ones. The polaris "extras" were only offered on the IAH-SYD flight (mattress, gel pillow etc). On my AKL-SFO the pursor was generally rude to everyone. He took my meal order and insisted on a second option - said I'll just stick with my first option (obviously didn't read his sheet that I was GS) so I told him "Nothing" and he ultimately just turned and walked away.
My strategy on food is to skip all starters and just have the main, which is usually decent. Last time I had the salad it was frozen.
The key here is to set your expectations at the lowest point possible for business class (dumpster-level low).
That way, it's always a good experience!
But seriously, the only reason I stick with UA is for award redemption on *A carriers. I just did AMS-IAH, IAH-SYD, AKL-SFO-IAH, IAH-AMS over a 2 week period. Had two ok flights and 2 bad ones. The polaris "extras" were only offered on the IAH-SYD flight (mattress, gel pillow etc). On my AKL-SFO the pursor was generally rude to everyone. He took my meal order and insisted on a second option - said I'll just stick with my first option (obviously didn't read his sheet that I was GS) so I told him "Nothing" and he ultimately just turned and walked away.
My strategy on food is to skip all starters and just have the main, which is usually decent. Last time I had the salad it was frozen.
Feb 9, 2018, 2:29 am
#99
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: London
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 2,438
I can’t wait to see the other lounges.
As for hot bites, it’s totally reasonable to me to have them on the ULH only. Even then, I feel like people forget how often they go without food on the ground, say, overnight. If I eat a big dinner at 7pm, but don’t have breakfast until 9am, I usually don’t have a problem. That’s at least 12 hours between meals, in line with all but the longest ULHs.
Feb 9, 2018, 5:03 am
#100
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: LHR
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Gold, mLife Platinum
Posts: 380
It really frustrates me to see the service go this way, long before they'll ever complete the retrofits of hard product too.
We fly in J out of our own pockets TATL about 5 times a year. For the amount of money being spent, I'd like to believe it's fair to expect more than what's currently being offered (or what's suggested in this thread).
Only on UA do they serve Ł20 champagne in J, and provision so little of it, that it's sometimes gone before you even get a glass! (2 bottles are boarded for the entire cabin, which is 12 standard glasses - this is hardly sufficient for a cabin of up to 60 pax). Actually, they often don't provision enough still wine either, and on our last TATL, they actually ran out of white wine.
The hot bites were excellent, and there's never anything decent on the trolley mid-flight.
Although we're talking primarily about food, the cost of the WiFi has gone up to prices that eclipse other *A partners, including LH, and it's nowhere near as fast.
We fly in J out of our own pockets TATL about 5 times a year. For the amount of money being spent, I'd like to believe it's fair to expect more than what's currently being offered (or what's suggested in this thread).
Only on UA do they serve Ł20 champagne in J, and provision so little of it, that it's sometimes gone before you even get a glass! (2 bottles are boarded for the entire cabin, which is 12 standard glasses - this is hardly sufficient for a cabin of up to 60 pax). Actually, they often don't provision enough still wine either, and on our last TATL, they actually ran out of white wine.
The hot bites were excellent, and there's never anything decent on the trolley mid-flight.
Although we're talking primarily about food, the cost of the WiFi has gone up to prices that eclipse other *A partners, including LH, and it's nowhere near as fast.
Feb 9, 2018, 6:33 am
#101
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Programs: UA-1k, 1mm, Marriott-LT Platinum, Hertz-Presidents Circle
Posts: 6,355
So the downgrades are announced and done very quickly, but the announcement of Polaris seating/lounges/on board hard product takes years! ^
Feb 9, 2018, 6:49 am
#102
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: DAY
Programs: UA 1K 1MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Amex MR; Chase UR; Hertz PC; Global Entry
Posts: 10,156
Yes, two years in a row of earnings over $2 billion. Down slightly year over year in 2017 - "only" $2.1 billion vs. $2.3 billion in 2016. Earnings per share were actually higher in 2017 ($7.02 vs. $6.85 in 2016), due I would imagine to $1.8 billion in share buybacks in 2017.
2015 was their record year, at $4.5 billion.
2015 was their record year, at $4.5 billion.
Didn't they also move to a per-stock-share metric of some kind, instead of just raw revenue / profit? Wouldn't they be able to manipulate that quite a bit with additional stock buybacks, if they don't like where their numbers are going?
Feb 9, 2018, 7:08 am
#103
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: 6 year GS, now 2MM Jeff-ugee, *wood LTPlt, SkyPeso PLT
Posts: 6,526
As for hot bites, it’s totally reasonable to me to have them on the ULH only. Even then, I feel like people forget how often they go without food on the ground, say, overnight. If I eat a big dinner at 7pm, but don’t have breakfast until 9am, I usually don’t have a problem. That’s at least 12 hours between meals, in line with all but the longest ULHs.
It would be one of the few honest things United has said as part of its "Polaris" roll-out. 
Yes, some may want the midflight hot food, some the pre-arrival food, some a big dinner at the start of the flight and nothing else. Some will go straight to dinner when they get off the flight , not want the food, some will not get to eat for a while, and will not want to/have time to eat at the airport after they got off the plane.The reality is that people have different eating/sleeping patterns, and if an airline is trying to provide good customer service for people who may be (if they are not on the deep discounted J tickets that UA sells to "managed traffic) paying real money for J, it needs to offer (a) decent food/drink, (b) offer enough of it, and (c) offer it at enough different times to deal with different peoples eating/sleeping patterns. United is now failing all three of these tests on a lot of flights, and people on this thread are noticing it. That will cost United deeply if - as people on this thread are saying - traffic goes elsewhere.
Feb 9, 2018, 7:12 am
#104
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Platinum, Avis President's Circle
Posts: 408
Feb 9, 2018, 7:24 am
#105
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA, AA, DL, Hertz, Avis, National, Hyatt, Hilton, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 9,441
Once you hear the buzzword "CASM-ex" more than a few times in an investor call, you know management is trying to direct Wall Street's attention to the company's cost-containment efforts. Cuts to the soft product are just about the easiest levers an airline can pull when cost becomes an issue.
