chipmaster

These should be pinned at the TOP!

simonoaks

I have just been reading about the Polaris rollout, and how UA is 10 times slower than other airlines to upgrade the lounges , planes etc.

Anyway, with the slow rollout in mind, how do you know if you are upgrading to business or polaris on a flight, and how do you know when looking for flights, which is which ? thx

StuckinITH

Easy, the real Polaris Business has a 1-2-1 layout for the seats.

simonoaks

Ah, so my EWR to LHR flight on 767-400 is not Polaris? Shame , I was reading Polaris inflight menus, looked good.

Kacee

It's Polaris service but not the Polaris seat. (Sorry if that's confusing, but it's confusion sown by UA using the word as both a brand and the name for its new seat.)

Although there's really not much difference these days between Polaris and the old BusinessFirst, except for the enhanced bedding (which is pretty nice).

transportprof

You'll get the Fauxlaris experience.

simonoaks

So odd - I had 1A booked, just went to check in (ua16) 9pm ewr to lhr, and I am in 9A.

the plane looks different too. Does that mean they might have changed planes? If so, is this better or worse that what I had, and do they not notify of changes? Thx

jsloan

Well, the seat map on the website doesn't have a seat 9A...

Changing seats without a notification happens from time to time. In this case, there doesn't appear to have been an aircraft swap, at least in the last couple of days since assignments were finalized; you're listed as ship 3061, which is a 767-400ER with 39 J seats in a 2-1-2 layout (rows 1-8; row 8 is missing the middle seat).

fumje

​​​​​​​Depends on which day. Tomorrow is the pmUA 772, which has a 9A (and not a 1A).

jsloan

Thanks, I didn't consider that OP was likely connecting. That makes more sense. I assumed it had to be for tonight since it was more than 24 hours before tomorrow's flight.

The pmUA 772 does have a 1A, but it's F. Sadly, they won't just put OP there. That explains the seat swap, though.

OP: 6A is the best seat on this plane, since 6B is crew rest. That isn't available now, but if it opens up, I'd try to switch to it. All of the empty J seats on the seat map right now are middles, so I wouldn't switch to any of those, and I'm guessing the F buy-up offer was pretty expensive. I've flown this configuration before, and while 2-4-2 is tight, it's not that bad, and it's still a huge step up from Y. I was able to sleep just fine. The bigger issue is climbing over the passenger in the aisle seat, which is why 6A is so prized; 6B is often unoccupied because nobody's resting.

simonoaks

Yes. For tomorrow. I was booked 1A on 764, the layout now seems different. Is this better or worse that what I had ( could maybe change flight if worse) thx

fumje

I would feel it's a slight downgrade, but not really that much worse. If you're otherwise interested in a different flight that is not a 772, it could be acceptable grounds for requesting a change, but I probably wouldn't bother. In 1A on the 764, you still have to step over 1B.

simonoaks

I have choice of 9A on the 722, or 1A on a 767 400 or a 767 300 ( other 2 get me in earlier too, so added bonus) , which is the best experience ( my first time flying TATL in business. Using a GPU, so want to get best I can. Thx

jsloan

The 6 PM departure from EWR is a 767-300 with seat 1A currently available, and R2, meaning that it shouldn't be a problem to transfer your upgrade instrument. The 2-4-2 layout is unpopular mostly because of the fact that you could end up in a middle seat and/or flying backwards. You're not in that situation, so I don't think it's as big of a deal. If the 6 PM departure works for you, I'd probably change to it, but the best seats on that flight -- the D seats by themselves in the middle of the cabin -- are all full.

simonoaks

Is the service better as way less people to look after ? I have flown 767 lax to ewr in business using a rpu, last week. Just wondering if it is better to try the 777 experience or switch . Thx