As UC members have no access to Polaris lounges, what will be the impacts on the UCs?
Jun 11, 2018, 7:18 am
#31
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There is a reason they did this. It's bad enough the regular UC's are overrun by the CC lemmings.
Jun 11, 2018, 7:29 am
#32
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Really? Have they installed a Centurion lounge at EWR since I was last there?
Note also Centurion has 1 shower at SFO. If you get there @5:30 am when they open no problem. After that, forget it.
lol. You must be talking about IAH. SFO is consistently standing room only, no matter how strictly the rules are enforced.
Note also Centurion has 1 shower at SFO. If you get there @5:30 am when they open no problem. After that, forget it.
lol. You must be talking about IAH. SFO is consistently standing room only, no matter how strictly the rules are enforced.
Jun 11, 2018, 7:36 am
#33
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If everyone with access to United Clubs had access to Polaris Lounges they'd just become United Clubs.
That's the problem with real luxury on U.S. carriers..everyone with some special credit card, status etc. thinks they're entitled to only the best even though there's many thousands of them and anything catering to that large a constituency cannot be an actual luxury offering.
That's the problem with real luxury on U.S. carriers..everyone with some special credit card, status etc. thinks they're entitled to only the best even though there's many thousands of them and anything catering to that large a constituency cannot be an actual luxury offering.
Jun 11, 2018, 7:50 am
#34
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If everyone with access to United Clubs had access to Polaris Lounges they'd just become United Clubs.
That's the problem with real luxury on U.S. carriers..everyone with some special credit card, status etc. thinks they're entitled to only the best even though there's many thousands of them and anything catering to that large a constituency cannot be an actual luxury offering.
That's the problem with real luxury on U.S. carriers..everyone with some special credit card, status etc. thinks they're entitled to only the best even though there's many thousands of them and anything catering to that large a constituency cannot be an actual luxury offering.
Everybody wants their personal situation to qualify for high-end treatment with some gimmick to get there.
People have to make a judgment call. If the UC does not present good value, then drop the membership or switch carriers. AA, by way of example, offers showers at many key AC's and offers not only Flagship access to TCON F, but Flagship First Dining, which is even more limited. On the other hand, as others note, my guess is that the premium routes, whether PS on UA or F/J on AA are largely O&D traffic and the people flying F are not going to the airport early for a "free" meal, so it's largely just a nice benefit.
UA made a clear business decision here. It's not as though it chose not to install showers, it is affirmatively discontinuing them. They were there for the people who are now Polaris customers and thus no need for UC's.
Jun 11, 2018, 7:53 am
#35
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Really? Have they installed a Centurion lounge at EWR since I was last there?
Note also Centurion has 1 shower at SFO. If you get there @5:30 am when they open no problem. After that, forget it.
lol. You must be talking about IAH. SFO is consistently standing room only, no matter how strictly the rules are enforced.
Note also Centurion has 1 shower at SFO. If you get there @5:30 am when they open no problem. After that, forget it.
lol. You must be talking about IAH. SFO is consistently standing room only, no matter how strictly the rules are enforced.
Heard about SFO but never been there.
Jun 11, 2018, 7:55 am
#36
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Jun 11, 2018, 7:58 am
#37
Join Date: Sep 2013
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if you’re a 1k in Y you wouldn’t get access. If you’re a 1k traveling in first to anywhere not a PS route you don’t get access
Jun 11, 2018, 10:30 am
#38
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I get where they're coming from -- AA is doing the same with Flagship because US3 J lounges are an embarrassment compared to many of their their international alliance partners (at least the few I've seen). The UC/AA lounge memberships are, from the airline perspective, appropriately priced for what they offer. Polaris lounges not only add value to J tickets but also reduce crowding in the UC.
Now that said, if you fly through places with Centurion/PP lounges, it isn't "unreasonable" to consider those options! Make sure to check where those lounges are relative to your typical concourses though.
Now that said, if you fly through places with Centurion/PP lounges, it isn't "unreasonable" to consider those options! Make sure to check where those lounges are relative to your typical concourses though.
Jun 11, 2018, 11:13 am
#39
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As others have said, the exclusivity of Polaris is a good thing. Don’t mess with it.
the UCs need to up their game. The redo of LAX UC without showers is a horrific decision. The west coast absolutely needs them for connecting passengers from Asia/ AU/NZ that all land early AM.
EWR from India and TLV. Europe is less important.
the UCs need to up their game. The redo of LAX UC without showers is a horrific decision. The west coast absolutely needs them for connecting passengers from Asia/ AU/NZ that all land early AM.
EWR from India and TLV. Europe is less important.
Jun 11, 2018, 11:25 am
#40
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UA is hardly realizing premium revenue from their "premium product". There's some significant light between average Polaris fares and average Premium Transcon fares.
Jun 11, 2018, 11:27 am
#41
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As others have said, the exclusivity of Polaris is a good thing. Don’t mess with it.
the UCs need to up their game. The redo of LAX UC without showers is a horrific decision. The west coast absolutely needs them for connecting passengers from Asia/ AU/NZ that all land early AM.
EWR from India and TLV. Europe is less important.
the UCs need to up their game. The redo of LAX UC without showers is a horrific decision. The west coast absolutely needs them for connecting passengers from Asia/ AU/NZ that all land early AM.
EWR from India and TLV. Europe is less important.
Jun 11, 2018, 11:27 am
#42
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Not sure why the OP possibly thought he/she would be accorded access to a Polaris lounge without flying Polaris. As a Club member I’d like access to Polaris lounges when not flying front-cabin long-haul, but I also recognize how ridiculously crowded the Polaris Lounges would become If they let United Club members in. I don’t think people realize how many Club members there are. It’s not exactly a trivial number. Pretty oblivious to think access should be available to all UC members. Maybe UA needs to change the United Club name - some might feel over-entitled as "members" and expect more than reality. Real "clubs" are member-managed and my guess is United Clubs would be significantly different if UA let us complainers run the show 
. UA should just call it the United Lounge. "Club" seems to promise too much.
You need a shower? Fly Polaris or look for other (non-UA) options. Certainly not defending removal of UC showers, but it is what it is.
. UA should just call it the United Lounge. "Club" seems to promise too much.You need a shower? Fly Polaris or look for other (non-UA) options. Certainly not defending removal of UC showers, but it is what it is.
I have no problem with not having access to a Polaris lounge built for Polaris customers (let's not even get into the discussion of my being refused entry to any lounge upon arrival in Spain earlier this year, in spite of coming in on a Polaris flight - because the lounges were only for departing Polaris customers). I wouldn't expect to have access to a Polaris lounge unless flying Polaris, so I think accusations of over-entitlement are a bit misplaced. My issue is that this particular lounge was not an additional lounge built for Polaris. And I was speaking of this particular lounge. I don't know the situation in the others. I don't know who edited the subject line of my post unbeknownst to me and added other lounges - I had written EWR only.
This lounge was a regular lounge open to all Club and Club Card members and it was taken away from said members and handed to others with no thought to making alternate accommodations or preserving any semblance of the benefits Club members are paying for. We already know how many Club members there are. That's why removing an entire lounge - and the only one with showers - is particularly egregious. As I mentioned, during the construction the one remaining lounge in C is so overcrowded that not everyone can get in. Since the majority of United flights fly out of C, heading over to A and clearing security twice is not what I signed up for, Why pay hundreds of dollars a year to get handed a voucher to go to a restaurant, when what you're paying for has been taken away? Build out another lounge for Polaris - I don't expect entry to that. But after enduring the overcrowding at the remaining lounge and finding the benefits taken away will not be replaced, I no longer feel I'm getting value and I'm rethinking my loyalty to Mileage Plus in general. I can get to JFK just as easily as EWR as I'm in Manhattan. Anyone have better options?
Jun 11, 2018, 11:31 am
#43
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Jun 11, 2018, 11:33 am
#44
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As others have said, the exclusivity of Polaris is a good thing. Don’t mess with it.
the UCs need to up their game. The redo of LAX UC without showers is a horrific decision. The west coast absolutely needs them for connecting passengers from Asia/ AU/NZ that all land early AM.
EWR from India and TLV. Europe is less important.
the UCs need to up their game. The redo of LAX UC without showers is a horrific decision. The west coast absolutely needs them for connecting passengers from Asia/ AU/NZ that all land early AM.
EWR from India and TLV. Europe is less important.
In this world of race to the bottom showers are a pipe dream.. but I would happily pay $100 more in annual fee for showers.. As an ex Qantas club member I know how good a lounge can be..
Jun 11, 2018, 11:36 am
#45
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I don't understand the real need for PS access in the Polaris lounges.
Most PS traffic is O&D since most of the connecting traffic is coming from paces with direct flights to EWR or SFO - so a long connection shouldn't drive a need to visit the lounge.
PS travelers almost all have some combination of TSAPre, Clear, and priority security so they should be able to get to the airport close enough to boarding to not need to spend a great deal of time in the lounge.
I fully understand that my examples above don't cover all situations but from a competitive perspective UA probably feels that the value they are creating for their international business travel product by having a dedicated lounge (unlike DL or AA) is more valuable than offering transcon F passengers access to the Polaris lounge.
Most PS traffic is O&D since most of the connecting traffic is coming from paces with direct flights to EWR or SFO - so a long connection shouldn't drive a need to visit the lounge.
PS travelers almost all have some combination of TSAPre, Clear, and priority security so they should be able to get to the airport close enough to boarding to not need to spend a great deal of time in the lounge.
I fully understand that my examples above don't cover all situations but from a competitive perspective UA probably feels that the value they are creating for their international business travel product by having a dedicated lounge (unlike DL or AA) is more valuable than offering transcon F passengers access to the Polaris lounge.
On the NYC side, particularly in the Summer, I am always on a late afternoon/evening departure. The options are public transit - and you get hot and sweaty, or uber/lyft which has an uncertain arrival time. Again, I build in extra time, and then grab a shower in the Lounge, and get out of the monkey-suit. Again, flight delays can increase that time.
And when I have had to take a red-eye to NYC, a shower upon arrival is absolutely necessary.
As I noted the Centurion Lounge at SFO fills in for the crappy UC, but I have not booked UA on PS since they started trashing the EWR lounges, with the one exception being on the 77ER to try the seat, when UA was $1000 cheaper than DL was and I was arriving late into NYC so need to use a lounge.