LAX Polaris Lounge -- Reviews, Experiences, Q&A, ...
Jan 19, 2019, 6:10 pm
#122
Join Date: May 2006
Location: PMD
Programs: UA*G, NW, AA-G. WR-P, HH-G, IHG-S, ALL. TT-GE.
Posts: 2,910
The PL window view reminds me of MLL at T6. Both face west. (MLL sees T5.) MLL is small and everything limited. Only go there when (1) you fly AC/ET out of T6 and too lazy to walk to T7, or (2) UA *G flying domestic too lazy to walk to TBIT.
Jan 19, 2019, 8:52 pm
#123
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Raleigh
Programs: United GS 2MM,, Marriott/Starwood Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 754
Jan 19, 2019, 8:59 pm
#124
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: UA 1K, AS MVPG, DL GM, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,266
I’m pretty surprised by how quiet the lounge is. Been here for a few hours after arriving from PVG and just recently a few more people have arrived bringing the count to maybe 20 people. For the bulk of my visit, I feel like numbers have been closer to single digits. Bartenders must be pretty bored and scared to shake cocktails since this place is so quiet - almost like a library.
The dining area and shower suites are pretty nice but I was pretty surprised by just how small this lounge is. Basically there is one main seating area with 60ish seats and then the only other seating is opposite the buffet area and the dining area. Best way to describe this lounge is intimate. I’m just wondering what this place would look like with 3 Polaris flights leaving around same time with 48-60 J seats each.
The dining area and shower suites are pretty nice but I was pretty surprised by just how small this lounge is. Basically there is one main seating area with 60ish seats and then the only other seating is opposite the buffet area and the dining area. Best way to describe this lounge is intimate. I’m just wondering what this place would look like with 3 Polaris flights leaving around same time with 48-60 J seats each.
Jan 19, 2019, 9:51 pm
#125
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,450
A purely theoretical question, since (1) UA doesn't have more than two-long haul departures in any one window at LAX, and (2) the largest J cabin that flies ex-LAX is the 789 at 48.
Jan 19, 2019, 10:39 pm
#126
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: UA 1K, AS MVPG, DL GM, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,266
Understood that at the moment it may not be an issue but with *A partners and potential future expansion of LAX international flying, it seems it wouldn’t be crazy to think it may not be large enough at peak times at some point in the future. Very nice lounge though - definitely prefer the Polaris lounges to anything offered by AA/DL. Pretty amazing to think they are just business class lounges as they certainly feel closer to first class lounges.
Jan 19, 2019, 10:59 pm
#127
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,450
And the LAX Polaris lounge has 140 seats. I really do not foresee a problem.
Jan 19, 2019, 11:50 pm
#128
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 1999
Posts: 11,468
Medium to long-term T9 is in the works and I heard some talk that this might become a StarAlliance complex. At that time I could see the need to enlarge the current PL.
Jan 20, 2019, 10:15 am
#129
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: PHX
Programs: AS 75K; UA 1MM; Hyatt Globalist; Marriott LTP; Hilton Diamond (Aspire)
Posts: 56,450
Jan 20, 2019, 1:21 pm
#130
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Honolulu Harbor
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 15,018
If it was a *A complex, why wouldn’t they just move the *A lounge from TBIT to a new-build lounge there at that time? The suggestion of a “Star Alliance complex” itself begs questions. Airlines nowadays contribute to construction/upgrades of their dedicated terminals. How would financing of such a complex work?
Last edited by IAH-OIL-TRASH; Jan 20, 2019 at 2:25 pm
Jan 20, 2019, 6:47 pm
#131
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Sydney, NSW Australia
Posts: 895
I remember being handed a new boarding pass for my connecting flight with a smudged stamp inviting me to the Global First Lounge at the aeroplane door when I was alighting 840 from SYD.
Jan 23, 2019, 12:55 pm
#132
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 102
In the lounge now. Accessed on arrival from NRT and waiting for my connection to Denver. No issues with access. The shower suite was great and they had a lot of amenity options if needed (toiletries, hair dryer, straightener, etc).
The next outbound flight on UA that is eligible for access is to Shanghai, and the flight is practically empty (seems to be common), so there is hardly anyone here since the flight to NRT just departed. Service is attentive and polite. Enjoyed the ahi salad from the sit down service and the chicken skewers from the buffet. Now I am enjoying a nice Wit from Santa Monica Brewing.
Credit where credit is due, I am pretty happy with what they put together here and hope they keep it up.
The next outbound flight on UA that is eligible for access is to Shanghai, and the flight is practically empty (seems to be common), so there is hardly anyone here since the flight to NRT just departed. Service is attentive and polite. Enjoyed the ahi salad from the sit down service and the chicken skewers from the buffet. Now I am enjoying a nice Wit from Santa Monica Brewing.
Credit where credit is due, I am pretty happy with what they put together here and hope they keep it up.
Last edited by jbone9877; Jan 23, 2019 at 1:06 pm
Jan 23, 2019, 7:18 pm
#133
Join Date: Aug 2011
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 8,634
Well, it's certainly been a minute, but I thought I would stop by this old haunt to relay a little story.
After a couple years without much premium travel on UA, my wife and I flew two trips (one to a couple of cities in Germany and one to Taipei) with the overwater flights in Polaris seats in each direction.
The Polaris lounges in ORD, SFO, and LAX exceeded our high expectations. The food was great, the lounges felt like first class lounges, and the staff was generally very good. And it's the staff I'm here to talk about. Or more precisely, how well they handled the worst passenger I have ever seen in a lounge.
The setting is the Polaris Lounge at LAX, late last week. A few sets of passengers (including us) head right to the dining room after the lounge opens. The two waiters get everyone set up quickly and orders are taken. Then this guy comes barreling in. He's obnoxious in all of the ways you can surely imagine--loud, seems annoyed at the world, etc. After being seated by Waiter 1, he waits until she walks away and then yells at Waiter 2 "can I order now?"
He proceeds to order--but not from the menu. I didn't hear the entire interaction, but I hear him say something about salmon and a pancake, and he claps. Waiter 1 looks confused, and he repeats himself, this time banging on the table to illustrate something about his off-menu order. Waiter 2 disappears, presumably to consult with Waiter 1, who in turn comes over to ask the guy to clarify his order.
This time he's loud enough for me to hear: "How hard is this? I want you to take the salmon and [something else--I don't remember] from the buffet and mix it with eggs in the kitchen to make an egg pancake! A pancake! Like this! [Bangs hand on table, makes a smooshing motion.] Can you get that done for me, and soon, please?" Waiter 1 leaves to consult with the kitchen.
Then the chef appears, and asks him to explain it again to her. He repeats the entire thing, louder. She says "an egg pancake?" He says "yes"! She looks confused. He yells "you know, like an omelet!!!" She seems to decide that she'll just make an omelet and see what happens, because no one in the world has ever heard of an egg pancake.
Some time later, the omelet arrives. It is clearly not what he wanted, and he is seething. The waiter tries to ask whether he's happy with it, but he does not respond--just sort of ignores her. Nevertheless, he eats it, and then leaves in a huff a few minutes later.
During this entire exchange where a disrespectful nightmare of a passenger invented a new item cobbled together from things on the buffet and expected them to understand what he was talking about and make it for him--quickly--the three lounge employees could not have been more respectful, deferential, and nice to him. And really, that's sort of shocking to me. I've always thought that United's agents and lounge staff were kinder and better than people gave them credit for, but I've never seen this level of customer-is-always-right-ism from UA. It's different, and though I sorta wish they had just drawn the line with that guy, it's pretty friggen impressive.
But bad customers are not the only beneficiaries. Throughout our experiences at the Polaris Lounges on these two trips, we got proactive suggestions of additional food in the dining areas, offers to refill our drinks in the main area, and really friendly attitudes from everyone. I'm really impressed, and as much as I previously discounted ground experience as a major factor in deciding which airline to fly in J, this makes me a lot more likely to fly United.
After a couple years without much premium travel on UA, my wife and I flew two trips (one to a couple of cities in Germany and one to Taipei) with the overwater flights in Polaris seats in each direction.
The Polaris lounges in ORD, SFO, and LAX exceeded our high expectations. The food was great, the lounges felt like first class lounges, and the staff was generally very good. And it's the staff I'm here to talk about. Or more precisely, how well they handled the worst passenger I have ever seen in a lounge.
The setting is the Polaris Lounge at LAX, late last week. A few sets of passengers (including us) head right to the dining room after the lounge opens. The two waiters get everyone set up quickly and orders are taken. Then this guy comes barreling in. He's obnoxious in all of the ways you can surely imagine--loud, seems annoyed at the world, etc. After being seated by Waiter 1, he waits until she walks away and then yells at Waiter 2 "can I order now?"
He proceeds to order--but not from the menu. I didn't hear the entire interaction, but I hear him say something about salmon and a pancake, and he claps. Waiter 1 looks confused, and he repeats himself, this time banging on the table to illustrate something about his off-menu order. Waiter 2 disappears, presumably to consult with Waiter 1, who in turn comes over to ask the guy to clarify his order.
This time he's loud enough for me to hear: "How hard is this? I want you to take the salmon and [something else--I don't remember] from the buffet and mix it with eggs in the kitchen to make an egg pancake! A pancake! Like this! [Bangs hand on table, makes a smooshing motion.] Can you get that done for me, and soon, please?" Waiter 1 leaves to consult with the kitchen.
Then the chef appears, and asks him to explain it again to her. He repeats the entire thing, louder. She says "an egg pancake?" He says "yes"! She looks confused. He yells "you know, like an omelet!!!" She seems to decide that she'll just make an omelet and see what happens, because no one in the world has ever heard of an egg pancake.
Some time later, the omelet arrives. It is clearly not what he wanted, and he is seething. The waiter tries to ask whether he's happy with it, but he does not respond--just sort of ignores her. Nevertheless, he eats it, and then leaves in a huff a few minutes later.
During this entire exchange where a disrespectful nightmare of a passenger invented a new item cobbled together from things on the buffet and expected them to understand what he was talking about and make it for him--quickly--the three lounge employees could not have been more respectful, deferential, and nice to him. And really, that's sort of shocking to me. I've always thought that United's agents and lounge staff were kinder and better than people gave them credit for, but I've never seen this level of customer-is-always-right-ism from UA. It's different, and though I sorta wish they had just drawn the line with that guy, it's pretty friggen impressive.
But bad customers are not the only beneficiaries. Throughout our experiences at the Polaris Lounges on these two trips, we got proactive suggestions of additional food in the dining areas, offers to refill our drinks in the main area, and really friendly attitudes from everyone. I'm really impressed, and as much as I previously discounted ground experience as a major factor in deciding which airline to fly in J, this makes me a lot more likely to fly United.
Jan 23, 2019, 9:52 pm
#134
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: UA
Posts: 1,098
I was at the check in counter at LAX and the customer in front of me was flying Polaris to PVG, the agent told her about the UC but made no mention of the Polaris lounge.
For the informed travelers this is probably a blessing since the lounge is somewhat small.
Jan 24, 2019, 1:10 am
#135
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: New York / Hawaii
Programs: UA Global Services, HH Diamond
Posts: 5,178
But bad customers are not the only beneficiaries. Throughout our experiences at the Polaris Lounges on these two trips, we got proactive suggestions of additional food in the dining areas, offers to refill our drinks in the main area, and really friendly attitudes from everyone. I'm really impressed, and as much as I previously discounted ground experience as a major factor in deciding which airline to fly in J, this makes me a lot more likely to fly United.
There's been a few times when I've come across vile passengers who have verbally attacked UA staff or more. I've always documented things and sent in a letter, especially if I felt the UA employee exhibited courage and patience above/beyond their call of duty. After having a bad day like that, UA staffers feel 1000x better when they know that good people recognize good staff ...even when other passengers may act like fools.
This is a bit off-topic, but I was on a UA flight during the Jeff Mizek days and another passenger yelled and cursed at a UA flight attendant so much she ran back to the galley and cried in her jumpseat. Other passengers barked at him and a FA from the back asked the passenger to come to the rear galley to cool down and see what happened. While that was going on, with inflight WiFi, I emailed Jeff with what happened, said the passenger was in the wrong and the FA was right, and praised the FA for how she did handle herself with that verbal (and racist) assault. Within 30 minutes, he replied back thanking me for the word, copying the FA's supervisor and the station manager at the next station. I don't know what happened from there, but I'm sure she got the support she needed from UA management ...and knew that good customers appreciated her which would lift their spirits. And their faith in humanity.
