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United Polaris - New Business Class seats & inflight service {Archive}

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Old Jan 17, 2020, 6:38 pm
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Archive thread -- Active thread is United Polaris - New Business Class seats & inflight service -- 3+ years after Intro

United website - Explore: http://view.ceros.com/united/polaris-business-class/p/1
from UA's Facebook stream
Only customers traveling in United Polaris business class or United Polaris Global First on international flights and customers in Star Alliance international first or business class cabins on flights longer than six hours will have access to the United Polaris Lounge.
Official Polaris Lounge Access Rules are here: Polaris Lounge Access Rules

United Polaris Business and Polaris First pax may access the Polaris lounge at connecting airports and their final destination within 24 hours of departure or arrival.

*A international J and F pax may only access the Polaris lounge at the departure airport. For purposes of Polaris lounge access, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, and Guam are excluded from the definition of "international."

Seat Chart.

Press release: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-relea...300278706.html

NEW YORK, June 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With the aspiration of making weary business travel a relic of the past, United Airlines today unveiled its all-new United Polaris business class, the airline's most significant product transformation in more than a decade, featuring a reimagined, sleep-enhancing, departure-to-landing experience for intercontinental travelers.

Named after the North Star, United Polaris is the shining new star of business class travel that flyers can turn to for a tranquil and restful journey.

"United Polaris will change the game in international business travel with an exceptional level of relaxation and comfort throughout our customers' journeys," said Oscar Munoz, president and CEO of United. "This completely reconceived experience exemplifies the new spirit of United and the innovation, excitement and operational momentum across our airline."

Path-Breaking Design

In setting out to create a transformative business class experience, United chose to outfit its widebody fleet with a custom-designed, exclusive-to-United seat, rather than select an option already in the marketplace. Designed in partnership with Acumen Design Associates and PriestmanGoode and manufactured by Zodiac Seats United Kingdom, each United Polaris seat will offer direct access to the aisle, 180-degree flat-bed recline and up to 6 foot 6 inches of bed space.

Crafted as individual, forward-facing, suite-like pods, each customer's personal suite will feature a "Do Not Disturb" sign, mood lighting, one-touch lumbar support, several storage areas, multiple surfaces for simultaneous working and dining, a 16-inch high-definition entertainment screen and, for seats in the center of the cabin, electronic privacy dividers. Complementing the new seats, United and PriestmanGoode have also conceived an all-new look for the United Polaris cabins.

In rethinking the international business class experience, United conducted more than 12,000 hours of research, and sleep emerged as the single most important priority for international business class travelers. United Polaris' path-breaking design and sleep-enhancing focus was inspired and informed by insights from hundreds of customers and employees, inflight product simulations and more than 100 product evaluations.

Sleep-Enticing Amenities

In addition to the sleep-enticing United Polaris personal suites, several other amenities were designed with our customers' sleep in mind.

In a first-of-its-kind partnership, United has worked with leading luxury specialty store Saks Fifth Avenue for custom-designed bedding. All designed to provide the best sleep in the sky, the new bedding collection will feature plush duvets, lightweight day-blankets and a large and small pillow for each United Polaris customer. In addition, mattress cushions will be available upon request.

Slippers will be available on all flights, and customized United Polaris pajamas will be available by request on flights longer than 12 hours**. Flyers will also be able to request a gel-cooled pillow. New amenity kits will feature ergonomically designed eye shades, calming lavender pillow mist and additional products from Soho House & Co.'s Cowshed Spa.

With the introduction of United Polaris, the airline intends to donate tens of thousands of pillows, blankets and other inflight service items to Fisher House Foundation, which United and its employees have long supported.

Elevated Dining Experience

Upon boarding their flight, each United Polaris customer will be welcomed with a pre-departure beverage of his or her choice and gourmet chocolate. While in the air, customers will enjoy regionally influenced in-flight menus updated seasonally, developed in partnership with The Trotter Project and its critically recognized chefs, including Bill Kim of acclaimed Chicago restaurants Urbanbelly, bellyQ and Belly Shack.

The airline will offer an upgraded wine experience, with the highest-quality options curated exclusively by United's Master Sommelier. Inflight service will also include made-to-order signature ice cream sundaes, a dessert cart with a variety of petit dessert options, chocolate truffles and wine flights. On daytime flights longer than eight hours and on all flights longer than 12 hours, hot mid-flight snacks such as lobster macaroni and cheese will be available.

Raising The Bar With United Polaris Business Class Lounges

United will also open an exclusive portfolio of United Polaris business class lounges in nine locations around the world – the only lounge of its kind offered by a U.S. airline to business class customers – that will feature custom-designed chairs, private daybeds, spa-like showers and chef-inspired hot meals served in a boutique restaurant setting so customers can refresh and dine before boarding their planes. Premium sparkling wines and spirits, refreshing snacks and bottled water will also be offered.

The first new United Polaris lounge will open at Chicago O'Hare International Airport on Dec. 1, 2016. Lounges in eight other locations – Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, New York/Newark, Washington Dulles, Tokyo Narita, Hong Kong and London Heathrow – will follow in 2017.

United Polaris Introduction

United will begin to introduce United Polaris on Dec. 1, 2016, with the new inflight food and beverage experience, new custom bedding from Saks Fifth Avenue, new amenity kits and the new United Polaris lounge in Chicago. The United Polaris business class seat will first take flight in December on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and subsequently on Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, as well as on Boeing 767-300 and 777-200 retrofits.

United Polaris will serve business class customers flying the U.S. airline industry's most global route network, reaching more than 330 destinations in more than 50 countries.

More information on the United Polaris business class can be found at united.com/Polaris.

[From [email][email protected] 11/15/2016]
Starting December 1, 2016, United Polaris Business Class service will replace United BusinessFirst service on international flights, and United Polaris Global First service will replace the current United Global First service.

Between 2017 to 2019 eight additional United Polaris lounges will open at EWR, HKG, IAD, IAH, LAX, LHR, NRT and SFO. We do not have the exact opening dates at this time. A scheduling announcement will be forthcoming.
** Flights with pajama service (for both directions)
SFO - ICN, PEK, PVG, HGH, XIV, TPE, AKL, HKG, CTU, SYD, TLV, SIN
EWR - NRT, PEK, DEL, BOM, HKG, PVG
ORD - NRT, PEK PVG, HKG
LAX - PVG, SYD, MEL, SIN
IAD - NRT, PEK
IAH - NRT, SYD
(from United Twitter feed https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CyjFHZLW...jpg&name=large

{Similar Threads:
Polaris Lounge Roadmap 2017-2018 (wiki) (thread)
Polaris lounge ORD - opened 01 Dec 2016 (wiki) (thread)
SFO Lounge changes? Which will become Polaris? Shower options?(wiki) (thread)
United Polaris-New Business Class seats & inflight service and new Polaris Lounges(wiki) (thread)}


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United Polaris - New Business Class seats & inflight service {Archive}

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Old Nov 28, 2016, 3:49 pm
  #2161  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: London
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 2,438
Originally Posted by JOSECONLSCREW28
And exactly what is wrong with using the CO seat?
Nothing but the rest of the email was personalized and I'm on a PMUA 767 on Friday
villox is offline  
Old Nov 28, 2016, 4:12 pm
  #2162  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 818
Received the same email and will be trying it on Monday from HKG-EWR. I've had good experiences with the EWR crews, and I know they will bring their A game on Monday. All UA inflight personnel should be excited about this; from my perspective, coming from the CO side, it is nice to say goodbye to BusinessFirst and welcome Polaris.
trust77 is offline  
Old Nov 28, 2016, 6:11 pm
  #2163  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: UA GS 4MM
Posts: 583
Originally Posted by JOSECONLSCREW28
And exactly what is wrong with using the CO seat?
Nothing...I'd much rather be flying to FRA in one than the 2-4-2 J seats out of ORD next Tuesday. Oh, well...I am looking forward to seeing just how the service changes.
JDT1955 is offline  
Old Nov 28, 2016, 6:24 pm
  #2164  
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Originally Posted by villox
Of course they went with the PMCO seat in the picture...
Sadly with the 787-9s coming online the PMCO seat is now a majority of the BF installed inventory.
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Old Nov 28, 2016, 7:36 pm
  #2165  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: UA GS 4MM
Posts: 583
Originally Posted by mduell
Sadly with the 787-9s coming online the PMCO seat is now a majority of the BF installed inventory.
Again, why is this sad? At least I can keep some carry-on at my feet...
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Old Nov 28, 2016, 7:44 pm
  #2166  
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: SEA, WAS, PEK
Programs: UA 3K UGS 3MM
Posts: 2,176
Originally Posted by JOSECONLSCREW28
And exactly what is wrong with using the CO seat?
The footwells that make anything but the bulkhead seats impossible to sleep in unless you are very short.
kevanyalowitz is offline  
Old Nov 28, 2016, 7:52 pm
  #2167  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: New York NY
Programs: UA Gold, CO Plat, CO Million Miler
Posts: 2,617
Originally Posted by fkevanyalowitz
The footwells that make anything but the bulkhead seats impossible to sleep in unless you are very short.
Now, now, Children....let's not get into a discussion of PMCO vs US seats....But for the record, the PMCO seats are far superior, small footwells or not.
hughw is offline  
Old Nov 28, 2016, 8:26 pm
  #2168  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: BOS
Programs: Hyatt Discoverist, Marriott/SPG/Hilton Gold, PreCheck + Clear
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Some new Polaris implementation details in this Q&A between The Points Guy and UA.

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/11/que...nited-polaris/

This one in particular caught my eye:

Q: The Chicago Polaris lounge opens on Thursday. Which lounges are opening next? And when?

A: There will be nine Polaris lounges in total. Houston, Newark and San Francisco will be getting their lounges next, and those three should be open by the middle of 2017. Dulles and Los Angeles will follow later in 2017, and Hong Kong, London and Tokyo should open by the end of 2017, but may not be available until early 2018.
RandomBaritone is offline  
Old Nov 28, 2016, 8:33 pm
  #2169  
Moderator: United Airlines
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Posts: 66,821
Topic Check

Originally Posted by hughw
....let's not get into a discussion of PMCO vs UA seats.... ...
Agreed. We had plenty of those threads and and this is a Polaris thread. Let's return to the original topic.

Thanks
WineCountryUA
UA coModerator
WineCountryUA is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2016, 8:06 am
  #2170  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Programs: UA Platinum, Starbucks Gold
Posts: 873
Originally Posted by RandomBaritone
Some new Polaris implementation details in this Q&A between The Points Guy and UA.

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/11/que...nited-polaris/

This one in particular caught my eye:

Q: The Chicago Polaris lounge opens on Thursday. Which lounges are opening next? And when?

A: There will be nine Polaris lounges in total. Houston, Newark and San Francisco will be getting their lounges next, and those three should be open by the middle of 2017. Dulles and Los Angeles will follow later in 2017, and Hong Kong, London and Tokyo should open by the end of 2017, but may not be available until early 2018.
Great find. I appreciate the clarification about differences in soft product between Polaris business and first. For first, UA is saying that the two differences will be the addition of a soup course, and a skewer pre-departure amuse bouche rather than a chocolate truffle. I think I'm going to ask for both when I fly Polaris first! I like the idea of a chocolate truffle with some bubbles.

Another striking thing from that interview is apparently UA will not load enough mattress pads and pajamas for all passengers? I knew that the gel cooling pillows were limited and on demand, but I didn't realize that about mattress pads and PJs! That's quite annoying. I would hope that while Polaris first exists, these items are guaranteed for F pax.
CappuccinoAddict is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2016, 8:10 am
  #2171  
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Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: The electrified part of North Carolina
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Posts: 4,157
Has anyone been able to take any "through-the-glass-doors" pictures of the ORD Polaris lounge, similar to what was posted here before the IAD TK lounge opened?
Or has UA published any recent pictures/floor plans/computer mockups that shows the layout?

Last edited by UA1K_no_more; Nov 29, 2016 at 8:22 am
UA1K_no_more is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2016, 9:17 am
  #2172  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: London
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 2,438
Originally Posted by UA1K_no_more
Has anyone been able to take any "through-the-glass-doors" pictures of the ORD Polaris lounge, similar to what was posted here before the IAD TK lounge opened?
Or has UA published any recent pictures/floor plans/computer mockups that shows the layout?
Found this on twitter. There's a media event tomorrow so I guess I see why they're working 24/7! https://twitter.com/jimmysamartzis/s...89334368559104
villox is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2016, 9:45 am
  #2173  
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Originally Posted by villox
Found this on twitter. There's a media event tomorrow so I guess I see why they're working 24/7! https://twitter.com/jimmysamartzis/s...89334368559104
Judging by his other recent tweets, that seems to have been posted from LAX.
This was posted about one hour before his Polaris lounge tweet:
Jimmy Samartzis ‏@JimmySamartzis, 4h hours ago Los Angeles, CA
Super fun seeing Oscar warm up our great performers from @LAsBEST to kickoff our new @united Club at LAX! @weareunited

Last edited by UA1K_no_more; Nov 29, 2016 at 9:52 am
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Old Nov 29, 2016, 9:48 am
  #2174  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: London
Programs: UA GS
Posts: 2,438
Originally Posted by UA1K_no_more
Judging by his other recent tweets, that seems to have been posted from LAX.
Ohhh.. interesting. Well that's good because they don't look ready to open tomorrow from that pic!
villox is offline  
Old Nov 29, 2016, 9:55 am
  #2175  
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Originally Posted by villox
Ohhh.. interesting. Well that's good because they don't look ready to open tomorrow from that pic!
They certainly don't.
Looks like one of the "one day before the new terminal opens and nothing is done" segments on "Ultimate Airport Dubai".
UA1K_no_more is offline  


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