On a recent trip to Australia, I had the choice of reviewing either United or Air Canada. Given our sheer number of Air Canada reviews, I thought it was be interesting to fly United’s “Business Class Reimagined” Polaris business class. Spoiler: it was good, but ultimately not reimagined.
Booking
While prices to Australia from North America have been high, there have been increases to frequency and airlines flying to Australia, and round trip economy prices can be found for ~$2,000. Don’t look at Business class ones though.
Flight: UA 863
Departing: San Francisco (SFO)
Arriving: Sydney (SYD)
Operated by: Boeing 777-300ER
Cabin: Business Class
Check In
I actually checked in Vancouver, so I can’t speak too much about this. That being said, for visitors to Australia / New Zealand, make sure you get your Electronic Travel Authorization before you travel, which IMHO is the same thing as a visa.
Lounge
The United Polaris Lounge is the best lounge in the US available to business class passengers (American Airlines Flagship First doesn’t count as Business). This also comes with more stringent requirements, including that passengers be booked on a long haul United Polaris business class, or a business class + equivalent on Star Alliance partners. The lounge is open from 6:30AM to 10:00PM local time.
Entrance
Entering the lounge, one begins to realize the sheer scale of this place, which has 2 floors and 3 distinct spaces.
Entrance II
The bottom floor is the quiet area and shower suites,
At the back of the room are shower suites, which for a North American lounge was quite nice. Polaris partners with famous department store Saks 5th Avenue for their amenities, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good they were.
The second floor contained the common dining area, as well as the slightly more private Dining Room.
I really enjoyed the buffet food, as it was certainly a step above traditional lounge food.
Reservations were needed for the Dining Room, and there was a 30-45 minute wait for a seat when I visited at 7:30PM.
Menu
Table
The food was pretty good, although the service was a bit robotic, with the server repeating the exact same lines to every passenger.
I ordered the Polaris Signature Burger and Pacific Rock Cod: the burger, outside of the egg, was average, while the Rock Cod was excellent. #twoentrees. There was also an extensive list of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, but I just chose the Charles Heidsieck champagne, which was alright. If you want to refuel outside, there is a bar, just note that there is strangely only one physical menu…for the entire bar.
Cocktail
The overall lounge, despite its stringent requirements, was quite crowded throughout my time there. That was probably because they were nice enough to let me in 6 hours before my flight, as I was connecting from Vancouver. Nevertheless, this was a theme that continued a bit through my flight: a good experience diluted slightly by the sheer number of guests. Yes, I know I am absolutely part of the problem.
There was also flight boards located on both floors, which was how I found out that my already late flight was sadly delayed by another 45 minutes.
2nd Floor
However, the lounge was nice enough to remain open a bit after 10PM given this and other delays.
Cabin
United Polaris on this Boeing 777-300ER is massive, with 60 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration split into 2 separate cabins. I asked the purser on the flight how it was possible for him to oversee 60 seats, and his response was “it is a challenge”. There are also 24 Premium Economy / Premium Plus seats, and 266 economy class seats.
Boeing 777-300ER
Front cabin
Back Cabin
The only thing to note is that seats in Row 1 and Row 9 are exit row seats, and so have a bit more space. Seats 9A and 9L have baby bassinets, which may be relevant should you decide where to sleep.
Seat
Seat
The actual seat is designed by Acumen Design Associates, which promises to maintain all isle access in a limited space. To be frank, the seat was unremarkable, and was a tad cramped for someone 178CM tall. That being said, it was probably the best choice given the need to fit in 60 seats into the space.
Amenities
At the seat was bedding and blankets by Saks Fifth Avenue, along with a menu card. Note pajamas are given on request, and can be kept by you (a friend of mine had to be told of this, since I don’t believe the flight attendants offered them proactively).
Beside it was a shelf and cubby, with a new amenity kit by Thermabody. TBH, I was a tad confused by the amenity kit, but I suppose it’s more practical than the former Away amenity kit.
Seat II
Inside the cubby was some water, along with some cheap looking headphones.
Cubby
Directly opposite of that was a small lamp, and the slightly confusing seat controls.
As you can see below, one weakness of this seat is the limited space. United’s pitch is 1.98M, while comparable Air Canada’s is 2.03M. Yes, those 5CM does make a difference, as any Olympic silver medalist.
Legroom
If you look on top of the seat, one good design feature was the existence of s small storage space on top of the seat, which in the above picture is occupied by a Macbook. On the side facing the aisle, there was a moveable armrest.
Seat Armrest
Below are what the two seaters look like.
Two Seats
Below is what the premium economy seat look like.
Premium Economy
Amenities
“United Upgrades Customer Experience with New Amenities from Therabody and Saks Fifth Avenue” is the headline, and I got to experience the changes. I’m not sure the Therabody kit was an upgrade, and I think they already had Saks Fifth Avenue products onboard.
Amenity Kit
Inside was eye serum, face spray, hand cream, towel, bamboo toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask, ear plugs, socks and a pen. I found it funny that both the bamboo toothbrush and pen were 2/3 of the size a normal utensil should be.
Inside of amenity kit
There were also some slippers given upon request, as well as the pajamas which were quite comfy.
Slippers
Pajamas
Actual pajamas
The standout of the set was this super comfortable blanket - it turns out the designer who made it was self taught. What a balleress.
Super amazing blanket
Food and Drink
Given the late departure of this aircraft, United / the crew knew that most people probably valued a quick sleep. The menu card, while not extensive, was probably perfect for the short time people wanted to stay awake for.
I had a glass of the Heidsieck, and as well as some Tito’s vodka. Bless the flight attendant who gave me two mini bottles lol.
Drinks
I then elected for the Cajun shrimp, which was brought out in record time, and tasted wonderful.
Cajun Shrimp
I also find it hilarious that the majority of the dish was salad with a side of salad, though this was United probably telling me that I needed to eat healthier.
A prompt which I ignored, as I had cake for breakfast. The cake, like many of the deserts on American carriers, was fantastic.
Cake
More normal people had a more full breakfast.
United Breakfast
Bed and Bathroom
The flight attendant made my bed, and off to slumber I went. I had a good sleep, so much so that I forgot to take a picture of the full lie flat bed. Sorry.
Mattress and Pad
The bathrooms were fine, though not cleaned very often (I attribute this to the sheer number of people on this flight).
The Service
On this flight, I witness the gamut of North American service. Starting with the fantastic was Shelly. She embodied Southern hospitality, giving recommendations and services with a smile and warmth. She also took time to quickly chat with everyone, and do their best make everyone at ease on this long flight. Next up was the purser, who was professional and helpful in his conduct - he noted how this flight was only 2/3 full, and gave a few insights on what it took to manage this cabin. There was one other attendant who just…didn’t say anything, just pointed at items and took orders without a word. Weird. But overall, a strong service showing by this Polaris crew.
The Point
American carriers do get criticized for their impersonal approach to things. As someone who then flew 2 Asian carriers, I would put Polaris squarely in the middle of the back. Strong points for the lounge, good points for the service and food. The drink offerings were a bit weak, although understandable for an overnight flight. I think the biggest difference is that Polaris feels more like a way to get from A to B rather than an adventure, and that’s okay! I got from SFO to SYD comfortably and with minimal fuss, and was happy about it. It’s definitely a strong showing from United, and to be honest better than American Airline’s business class.
Sydney Skyline
