I’ve got to hand it to the crew of UA892, my flight from Seoul to San Francisco in Polaris Business Class. It was one of the best United flights I have ever flown.
My Truly Great Flight On United Airlines From ICN-SFO In Business Class
Flying United home was not my first choice. Instead, I was hoping to fly Korean Air in first class, a bucket list flight experience, particularly on the 747-8, that has long eluded me.
But alas, that space never opened. So the day before, I booked a premium economy ticket on United and my upgrade cleared to Polaris Business Class.
Typically I will board first, but the trip to Incheon took longer than I expected (due to traffic) and I wanted to photograph both the Singapore Airlines and Asisna lounges (reviews coming). Thus, I was the very last passenger to board this flight.
As I entered the plane, a flight attendant named Deon welcomed me onboard. He is South African and we had a great chat. Then Michelle, the purser, came around to introduce herself to each passenger and warmly thanked me for being a 1K and MillionMiler.
Yoichi then stopped by to take my dinner order and was also so kind and gracious (he managed to get me my first choice even though I had neglected to pre-order, which I appreciated – sometimes flight attendants do not sort meal preferences by MileagePlus status).
Captain Leo Sherman, a gregarious Lousiana man with a booming voice, came out and introduced himself to the cabin and made small talk before proceeding to the rear business class cabin and doing the same.
The service on this flight was simply perfect…every interaction with every flight attendant (and pilot) was worthy of a first class experience.
United has reintroduced menus with regional specialties out of its stations in Asia and Europe and I ordered the Korean BBQ chicken for my main course. When ordering, I was wavering between beef or chicken and Yoichi strongly recommended the beef.
Well, the choice was fine, though not my favorite sauce:
But when I finished that, Yoichi proactively brought over a leftover beef for me to try (apparently several passengers skipped the meal). First, what a nice gesture! Second, the beef short ribs were tender and lean…a very good and superior choice.
I slept for about seven hours and awoke about 90 minutes outside of San Francisco for the pre-arrival service.
Again, I ordered the local option–Gochujang chicken pancakes. They were…okay? Actually, the sauce was quite spicy but the flavors worked fairly well together. It’s not a dish I would have at home, but I was happy to have tried it.
But after finishing that, Yoichi proactively brought me over the crepes to try. It’s as if he could read my mind! What a lovely touch. Over the years, I have been served many second (and third) meals based on my request, but this was the first time a second meal has been proactively offered to me.
By the way, the apple crepes were the more delicious choice. Everyone around me slept through breakfast so I also appreciate that I was able to contribute to reducing food waste! 😉
Before lading, I received a thank you card signed by Michelle, Yoichi, and Captain Leo. Michelle had a stack of them she was handing out to 1Ks and Global Services members onboard. What a lovely touch…FAs are not paid extra for this.
United Is Getting Better Onboard…No Doubt About It
We hear a lot of complaints about United Airlines (inferior food, surly service, dirty cabins) but if I am being honest, my flights this year have been absolutely excellent. All five of my longhaul flights (some of which I have not written about yet) have been really excellent in terms of the service. The bedding and seat is always great and I had a really delicious meal out of Frankfurt recently.
My point: flying United has been a pleasure this year and after five flights, I don’t think it is because I am lucky and certainly not because I am getting the blogger treatment.
I was so overwhelmed by the gracious service that I requested a picture with Yoichi and Michelle after landing (I wish Deon could have been in it too).
This will go down as one of my best United flights ever…I am a very happy camper onboard United these days (which makes it all the more tragic what United is doing to MileagePlus, something we will discuss later this week).
Those are my first impressions of this flight, but when I publish my full review I will lay out more details about the seat, amenities, meals, and even the service onboard.
Days later as I sit at my desk at home, a smile spreads across my face as I think about this flight. It was a very special one. It makes me almost glad that the Korean Air space did not open…
@ Matthew — It is difficult to know how great this flight was since you always give United (and Hyatt) favorable reviews.
Well, I’m not on the payroll and you’ve been reading my blog for 15 years…I hope you can trust me by now when I say something is good. Haven’t you and FCQ enjoyed your United flights this year?
I’ve had good flight after good flight, at least internationally, which makes my decision on what to do concerning MileagePlus all the more difficult.
I’d rather the Captain pay attention to flying the aircraft , rather than be gregarious with the passengers .
He could have tripped on a seat leg , and fallen , and knocked himself out , no ?
You don’t walk and chew gum at the same time?
@Matthew … +1 . Funny and true .
Alert, I have approx 26,000 hrs and never had a problem navigating to the cockpit or around the globe . My background came from former Pan American pilots and. I had the awesome opportunity to be mentored at TWA(Tran World Airlines) with some of the crusty n non personal pilots in the industry that lost their motivation from bankruptcy’s n malfeasance. I promised myself I would never take responsibility for a planeload of passengers with a bad attitude or lack of capability’s to make a successful flight. Before all my flights I speake directly to all my Flight Attendants and cockpit crew to let them know we’re better that who they think we are and let the sacrifices of what we do show in how we preform.
The company’s are already skimming what I truly feel the customer should have so I show them I am human n I care
I will engage my customer core for 6 more yrs and leave this industry better provided I am able to be able to let u know my fellow pilots feel and love what they do like I do.
My focus n preparation allow me the time to engage the customers.
What wasn’t mentioned was we departed late due to a lavatory issue and that flight almost cancelled until I was able to resource my skill and contact a fellow tech manager that assisted in resolving it n we landed 30-40 mins behind schedule.
That what we do
Capt Leo H Sherman.
I’m glad you chose flying over a career in journalism.
Captain Sherman, I wasn’t even aware of the lavatory incident. It was a pleasure to fly with you and I hope to fly with you again.
I agree with all of this, I have seen (albeit it’s anecdotal) a noticeable step up in service on my Intl flights as well as my recognition as a GS even when flying domestic. I received similar cards on routine domestics from SEA-EWR recently and even a BOS-EWR. I was so surprised by the service on my last SEA-EWR that I even felt the need to write in to United for only the second time in my years of flying to say how good it was and what a great airline United could be if only it had such consistency.
But man, the mileage plus changes are brutal and also have me sadly thinking.
“But man, the mileage plus changes are brutal and also have me sadly thinking.”
Couldn’t agree more. On board product is improving but their loyalty program has little to offer anymore. I’m less hesitant to book another carrier at this point.
Wait I’m confused. Were there more changes announced or is it just the ANA and LH First class stuff?
There’s more. Details coming next hour.
Not a big time GS/MM but I really dislike the tats and piercings that almost seem to be encouraged for the inflight staff. Obesity seems a requisite now, also. If I were an elite UA traveller, I’d have a msg for Scott Kirby. “Up your game w the hiring of unattractive FAs.”
I have to say domestic as well. two weeks ago took a family vacation trip to SoCal. On the way out, at EWR prior to departure, Capt came to our row, thanked me for being a 1K and asked if the kids wanted to see the flight deck. They were up there for 15 minutes or so and then we heard my little one announce on the PA welcoming everyone to the flight to LA!! During the flight, the purser stopped by and thanked again for being 1K and offered cheesecake from first class as a treat. He did that to a couple of other 1Ks. On the flight back, similar experience, the flight attendant addressed me by name and thanked for being a 1K and gave an extra food box for the kids without charging. Definitely different experience than previous flights this year for work, and very nice gestures.
I’m sorry, but the United food looks like dog chow. You know it’s ok for you to call it what it is. It’s quite frankly laughable since we know you know what high quality food looks like since you’ve flown in many superior cabins and airlines.
The beef was very good…it really was.
Hi Tim
I read the comment section of these travel blogs hoping to see a comment from you. I know many other commenters give you a hard time but I probably love Delta as much as you do. Keep up the good work!
Looks disappointing to me; choice of appetizers? shrimp, scallops? course by course? portions looks quite small; compare it to Eva Air or Singapore Air ; quite different. Cart service? the aisles on a 787 are too narrow for cart service.
This is my average experience on United. Your standards are quite low.
Korean Air first class is superior, by far.
First on Korean js not business, as shown by the price differential.
Matt,
Don’t you realize your name is on their radar scope, and we are not talking the “No Fly List”.
I’m sure that crazy Texas congressman also gets treated very well, even on SW.
As for the rest, we sing the blues
I’m not denying that is a possiblity, but do you think it came together when I booked the flight exactly 25 hours before departure (in order to clear the ugprade at the 24-hour sweep)?
Michelle had a stack of “thank you” cards for 1K/GS members. The amazing thing is that I don’t think I recieved special treatment among other top-tier elites in the cabin…
I’m a UA FA of 9 years. I can absolutely guarantee there is no “list” if an FA noticed him it’s because they read the blog. Which I highly doubt tbh.. We were not briefed beforehand when Lady Gaga boarded last year, for reference. People with influence fly UA everyday.. everything you experienced , while above and beyond what the average person gets, is simply a matter of being a 1k and having a dedicated crew.
Disagree. The former mayor of New Orleans was sitting next to a friend of mine in coach on a Delta flight. Before the plane too off, he was moved to 1st Class before the door closed.
Delta must have a better manifest list????
“Yoichi strongly recommended the beef.” You mean CHICKEN? Considering that’s what it looks like and he brought beef later. Also many spelling errors (Asisna) but most of those I don’t point out anymore (and I didn’t even finish reading the whole article yet).
No, he recommended the beef but I ordered the chicken anyway because it was the special out of South Korea. I should have listened to him!
“United Is Getting Better Onboard…No Doubt About It” Well, when you suck so badly, you don’t need to do much do get better.
I live in Metro Detroit, so Delta is often my only option, but so far this year my experience with United has been much better than with Delta (to say nothing of SkyMiles devaluations and increasingly difficult medallion qualification standards). Going forward, if a direct flight isn’t available, I’m choosing United — and even just a couple of years ago, I’d have considered that preposterous.
@Matthew with regards to the service and to be absolutely clear, I am sure the crew was good, but is it possible that UA knows when you are on-board and lets the FA’s know that an aviation journalist is onboard and to be extra good?
A few years ago, I happened to sit next to a British gentleman in Business class on a flight and I watched him filming a bunch of things like the seat, food, etc. so I asked him why he was doing that, He was at first a little defensive, asking if it was bothering me, I said no, I was just curious because I had never seen someone do that before.
He explained that he is a travel reviewer on YouTube and this is the process he uses to make videos. We chatted for a bit and he said that while he hopes that he is not known aboard flights, there are times the airline knows he is onboard and the crew is aware of his presence. He said that a few crews have admitted that they knew he was going to be onboard and the company made it clear to be on their best behavior.
He said he never alerts the airline that he is going to be flying with them and he only once accepted free tickets and he felt really icky about it and never did so again.
I guess what I am asking is do you think UA even sometimes alerts the crew to your presence?
Regardless, I am glad you had a good flight.
I have to leave open that possibility – it would be dishonest to do otherwise. And if this blog keeps growing, that may spell the end of my unbiased reviews, even though I pay for my own flights and never let UA know I am coming.
And yes, I have been told by FAs before that they read my blog (and sometimes not always as a compliment). I guess after doing this for almost 15 years and flying nearly 2MN, you are bound to become a little better known.
But I would seriously doubt that United tells staff to lay out the red carpet for me and if it does, I wish only to receive the same treatment as any other guest onboard.
I tend to agree with Matthew. UA cannot change crews to place their Creme de la Creme onboard just because a travel blogger is riding with them that day. And all of us who fly UA in front know that there are absolutely surly crew members aboard many of their flights (seemingly more on the TATL flights than TPAC), and you can just order a surly crew me member to become gracious and nice. So, Matthew, I’d say you lucked into a great crew.
I do wonder this: how much influence does the purser have over the crew’s behavior? Is the purser basically the leader of the crew for that flight, and can they somehow motivate an average crew to be great under their leadership for that flight?
I’ve also had great trips on UA over the last year, both domestic and international. They are solid.
I’m glad you had a nice flight, but my experience with United this year has not been the same. I’ve been on 2 flights in Polaris class (one domestic and one international) this year and they were subpar at best. Polaris lounges were overcrowded and under staffed, and United’s business class seats in Polaris suck. They box your upper body in and are narrow. And the foot hold is so narrow and tight I feel as if I am strapped to a gurney. The onboard service has been meh at best, and the food is better but still not worthy of a $5k plane ticket.
I’ve been a loyal United flyer for over 30 years and are finally focusing on AA & Delta. We’ll see what they have to offer.
Speaking of mileage plus it’s 110k miles to fly business from Japan to the USA on ANA but the same amount to fly from syd to Tokyo to Ord. Strange quirk. Not a bad redemption – my wife and I are flying it tomorrow, including the Room to ORD.
Sssh! 😉
Eeek.
A first class seat just opened. 242k saver award. Ouch
Somewhat incidentally lifemiles shows availability on the calendar (indicated by the blue trim) for the same ANA flights as United shows…. But when you click on the date it says unavailable.
Most people make their purchase choices based on their own anecdotal experience. I agree with you Matthew that UA has been on an upward swing lately and I’ve had some really great crews including pilots who were so transparent and honest about some things happening that caused delays that it took the wind out the sails of anyone complaining.
I think I read a year or two ago that United’s goal was to make memorable experiences for individuals that didn’t necessarily cost much but made people feel positively and that was the key to loyalty. (or maybe I’m making that up) But I feel that as correct lately. Of course others will feel the same based on their own experiences on UA or other airlines, and that’s why we have die-hards for even the carriers that stack up the worst on paper.
I flew from Chicago to Amsterdam on 4/18/24 on United. I had not been on a plane in 25 years because I was terrified..seriously..I was traveling with my sister & neice to see my granddaughter who lives & works in Amsterdam..only for my granddaughter I did this. Boarding did not go well for me. My niece took my hand & said close your eyes I’ll get u on plane. Didn’t hear someone say step up & down I went on all fours..my own stupid fault…now I’m crying like a fool & I look up & bending down to help me was My Stefan! He ask me what he could do to make my flight happier..I told him he needed to be smiling every time I looked at him. Then I find out he lives in Ohio like me even though he’s Dutch. He calmed me way down..he had to go do his job & I got emotional again..next time he saw me & I was crying..again..he again asked what he could do & because I have 8 grandchildren & 4 greats I said a baby on my lap always calms me…what did my Stefan have? A couple with a baby & they happily moved to the seats in front of us & they let me hold their baby…now that Ladies & Gentlemen is Customer Service..Thank you Stefan & United
Lovely story! Thanks for sharing Patricia. I hope you had a wonderful time in the Netherlands.
@Patricia Weiss … Good that you went . Then , upon arrival , you were tempted to go for a bicvcle ride during rush hour .
You got the special treatment because of your status. Most who don’t have that, or even middle tier status, don’t get that treatment. United has come a long way, but still provides bad food, dirty planes, and lots of delays.
This is on point. That’s great that GS and 1Ks get all sorts of special treatment. I’ll be impressed when the rest of us get basic human recognition. Even on paid first or Polaris tickets, United can be pretty disappointing if you don’t have top-tier status. There’s a scarcity issue with United where there’s never enough good amenities, food options or service to go to everyone who deserves it; paid Polaris ticket and they think it’s totally acceptable to give you the scraps that GS and 1K don’t take, rather than ensure there’s enough for everyone who paid for it.
Until UA properly courses their Polaris meals on flights over 7 hours (not 9) I don’t care how nice they are.
@Stuart … Regardless of how many courses they serve you , the food remains questionable . So , the only gain is more wine refills between courses , no ?
Presentation and proper coursing is the key to making even the mundane and basic a bit more palatable. I would argue that their customer base would instantly think that they had improved the meals should they be served in nice plated dishes with attention to prep and properly coursed.
I’m EP on American Airlines. I get treated very well usually by the flight attendants, customer-facing employees when itineraries need to be changed or operational issues arise. I have been handed written note cards occasionally on long haul flights, most recently on a SYD-LAX-JFK trip, by the lead flight attendant. I’ve also observed other customers not getting the same treatment. Should they? Maybe, maybe not, but it’s all a sales scheme to keep my business. It is not proof of improved service levels, catering, or attention to detail. Believing that it is, is sipping the champagne (sparkling wine) through a rose colored plastic cup.
Interesting point re special attraction to top-tier elites. Did you observe crew interactions with other pax? I certainly didn’t get great service during my recent UA flight to FRA as mere *G probably doesn’t impress crews (on the contrary, since you mentioned Korean Air, the purser on the 30-minute PUS-GMP flight I took last summer for the princely sum of €36 made a point of greeting me personally in order to thank me for flying KE and for my loyalty to SkyTeam), though it wasn’t downright hostile either and I was only really bothered about the comically awful food.
@PM … In my experience airline food is becoming more and more comically awful .
Depends on the airline, I have eaten pretty well on Aeroméxico and Ethiopian recently. Lufthansa, on the other hand, is reliably between below average and horrible, so I always munch something in the lounge and occasionally bring fruit, nuts, biltong etc with me when flying them.
I’m confused by your statement that “sometimes flight attendants don’t sort meals according to MileagePlus status”. Isn’t it just 1Ks and GS members who get meal priority? As far as I know, all the other statuses like Gold, Silver and Platinum are all treated the same as a non-status when it comes to food. Or are they supposed to sort meals according to all statuses from GS on down??
That is quite correct – just GS/1K, then front-to-back.
You’re a million miler with United ? Respect. People talk a lot and it doesn’t count unless it’s on one of the US3 million miler programs.
I recently flew SIN-SFO in Polaris and wasn’t impressed at all with the crew. Asked one FA after a few hours in the air whether I could have another water bottle. The guy said they have none left. A few minutes later, the purser walked by my seat, and I asked him. He returned with a water bottle… Later on, I asked for the tapas. A female flight attendant was sitting by the galley, on her phone – she barely looked up when I addressed her and made me feel like I’m bothering her.
First time flying a US carrier? This is the norm on US Airlines.
Nick,
The “phone” you speak of is their onboard hand held phone which is used for the flight to look at seating charts, meal orders, special assistant requests and also has their inflight manual on it which is a requirement by the FAA., The manual has all information regarding the aircraft, emergency procedures such as medical instructions.
You really need to stay in your own lane.
L Meyers, if all flight attendants only used their work phone, then there wouldn’t be a need for United to send the memo discussed in another article by Matthew?
https://liveandletsfly.com/united-flight-attendants-personal-devices/
Michelle was my purser on SFO-SIN last week! She was great, and also got the same note (including the same loyality typo ) Also one of my favorite flights.
My flight back yesterday definitely left something to be desired though, and a quick reminder that a United flight is only as good as its crew hah
I just had a great flight last Saturday ORD-ZRH in Polaris one of the best crews ever, arrived on time and my meal was some shrimp on rice it was very good, thank you to that crew.
It’s nice to take care of million mile passengers but just so you know others in the world also matter. I appreciate that you travel but it would be great to have United treat others as well as their Global Services and million mile passengers. The elite in the world are not the only ones who matter. An experience in first class for the everyday traveler ends up being like traveling economy when they are busy babying the needs of the Global Services and multimillion.
Thank you Matt for the past 15 years of blogging.
Keep up the good work on your trip reports. I may not leave comments all the time, but I have read them all.
I have flown UA’s Polaris Class four times this year and my experience has been consistent with Matt’s. The food has noticeably improved and the wine selections have been excellent (except for the Heidsieck Monopole Brut which I personally don’t care for). The crew have all been professional and friendly. The cabins have been very clean and the restrooms remained clean for the entire flight. Yes, some other airlines can be better (I’ve flown Emirates 1st several times), but for the price point our recent Polaris flights have been excellent, enjoyable values. Plus UA has very good Star Alliance connections in Europe.
It’s so hit and miss. I have had the best service in Polaris coming from Sydney (on flight wine tasting-like experience!!!) and SFO to Seoul was lied to and told that fly did not qualify for pajamas (they could of just said they ran out) and lack of additional water bottles.
More importantly, its that magical time for MileagePlus anniversary sale… will it rival last years deal to PPT?
I like your reviews. I understand some pax are more important than us lowlife. We fly twice a year from ORD to FLR. Always polaris business class and we do like the polaris lounge. My problem is that the FA’s are universally rude and ignore us. Ask for anything and usually we don’t receive it. Another glass of wine when I’ve only had one. Nope. The FA dropped my coffee and it spilled on me. Threw some napkins at me. Gave me beef instead of vegetarian that I had pre-ordered. No more vegetarian so was offered the cheese tray. Never smile nor say sorry. If we had status maybe this would be different. Why fly United? Best times, polaris lounge.
Sorry your experience has not been great. There’s no excuse for any of what you have described.
I’m a million miler 1K on United and I think their first and Polaris service is very good. I flew from Los Cabos to LA a couple days ago and had a nice lunch. The wines served have gone up a few notches and that’s appreciated.
But, and I think here I’d agree with the author, the flight crew always make the difference. I mentioned to the FA attendant that I had a couple cousins flying in coach and she arranged to have snack boxes delivered to each of them.
Wonderful to read about such a nice experience. Flew UA 188 Polaris from JNB to EWR on May 1 and the service was exceptionally pleasant with a crew that went the extra mile. However, the flight itself was not a success: the food was inedible – disappointing on a 16-hour flight – to the point the FAs surrendered their salads so we Polaris folks could have something to eat, the main dishes were so bad. Flight left JNB late due to incoming delays, which caused a ripple effect for most of us missing our connections. Long story short, it took me 36 hours to go from EWR to SAT (bad storms in Houston where we were foolishly re-routed by UA notwithstanding the weather). UA personnel at the various clubs in IAH were terrific and tried their best but the complete meltdown at IAH simply overwhelmed everyone.
I’m not gonna lie. A week ago today I think we had the same captain and Michele on my flight to narita (tokyo Japan) from San Fransico intl. I have never been more happier with that crew on united than ever before. Truly an awesome experience when you get a great crew regardless what class you are in.
Dislcaimer: my experience was solely on Polaris
They’re great.
Nice shirt Matthew.