One of the nice things about flying United Airlines in longhaul business class is Polaris Lounge access on arrival, even at your final destination. I enjoyed a Polaris Lounge “nightcap” at LAX after a long day of travel.
LAX Polaris Lounge Nightcap
I arrived at LAX having traveled from Johannesburg via Newark and Denver. Even in business class, it had been a long day and I was ready to get home to see my family (and go to sleep…).
But if you arrive at 6:00 pm at LAX, the traffic is so bad that you may actually save time by waiting a bit for it to die down. I chose to do so in the Polaris Lounge. One advantage to flying United Airlines longhaul business class is that you can use the Polaris Lounges on arrival, even if you have several connecting flights. So even though I had only flown from JNB to EWR in Polaris, I was able to use the Polaris Lounge LAX since I was a same-day arriving Polaris passengers (American Airlines has similar access rules to its Flagship Lounges).
One of the great things about the LAX Polaris Lounge is that it is often empty. It does get a bit more crowded at night ahead of the Sydney and Melbourne departures, but even so I’ve never seen this lounge crowded.
> Read More: United Polaris Lounge LAX Review
First, I enjoyed a gin basil smash…one of my favorite cocktails which the bartender made very nicely.
Next, I walked over to the (empty) dining room and enjoyed a bowl of creamy butternut squash soup, a green salad (I assembled myself from the buffet), and Pacific rock cod, served with green olive relish, lemon, and pickled red onions.
The food here is very good and often far better than what you will be served onboard.
While the buffet is rather limited, if you are pressed for time there is enough to make a meal out of.
CONCLUSION
I value the ability to stop by the Polaris Lounge on arrival after a long trip. Kudos to United for maintaining a competitive international business class lounge, which I find a big part of the value proposition of flying United.
Cool I’ve only been to this and IAD (slumming on a LH 1st class ticket) Both very nice. Next week my RTW has an option for FRA GRU I have Qatar with pd 1st Class lounge access plus the new gardens. But the DOH GRU is in 2-2-2 772. For 180,000 Avios (2x due to other scheduling issues that gave me only 1:30 hr transfer at FRA on two different tickets) OTOH the flight now takes longer to swing south of the Sudan over the jungles but doesn’t get light until the Atlantic so maybe Amazon jungles.
Alternate is UA for <100,000 through ORD so 3rd Polaris visit and time to hookup with friends for a couple hours or so
Pretty sure I’ll go through Doha 😉
I don’t disagree with any of your comments on how nice it is to have an option to use an arrival lounge. But..
You flew from Johannesburg to Newark, then to Denver, then finally arrived in LA. Then you…had at least one alcoholic drink, jumped in a car and headed home? I sure hope you did not do any of that driving yourself.
Flying to the other side of the world (yes, even in a decent lay-flat business class seat) is exhausting, and getting behind the wheel right afterwards is stupid dangerous, even without tossing back a drink or two. Put all that together and…yikes.
No, I got picked up.
Thanks Matthew for sharing. Can you please help clarify
1. Did you have any baggage to claim at carousal? if yes, did you not pick it up until your polaris lounge experience was over?
2. Did you go to Polaris lounge by remaining airside after arriving into LAX ? was Polaris lounge in same terminal at LAX where you arrived?
3. If you went landside at LAX, how did you enter back into Polaris lounge on airside?
I connected from Denver so I arrived at gate 72 and walked over to the Polaris Lounge near 74. Same terminal. Had I arrived in LAX on an international flight without an onward boarding pass, I could not have gotten back onto the terminal. I did have a bag to claim and just left it downstairs, a risk I was comfortable taking for 45 minutes.
The Polaris Lounge old fashioned is also quite good. The lounge at IAD also has quite the selection of bourbons to use as the base.
“I was ready to get home to see my family”
But not that ready. And at 6:00 pm, waiting 45 minutes does not improve the LA traffic situation.
Actually it does tremendously. And since they picked me up, it was even sweeter.
So it was OK for your family to drive in 6:00 pm “traffic so bad” to pick you up? Very thoughtful.
And the 405 and 105 are still a mess at 6:45.
Dude, where do you live? 110-N and 105-W are not crowded at 1830 on a Saturday evening absent an accident. The other direction empties out by 1900. Next time, why don’t you try be “thoughtful” before making foolish claims. Thanks in advance.
Dom is just pressing your buttons.
Wow!! Really going for that 1k!! (-;
Could’ve added a leg to get another PQF .
EWR-IAH-DEN-LAX (-;
I thought about it. 😉
Question, Matthew:
Do the international and domestic segments need to be on the same booking reference?
Last summer was flying EWR-IAD and then IAD-DUB in polaris on separate records. The agent at the polaris lounge in EWR refused to let me in. I made a fuss and then after 10-15 minute she said “ok as a one time exception”
No, they don’t have to be the same.
Scan the Polaris boarding pass to get the green light.
Do people arriving on non-UA Star Alliance airlines have the same privileges at United Clubs?
Looks like the buffet has gotten a little better since I was in there last month!
This was December. I’ve been in much mode recently and did not notice any difference.