It appears the launch of Polaris 2.0 on September 20th may be more than just about the soft product…we are hearing that United will also reveal a brand new business class seat for its pending Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets.
New United Airlines Polaris Business Class Seat For 787 Dreamliner
Earlier, I wrote about the “Polaris 2.0” launch on September 20, 2023 and how it will include new bedding and potentially new tableware. Now it appears there will be a much more substantial announcement on that date.
To be clear at the outset: all of this is speculatory at this point. But a well-placed source who took part in a seat trial has suggested that United will use the Polaris 2.0 relaunch this month to introduce the next-generation Polaris Business Class suite.
Details are scant, but United appears ready to introduce a new business class seat that will be installed on future 787 deliveries. I’m told these seats will not be simply the same Polaris seats with doors. Instead, a more varied design will be introduced, though I have no further info as to what that seat will look like.
In 2022, United Airlines ordered 100 additional 787 jets (with an option for 100 more), slated for delivery between 2024 and 2032. At the time, the variant breakdown was not disclosed, though United said it had the “flexibility” to choose among the 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 variants.
Per United CFO Gerry Laderman, these Dreamliners will gradually replace aging 767 and 777 jets.
One thing is certain: while frequent United flyers are justified in questioning whether any “enhancement” to the soft product is actually beneficial, I cannot imagine United introducing a new seat that does not represent an actual improvement over the current Polaris seat, which is not industry-leading (though still quite comfortable).
However, my guess is that United will find a way to maintain current cabin density (and potentially even increase premium seating on 787-8).
New Business Class Coming To 737-10 + A321XLR Jets
I’m told the new seat announcement will only concern the 787, but United is also currently finalizing details on its next-generation business class seat for narrowbody aircraft. Currently, its 757-200s have B/E Diamond seats in a 2-2 configuration and are the only lie-flat seats in the narrowbody fleet.
United is rumored to install lie-flat seats on 737-10 and certainly on A321 jets.
Potential candidates include the STELIA OPERA seat:
or the Safran VUE seat:
But do not expect any announcement concerning the narrowbody Polaris seat until United is able to certify its chosen seat. Delivery of the A321XLR is years away.
CONCLUSION
United Airlines is close to revealing a new seat for its pending Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets. Even if the announcement does not happen on September 20th, I expect we will shortly see a new business class seat for the 787 unveiled, representing the culmination of years of design review and testing. September 20th is shaping up to be a very big day for United!
What do you want to see in a new Polaris seat?
top image: Priestmangoode
DOORS! Lol
A bit wider would be nice 😉
Indeed, that 20″ seat in business is way too narrow for a flat bed. Eva Air and Singapore Airlines have much wider seats for comfort. SQ has 28″ wide seats and 60 inches of pitch on it’s A350’s (which are much quieter than a 787).
United is playing catch up with AA and DL. . .They will be bankrupt before all these 500 plus planes are delivered.
It doesn’t seem like you would get much privacy from the Safran VUE seat.
Any word if they will be updating the PP seat as well. Would be a good time to roll out a slightly better PP seat (go 2-3-2 on the 777 and 2-2-2 on the dreamliners)
It’s unlikely for airlines to “take the opportunity” to reduce density
It is what they did with J from when J came out in the late 70s to today
Ah yes just in time for the final 767 getting polaris… Polaris 2.0 seats, 7+ years more of inconsistency!
My 2 cents here is United will go for the Adient Ascent seat…
Will it potentially be just a slight upgrade of the current Polaris config and seats with the addition of doors? And could doors be retrofitted on the current Polaris seats?
For me, honestly, unless the new seats are something completely cutting edge and leading the pack globally, I would rather see them spend money on catering and proper crew training for J service.
Main problem is not having a dedicated galley flight attendant on many aircraft. Impossible to have everything ready if no one is in the galley to prepare it. Who sets up the dessert cart while the meals are being plated and delivered, for example.
I’m confused I’ve never heard of a lie flat on any 737 aircraft. Is this a first or other airlines have this???
I’ve seen it on Egypt Air and Gulf Air.
SQ 737-8 has lay flat business class seats
Ah Singapore Airlines now that makes sense. I think it will definitely make sense to on more premium routes because the regular 737 seats on Alaska never seem worth it because they aren’t lie flat. Hopefully they have plans to bring these to SFO, EWR, IAD, LAX and BOS.
Yeah, if there aren’t lie-flats on some rinky-dink US carrier, then there aren’t any in the world! I mean, I sure haven’t seen any on my Alaska flights to Spokane.
The 737-10 is only about 10 feet shorter than the 757-200 which is probably why they’re thinking they can put the lie-flats on the -10 for longer/more premium routes.
I love it! I ain’t mad United
Copa also has lie flat on their 737 max
Frankly, I prefer the old seats. The new polaris, while they look nice, have a lot of surfaces that cannot be easily cleaned and tend to get quite dirty especially by the windows. I’ve seen tons of hair, food debris and other nasty stuff there. The other problem is that the pull-out tray really gets in the way of your knees especially if you try to turn on your side and you are a bit taller. The old fashioned 2-2-2 seats were better for me.
Yes, yes, yes. EIther the old CO 2-2-2 in the bulkhead, or the old UA 2-4-2 anywhere. Super comfy to sleep on, unlike most modern seats. I’d rather sleep where someone can see me than stay awake in private.
Apex Suites for the win! QR’s next gen suite should be interesting – they’ve explicitly said they’re solving for the knees/shins problem by both lowering the bed and raising the screen/table.
Yup… All aisle access was never a must for me. Yes, Q suites are nicer, but I’m sure the economics are unsustainable to dedicate this much real estate.
Polaris was cool when it first came out, but the novelty wore off quickly for me.
Started preferring the old and faithful planes instead.
Sleep and comfort >>> “privacy”
It seems you’re just thinking about yourself and not the people who usually fly alone. Me personally I like aisle access. If I’m lying flat I don’t want someone bothering me or stepping over me to go to the bathroom while I’m trying to sleep. What’s so important needed to sit next to someone on a flight? Gotta think about others comfort and not just your own. In a single aisle plane everyone have aisle access is the best way which is why it’s gaining popularity.
No because a lot of people don’t like sitting with others on flights which is why we pay more. A 2-2-2 configuration takes away that option. Also in the lie flat position you’ll be stepping over the personal in the aisle seat. No one likes that. Single seating is much popular which is why more money is being spent on it.
Singapore does lie flats on 737 Max8s, Flydubai will pretty soon. Of course there are a number of airlines that do them on 757s and A321LRs (JetBlue and SAS come to mind but there are others).
Did they even finish installing the first edition in all planes?
Yes, which is now probably another milestone that will be celebrated on 9/20 now that Polaris retrofit is complete.
Literally, who cares. So the privileged few get a new seat.
Says the person trolling on a blog that focuses on getting value for Business class. And redemptions. Why are you here? To search for articles on the best economy middle seats on Frontier or Biman Bangladesh? If so, I will save you time, there are none.
Stuart remember yourself. And Viapanam same. Now I can return to my covid ridden bed.
Get better lovely lady, so sorry you are down and out and bounce back quick!
You are the best. Thank you
Let’s see what Spirit and Fronteir can do with their new aircraft and then justify the 3x price United commands.
Lol what? They don’t even compare. No one cares what they are doing. And spirit almost belongs to JetBlue now. So I doubt they are making many changes. Would be a waste of time.
United needs to vastly improve the food onboard in Polaris. Currently, it’s akin to mediocre cafeteria food that pails in comparison to Asian carriers. Then there’s the issue with training flight attendants to actually provide good service, something that has been alluding United for years.
Pails? Alluding? How about pales and eluding?
this is really more accurately polaris V3.0 in terms of soft product IMHO. in a subtle slight of hand, they’ve already pretty much totally overhauled the soft product as compared to what was promised at launch IMO. If you read the press release from 2016 highlighting the initial concept, really very little of that still stands today https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-airlines-unveils-reimagined-international-travel-experience—united-polaris-business-class-300278706.html Not to say that covid wasn’t a semi valid excuse for cutting some of these temporarily, but still feels like the ambitious the soft product has been so watered down over the years that it no longer bears resemblance to initial promise of completely ‘reinvented’ business class experience.
Ex – I flew Tokyo to EWR on polaris early this year and
* the PDB and ‘chocolate service’ didn’t happen (those funky custom champagne flutes they were so proud of were certainly nowehere to be seen)
* no printed menus onboard (could have been one-off fluke)
* the ‘wine flight’ ‘curated exclusively by United’s Master Sommelier’ lol seemed to be long-discontinued
* the lobster mac and cheese and grilled cheese and tomato soup on-demand service concept seemed to be long ago discontinued
* the bloody mary cart seemed to be cancelled
* the ‘calming lavender pillow mist’ was MIA
* I dont believe the dessert cart with ‘petit dessert options, chocolate truffles, and make your own sundaes’ service happened (and those cool globe bowls were definitely not there)
* the promised polaris lounge in tokyo (and hong kong and london heathrow) seem to be cancelled so directed to the ANA spaces
*products from Soho House & Co.’s Cowshed Spa were not there, though to be fair the generic hand lotion was fine
not that it was a bad experience. the bed was comfortable and food was edible but broader point still stands
United will have a new narrow body lie flat seat that they designed with their design agency in house. Adient was then selected as the seat manufacturer. It’s a custom bespoke design.
What about on Dreamliner?
United is a horrible air line. Sub par product every way. I am legitimately surprised they are even still in business.
The thing about opinions is we all have one. Also no one cares what you think.
A wider space. I’m a slim guy, and even I find the spaces way too tight. Plus, while lying down, my elbows are always hitting on a hard surface, nothing comfortable about it while trying to sleep.
United has the worse food service on it’s international business class than any other airline that matters .