To conclude my trip to Morocco and Paris, I flew back to California from Paris to San Francisco in United Airlines Polaris Business Class on a 777-200 on a morning departure out of Roissy Airport.
United Airlines 777-200 Polaris Business Class Review (CDG-SFO)
I paid 80,000 MileagePlus miles for this ticket, which I booked a day before departure. United now credits award flights on United metal toward your elite status total at a rate of one cent per point, so I earned $800 toward status re-qualification on this ticket.
I arrived at CDG Airport at 6:20 am and a check-in agent was able to confirm me on an earlier flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles (I had booked a 4.5 hour connection because that was the only award space available at the time).
After visiting the very nice Star Alliance Lounge, I was among the last to board my flight at 8:45 am…boarding had begun early. The Terminal 1 gate area at CDG is very nice…comfortable with power outlets and all kinds of concessionaires…and even a grand piano!
United Airlines 984
Paris (CDG) – San Francisco (SFO)
Saturday, July 27
Depart: 9:15 AM
Arrive: 11:45 AM
Duration: 11 hr, 30 min
Distance: 5,583 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Seat: 5L (Business Class)
Onboard, I was offered a wipe at the boarding door and walked through the galley and turned left to find my seat.
Seat
I’ve reviewed this seat many times before and it has not changed. The United 777-200 cabin has 50 seats spread over two cabins in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seats are based on the Safran Optima platform and are 20 inches wide and convert into a lie-flat bed that is 78 inches long. All seats have a universal A/C outlet and two USB-A sockets.
I prefer odd-numbered A or L seats because they are “true” window seats (the seat is closer to the window and the side table on the aisle side) and scored 5L at booking.
The seat was stacked high with pillows and blankets…United does bedding very well (the bedding has evolved slightly since my flight, but you can still expect a large pillow, cooling gel pillow, day blanket, and duvet).
After breakfast, I tried to sleep…and was able to sleep for 5.5 hours, which is pretty good for a daytime flight. The air vents and excellent bedding helped. The ex-Continental United 777-200s do not have air vents, so I was thankful that this aircraft did.
Food + Drink
Breakfast was served after takeoff and a lighter lunch before landing. Menus were placed on each seat.
Breakfast
First came a warm towel, then a choice of beverage and mixed nuts (which were not warmed), yes even on a breakfast flight.
Everyone received the same starters: a fresh fruit salad with mango, pineapple, kiwi and raspberries
and overnight oats with honey, sultanas, and fresh berries. For my main course, I chose the egg and tomato soufflé with pork sausage, sautéed spinach, baked potatoes, and red pepper sauce.
Everything was served on one tray with a croissant that looked like it had been run over by a truck (the meal should have been served in two courses, but flight attendants were in a rush to get the service done and rest).
The main course was a miss…the eggs tasted artificial, the potatoes were fried in an unsavory oil, and the sausage was extremely greasy…I should have ordered pancakes or waffles, but did not ask for a second meal.
Oddly, there are no ice cream sundaes on breakfast flights, but there was cake or cheese available. I had a red berry clafoutis, which was pleasant.
After my nap, I noticed a self-serve snack area had been set up in the galley, with cheese and potato chips.
I had a black coffee.
Pre-Arrival Meal
90 minutes before landing, a pre-arrival lunch was served, a choice between a Wellington burger or spiced tomato rigatoni pasta. I had the pasta, which is so hard to mess up on an airplane, and found it quite acceptable (good pesto sauce). It was served with a side salad and a cookie.
I’d prefer to see a light breakfast after takeoff and then a full dinner service before landing, but maybe that’s just me.
IFE + Wi-Fi
Despite having an older Panasonic system, the Wi-Fi worked well and I used a T-Mobile pass to save $21.99 on the connection. United has a flat $8/flight pricing in the USA, but rates can vary on international flights. I can’t wait for Starlink to come…
When I woke up from my nap, I began binge-watching The Regime, an American political satire miniseries from HBO starring Kate Winslet. Oh, how fast a republic can crumble…
United’s IFE library features a great selection of movies and TV shows with a handful of games and a limited audio selection. Noise-cancelling headphones are offered and there is wirless connectivity to your own headsets on these aircraft.
It was a wet day outside in both Paris and San Francisco.
Amenities
United offers pajamas on flights longer than 12 hours, so this flight did not qualify. Slippers were available on request and Therabody amenity kits were placed at each seat (I didn’t even open mine…I just hate to waste it for a picture. I’ve included a picture of the contents from another flight).
Lavatory
Business class on the United 777-200 features three lavatories: one in the front of the cabin (shared by the flight crew) and two between the two business class cabins. The lavatories feature Therabody skin products and while I only used the lavatory once toward the beginning of the flight, it was clean.
Service
This was the flight with the service issue I wrote about here.
That’s a rather inflammatory topic and so I’ll just leave it there and say that the service was not great on this flight, but thankfully was an outlier when looking back at all my United flights over the last year.
> Read More: United Airlines Flight Attendant Reaches Under Tray Table, Brushes Against My Crotch…
CONCLUSION
After landing in a very overcast San Francisco (slightly late…there was a lot of headwind), I stopped by the Polaris Lounge for a coffee, then boarded my flight down to Los Angeles, arriving home in time for dinner.
Look, I found this flight was objectively bad because of the poor service onboard…but I already beat that horse dead and so I wanted to focus on the rest of the flight in this post. The 777-200 is an aging aircraft, but it’s not a bad way to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
If United can weed out bad flight attendants like the one who served my side of the cabin and just invest a little more in the food, it could really offer a compelling product, even on an older aircraft like this one. There’s no excuse for bad service like this…I hope the flight attendant in question has been counseled…
Going to be honest, been taking DL/UA for my hops across the pond for my past three meetings and the ice cream sundaes after lunch/dinner or burgers as a second service have been really hitting the spot.
Compared to my previous UA flights pre-pandemic, service is getting better but I’ve consistently found that flying on the starboard side in J often is prone to less than stellar process, in my objective opinion. But even before noticing this in my travels, I always preferred to fly on the port side.
The food looks terrible. I wish UAL would at least try to get this right. But thanks for the report.
I wish they’d focus more on food, service, rather than inflight entertainment; brkfst should have been served in 2 courses; what’s with the damaged croissants; I’ve had that happen too often; coffee? why not a cup, saucer & spoon with milk, cream on the side? lunch should have been 3 separate courses with hot cookie & coffee at the end, on such a long flight; are FA’s just lazy or what? on a long flt., thats when service should shine, so brand loyalty is built & they become more competitive with other airlines.
Agreed that the pace of service could be improved (though on this flight, the lazy FA simply did not follow the multi-course protocol for the breakfast service), but for me the biggest issue is the (poor) quality.
Matthew… really appreciate your review on your flight from Paris to San Francisco on United Airlines Polaris class… I have an experience last year flying from San Francisco to Frankfurt on the same type of flight and I was happy with everything. United had to offer but I always like to get around consensus on the type of service. Do you or can you send me the link to your podcast or YouTube channel.
Thanks again
A new follower… Bobby
I agree and everything on a tray is like being in econ. class; by the way, are those dishes china or plastic ware? They really need to focus on a better catering co. Recently, I was on a long haul on Eva Air and Thai Air with beautiful china, linens; such a difference; portions were larger and quality was very good; if its a long haul, UA really needs to serve course by course, not slapping it all down on a single tray.
I’m impressed you were served 6 rigatoni pieces. I wonder how many economy trays get.
Love the expanded gate areas at CDG T1. Last flew United out of there in 2017, with the former tiny gate areas. UA had three 777s leaving within an hour of each other at 3 neighboring gates, and it was bedlam. That was also before the new Star Alliance lounge, when it was in the terminal building, before you did security to go out to the gate areas, so you had to budget less time in the lounge. Really beneficial changes at T1.
Terminal 1 is improved but it’s still practically a suburb of CDG. Getting there is annoying — even if you’re overnighting at the Sheraton in Terminal 2 at CDG. CDG as an airport has improved immensely in the last five or six years. But transiting between the terminals or concourses is still a nightmare.
I’ve been IK for many years now and the majority of the time the FAs have been excellent. The service sadly is inconsistent and the food, even though it’s improved, is still sub par. The price of the Polaris seats are not cheap and while I don’t expect Qatar dining I do expect better from United.
Same with Delta. I fly Air France across the pond because it’s significantly better.
The menu and the actual food looks sad. They should be ashamed for serving that to business class customers.
Lanson is good champagne. About 40% of grapes are grand cru and 1er cru.
I wouldn’t say Lanson non-vintage is good. It’s average. Perfectly acceptable. But not good.
It seems really bizarre to serve breakfast on this flight. The meal probably isn’t served for a good hour or hour and a half. That really should be a lunch flight.
I know what you mean by service had same subpar service on a United Polaris to Tokyo last year. I’ve flown Asian and European business since the past and no comparison to what you get in UA. I’m flying again this week to Asia and let’s see how bad service is again. Just dreading even to ask for anything because they give you an attitude. I greeted and smiled as soon as I entered but does not even help.
But you might just end up with a flight like this:
https://liveandletsfly.com/great-united-airlines-flight/