• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home » United Airlines » Flying United’s Retrofitted 777-200 In Polaris Business Class
777United Airlines

Flying United’s Retrofitted 777-200 In Polaris Business Class

Matthew Klint Posted onOctober 3, 2018November 14, 2023 30 Comments

Over the weekend I had the chance to fly United’s recently renovated 777-200 featuring new Polaris business class seats.

This is the same aircraft that featured United’s new premium economy seating. I used a Global Premier Upgrade to confirm an upgrade to business at time of booking…a rarity lately on United. 

The newly retrofitted 777-200 features 50 seats in Polaris Business Class. This leaves the cabin with two more premium seats than the combined first class (8) and business class (40) in the old cabin. It also matches the cabin with the ex-Continental 777-200s which feature 50 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration. 

While maintaining the same cabin density, every seat offers direct aisle access. Furthermore, the seats feel incredibly more private than the old eight across seating on the same aircraft. All in all, United has done a fabulous job in offering a great new product while economizing space and maximizing cabin density.

a room with rows of monitors and seats

a seat in an airplane

a seat in an airplane

an airplane with a television and windows

My flight encountered a 3.5 hour mechanical delay. I ate dinner in the Polaris Lounge and  had planned to just sleep, but by the time the flight finally took off I was hungry again. Dinner began with mixed nuts followed by a tuna appetizer and salad.

a bowl of nuts on a table

food on a table

I chose pasta for the main course, a cheese ravioli with mushrooms that was very tasty. 

a bowl of food on a table

I skipped cheese and dessert was able to quickly fall asleep.

CONCLUSION

I’ll post a full review of the flight in the days ahead, but do want to commend United for accelerating the rollout of the 777-200 and 767-300 retrofits. I still slept fine in the old seats and never really disliked them, but these new seats are so much better and make United far more competitive on this route against Lufthansa. In fact, I would always take United over Lufthansa if I knew I would have a new Polaris seat.

Get Daily Updates

Join our mailing list for a daily summary of posts! We never sell your info.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Previous Article Airplane Etiquette: Look Before You Recline
Next Article Captain Claims Holy Spirit Prompted Him To Take Off Early To Avoid Indonesian Earthquake

About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

Related Posts

  • Airline Stocks

    Mixed Financial Results Paint Murky Travel Picture In 2025

    May 4, 2025
  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review

    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD)

    May 1, 2025
  • United Arrivals Lounge London Review

    Review: United Arrivals Lounge London (LHR)

    March 17, 2025

30 Comments

  1. UA-NYC Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 2:46 pm

    …but these really aren’t any better than a standard reverse herringbone seat, either version, right?

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 7:03 pm

      Nope, they are not.

    • Kacee Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 11:50 pm

      They are more private than reverse herringbone, especially the odd numbered windows. This is a fantastic seat if you’re not too broad across the shoulders.

    • Z Reply
      October 4, 2018 at 6:55 am

      Personally I prefer this seat to any reverse herringbone, as I found it hard to find a comfortable reclining position with the tray table out for the latter.

  2. Sam Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    What happened to the nicely designed bulkheads as exists on the 767 and 77Ws?

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 7:04 pm

      I noticed that too. I miss them. No mood lighting either like the 773.

      • UA-NYC Reply
        October 3, 2018 at 9:32 pm

        Scott Kirby at work! Those nice touches don’t immediately translate to marginal revenue, ergo they aren’t added.

  3. Nate Nate Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    You hit the nail on the head — great seat and better than LH, if you knew you “would have a new Polaris seat”. Which you don’t know typically until a few days before. And with the 772, there is a high risk you won’t get the new seat because only 6 of 51 have been converted.

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 7:04 pm

      I’d personally take the old seat over LH, but I understand why many prefer LH over eight across.

      • Nate Nate Reply
        October 4, 2018 at 1:12 pm

        Fair point. I like the Polaris EWR lounge so much, I would happily take the old United seat for an overnight to Europe, especially on a 767 where it wasn’t 8 across.

        I’m looking forward to more revamped UA planes, and racking up more lifetime miles to hopefully get Million Miler before I retire.

  4. Greg Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    Not sure UA can be competitive with Lufthansa or vice versa since they share revenue on the route!

    But it’s a nice product.

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 7:04 pm

      You’re right – I’m only talking about onboard product.

  5. Jared Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    Should be identical to the 777-300 right? Does the 200 have the huge lav behind L2?

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 7:05 pm

      777-300 has 60 seats in Polaris business class. I did not see big lavatory.

      • Jared Reply
        October 5, 2018 at 2:29 pm

        Sorry, meant to say that the experience should be the same, it is after all the same seat in shorter plane.

  6. YYZFlyer Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 5:16 pm

    Did they also update the economy cabins on these reconfigured 777-200s from the 3-3-3 to the 3-4-3 configuration?

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 5:34 pm

      Yes.

  7. Mark Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    I completely agree with Matthew. It’s not popular to give credit to United, but the new Polaris seat, meal and service are very good and int’lly competitive. I’ve recently flown business class on Cathay and Air Canada, and United Polaris was at least on par with Cathay and vastly better than Air Canada (particularly the food/meal service). I had expected Air Canada to be a special treat, but United’s flight (in this case to Frankfurt) was so much better. It’ll be very nice when all United aircraft have been retrofitted with the new Polaris seat.

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 7:05 pm

      Thanks Mark! I agree.

    • Alvin Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 8:43 pm

      Which aircraft did you fly Air Canada on? If you flew on an A330/777-200, I agree. However, if not, I’m curious to see why you thought Air Canada’s reverse herringbone seats were so far behind…

      • Mark Reply
        October 4, 2018 at 12:32 pm

        I flew on two different Air Canada aircraft: their 787 (Toronto to SFO) and 777-300 (Rome to Toronto). The seats were fine and close to United’s. It was the food and service. On both flights the service was just okay and the meals were pretty average. The United crew from SFO – Frankfurt was better and their move to improve their meal service is noticeable.

  8. Menachem Steinberg Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 7:24 pm

    Can you please give me the link to get a daily or weekly email with all the articles?

    I cant seem to find it…

    • Matthew Reply
      October 4, 2018 at 4:59 pm

      Sorry, I don’t have a link. If you delete the cookies from my site, it should pop up as you scroll down the page of any article.

  9. Dave G Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 7:54 pm

    What was your route? Also did you find the new seat configuration under the details of the flight at booking or it was a surprise at check in?

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 8:19 pm

      ORD-FRA / I knew at booking (72 hours in advance)

  10. Alvin Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 8:45 pm

    Matthew – WOW your photos are outstanding in this preview. They truly do look like stock photos (of course, I know they aren’t). Keep it up and glad you enjoyed your flight!

    • Matthew Reply
      October 3, 2018 at 8:58 pm

      Hi Alvin, the first two photos were taken at a press event I was at in SFO with the retrofitted 772 earlier this year. The others were from my flight.

  11. USBusinessTraveller Reply
    October 3, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    I’ve flown the 77W Polaris six times, plus a 7th on a very pleasant last minute swap in on HNL-SFO. It’s vastjy superior to LH and I found it better than ANA’s J on the 789 (that’s everything apart from the flight attendant service). The great thing is that they’ve maintained the density and hence seat count so there is a fair chance of getting an upgrade (as I got on SFO-HKG and back).

    The problem is once you’ve flown Polaris going back to the old plane is such a let down.

    UA is up to 3 mod lines for the 772 and I’d expect them to go up to 4 and even 5 once all the summer seasonal flying ends and the 781’s start international service. That should mean all the old 2-4-2 international planes are gone within a year, perhaps sooner. I’m hopeful they’ll be up to 11 Polaris 772’s by Christmas and that my SFO-LHR 772 will get Polaris.

  12. Aaron Reply
    October 4, 2018 at 12:10 am

    These seats are like a hybrid between staggered seats and regular herringbone seats. Still a bring improvement over their old seats, however.

  13. Dan Reply
    October 4, 2018 at 11:39 am

    I find the best part of this configuration is that you don’t have to see your neighbors IFE screen (flashing explosions of whatever slightly aged blockbusters people are watching). In the 787 herringbone, from some seats you see at least six screens at a time. In the new Polaris, just see my own (unless I sit up really tall, then can see one other).

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for May

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Capital One Venture X Business Card
Earn 150,000 Miles Sign Up Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 100,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • a woman walking in an airplane with a luggage
    United Airlines Eliminates Instant Upgrades, Excursionist Perk, MileagePlus Upgrade Award Chart May 22, 2025
  • Flight Coffee Allergy
    Passenger Claims She’s Allergic To Coffee Smell, Demands Airline Ban It May 22, 2025
  • Trump Qatar 747-8
    Gift Or Grift? Trump Bets On Qatari 747-8 For Air Force One May 22, 2025
  • United Airlines Domestic Check-In Cutoff
    United Airlines Adjusts Check-In Window For Domestic Flights May 22, 2025

Categories

Popular Posts

  • a room with a table and benches
    Where To Smoke At Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) April 26, 2025
  • United Airlines Polaris Lounge Chicago Review
    Review: United Polaris Lounge Chicago (ORD) May 1, 2025
  • United Airlines Refresh Polaris Lounge Chicago
    First Look: United Airlines Reopens Renovated Polaris Lounge In Chicago (ORD) April 29, 2025
  • a hand holding a blue card
    Chase Sapphire Preferred 100K Bonus Offer Ending Soon May 2, 2025

Archives

May 2025
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Apr    

As seen on:

facebook twitter instagram rss
Privacy Policy © Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.