Here’s a rundown of the first half of my whirlwind journey to Sydney, Australia in United Business Class in order to achieve 1K status for 2020…and of course for a proper cup of coffee.
I’ve outlined the reason for the trip here, so will jump right to the flights.
I proceeded directly from a Christmas Concert to Burbank Airport in-time to make my flight to San Francisco. Little did I know I would encounter an excruciating 40-minute delay on the ground, which would have resulted in a me missing my connection to Sydney had that flight not also (eventually) been delayed.
The CRJ-200 is not my favorite aircraft in the fleet (heck, it is my least favorite), but it beat a long layover in SFO or driving down to LAX.
With my flight to Sydney also delayed, I visited the United Polaris Lounge in the international terminal. At 11:00PM it was mostly empty and the restaurant area was closed. There were some hot and cold options at the buffet, but nothing caught my eye except for some cheese.
I also enjoyed a cucumber-infused Moscow Mule, which hit the spot after running from the F gates all the way to lounge.
Finally, boarding began about 11:30pm. I proceeded down to gate G7, where boarding was already underway.
There was a man absolutely yelling at the gate agent, demanding to speak to a supervisor. Although I was tempted to hang around and watch this all play out, I just boarded…I was ready to sleep at this point.
United 863
San Francisco (SFO) — Sydney (SYD)
Sunday, December 22
Depart:10:45PM
Arrive: 09:05AM+2
Duration: 15hr, 20min
Aircraft: B777-300ER
Seat: 17L (“Polaris” Business Class)
I must admit, this flight let me down…and it wasn’t the extended delay. But maybe it’s just me…
Comfortable Seat
The Polaris seat was fine. I’ve reviewed it before and did not take pictures from several angles this time around. I appreciate that United was able to provide aisle access to all passengers without compromising cabin density.
United’s Saks Fifth Avenue bedding remains industry-best for business class, with two great pillows, including a cooling gel pillow, a nice comforter, and a lounging blanket.
I didn’t sleep nearly as well as I would have liked. We took off around 1:00AM, dinner finished at 2:30AM, and I was up six hours later, which is still pretty good considering my body clock generally wakes me up between 5-6AM with or without an alarm. I just couldn’t sleep any further…part of it must be the stress I am dealing with. This was a very smooth flight, so it wasn’t the turbulence.
Finally, note that no one bothered to wipe down the tray table prior to boarding…
Also, part of the suite was repaired by tape. I hope that is not a sign of things to come…
Food Was Just Fine
The food was also fine. Trying to branch out a bit, I ordered the seared lemongrass salmon topped with a coconut red curry sauce and served with Thai coconut risotto plus stir-fried bell pepper, carrots, and onion. It was different than I pictured it, but actually tastier than I had hoped. The duck appetizer, salad, and bread were standard fare.
Halfway though the flight I enjoyed a small bowl of lobster Mac and Cheese. There were also snacks available in the mid-galley buffet area.
Prior to landing, I had the creamed cheese omelet, which many complain about but I found delicious. All the fruit was ripe, the cinnamon roll was amazing, and I thought it was an outstanding breakfast.
IFE + Wi-Fi
IFE and wi-fi worked well too. I watched “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” which was very well-done, except for the gratuitous violence seemingly present in every Quentin Tarantino movie.
Wi-Fi worked, slowly but surly, every time I needed to connect. A flight pass was $23,99 but I only needed two hours of access, which I purchased for $6.99.
Amenity Kit
Even the amenity kit was fine. I’m not a Star Wars fan, but thought the Star Wars-banded amenity kit was at least useful with dark colored socks, a pen, dental kit, eyeshade, and Sunday Riley beauty products. The only thing it was missing was a comb and I had forgotten mine.
Mixed Service
So what was the problem? I don’t want to blame the flight attendants here, but I think half the issue is they are not giving sufficient tools to work with.
For example, I asked for pajamas prior to takeoff and the flight attendant seemed a bit annoyed. She wasn’t lazy; the reason for her annoyance soon became clear.
She sort of shuffled down the aisle with my requested large pajamas then discreetly handed it to me. Then she leaned down and whispered:
“Try to not show this off. They only boarded two pairs of large on this flight.”
I cannot possibly be angry at the flight attendants for that. What a shame that United only boards a few pairs of pajamas on a flight blocked at almost 15 hours.
But we cannot just let the flight attendants off the hook. I took the pajamas and walked up to the lavatory to change clothes. We had not even taken off yet and it was a mess. Paper and water already on the floor…
Staying hydrated, I drank a lot of water during the flight. That also meant frequent bathroom trips. Sadly, the lavatory was never cleared. By the second half of the flight, the paper towels were gone…
I mentioned it to a flight attendant and she apparently restocked it, but shouldn’t that be a proactive thing?
Perhaps what saddened me the most is that flight attendants were simply not that attentive. My drinks were not refilled and the flight attendant working my side of the aisle forgot to offer bread with the meal until I asked for it.
It’s just little things that could have made an otherwise decent flight great. There was no hostility, but how about a little proactivity? Maybe my expectations are just too high…
CONCLUSION
We arrived to an army of red tails with kangaroos.
Despite not sleeping as well as I wanted, I arrived in Sydney feeling refreshed and made a beeline for the transit security checkpoint. I had three lounges to review in under two hours…
Next: Lounge hopping, great coffee, and my 787-9 flight back to Los Angeles.
I had a similarly blasé crew recently HKG-SFO, which was amplified by how good the inbound crew was. I made the point in the post-flight survey. A good US crew is as good as any foreign carrier (after adjusting for American mores about solicitousness) but a mediocre UA crew is dire compared to the competition. The good crews prove it can be done. Management just needs to figure out how to do it every time.
“Wi-Fi worked, slowly but surly, every time I needed to connect.”
I avoid commenting on typos, but this one is pretty funny and appropriate. I find the United WiFi to often be a little surly, too. 😉
Exact same dinner menu on IAD-FRA last night. I also chose the salmon and found it quite tasty.
Thanks Matthew. Nice review. Sorry to see Polaris starting to slowly deteriorate. Food portion looked really limited to me.
I have also had the same issue with the PJs. I wonder why they don’t move this to a pre-order item. In that way they could load only what they need and the passenger would have the size they want. I also question if this is something they really need to offer. It creates waste and increases the bathroom usage time. IMHO.
Happy New Year and looking forward to your travel and writings in 2020.
Happy New Year Mike!
A little thing, but the charcuterie that U.S. lounges provide is awful — and with cheese cubes on the side?
Anyone have an idea how long the Star Wars amenity kits will last? I have two Polaris flights coming up in early March and my son would love these as a souvenir.
I can send you one if they are gone. I’ve got a few extras.
Could I get one or two as well if possible? I have a friend who loves Star Wars and would love to surprise him with one.
Hey thanks! I’ll set a reminder for after my trip.
He gets so excited about a couple napkins I bring home every trip I can only imagine a Star Wars bag haha. I’m sure you can relate to indulging your son’s interests!
Get ready for this as things will look worse next summer after the CEO change. Next time use Air New Zealand or Singapore.
I had better experience on AA business class to and from AMS and LHR to DFW than Polaris. Amazing attentive AA staff based on DFW.
They were in so much alert to chase premium economy passengers wandering around the business cabin to use the restrooms (and trash of course) and to eat snacks at the galley. That’s the only down side. Say should come up with a better plan for this if not they loose business customers.
Before the merger with Continental, flight attendants at S-UA were allowed to fly much less than post merger, when caps were lifted from this “limitation”. Prior to the merger, they flew mostly 78 to 90 hours, with 100 flight credits being the absolute maximum allowed, equating to about 3 Sydney trips per month, with much longer layovers and adequate rest between trips at home (double or triple, in many cases!) – resulting, in arguably, much more well rested, if somewhat less paid, crews. Fast forward to post merger United. Flight crews now regularly fly over 120 hours, with some flying a staggering 200+ hours, many while commuting, with much shorter layovers and the ability to piggyback trips, (not allowed under former S-UA contract), with very little downtime in between, all in effort to maximize their pay, with some flight attendants earning 150K+, even 200K+ per year. But at what cost ? Unlimited flying, shorter layovers, inadequate rest between trips, piggybacking trips, a much larger commuting population “chasing” international trips and a new dog-eat-dog “instant” trading system requiring crews to basically live on their devices to “find” trips, have all created a toxic environment of overworked, fatigued crews, some of whom prioritize their rest and energy (crew breaks, layovers), over providing satisfactory inflight service because they are simply ***too*** tired. I know one could argue is they’ve chosen to do this. Human beings are evolutionarily not terribly great at impulse control, prone to addictive and harmful behavior. Workplaces, especially ones that require their employees be both safety *and* service professionals, need to heed notice – providing a healthy work environment that stresses fair pay, adequate rest during trips and mandatory rest at home, the ability to work adequate hours without creating an environment of unlimited work and severe burnout and a healthier IT platform for picking up trips not requiring crews to spend even more an inordinate amount of time online “trolling” endlessly for trips, is good for employees, shareholders and the company. I’m sorry you received poor service on your trip, just illuminating some lesser known culture changes that may be the driving factors behind this kind of onboard service.
This would’ve been a credible response if we could remember fantastic s-UA service and attitude prior to the new work rules (the inflight groups merged only 14 months ago in OCT18). It was not. (Please research United reviews historically.) Pre merger Continental presented an award winning service under the work rules you describe. Poor crew attitudes have plagued UA for years now. It has come to the fore now as United has greatly improved the hard product. The overwhelming setback for United is crew inconsistency. The tired crew response is more whining from a flight attendant group whose service delivery can best be described as a non verbal whine.
That’s some interesting background on how the system works. I guess my argument would be, given the system they have, there needs to be better “quality control” of service, with penalties in place for legitimate negative feedback such as limiting hours or mandating longer rests when you are shown to be unable to perform.
Obviously that’s just wishful thinking, but management certainly has tools at their disposal to curb human impulses that work at the expense of customer experience.
You make many good points Roman. I think a lot of them burn themselves out and it shows in their attitude and frazzled appearance. They ( the flight attendants ) have taken what was once a decent and often glamorous job and with the contractual loosening of the hour limitations, turned into a dollar feeding frenzy. Management would be wise to restrict their trading opportunities so that they can be better rested and provide better service.
@Roman – Thanks for your comments, your insight is appreciated.
That said, I’ve been traveling on UA internationally since the mid-1990’s, and inconsistent service long predated the merger with CO. In fact, the SYD routes were infamous for crews comprised of super-senior FA’s who couldn’t be bothered to do more than phone it in. I certainly saw exceptions to that as a frequent Asia flyer, but I certainly saw stereotypically lackadaisical crews who were phoning it in for their 3-5 trips a month.
I’m not suggesting that things haven’t changed for the worse for UA FA’s, but the merger absolutely doesn’t explain poor service, especially when, as I posted earlier, I could see the difference between two flights SFO-HKG, one brilliant, one mediocre (at best).
Can’t blame them for only having 2 large.. do you know how big those are? Unless you’re 250+lbs and over 6’4” you won’t need that size. Try on the large and let me know what you think about that size
It actually fit better than the small/medium. I am 6’1″ and 180lbs…
United has seems to have changed vendors for the pajamas. They are now of much worse quality; they are no longer 100% cotton, the pants no longer have pockets and the tops have an enormous, awful “United Polaris” stenciling on the back.