To reach Cape Town from the USA, it just makes sense to fly a U.S. carrier versus an all-day connection in London, Paris, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt. I flew United Airlines on the Boeing 787-9 in Polaris business class from Newark to Cape Town. This review recounts my journey and what to expect onboard.
United Airlines 787-9 Business Class Newark – Cape Town Review [2022]
You might enjoy comparing this review to my review of the same route from March 2020, just a week before the whole world shut down. While there are some differences in service, the most notable change is that the Dreamliner fleet now features “true” Polaris seating rather than the older B/E Diamond seats. While couples may prefer the 2-2-2 seating, I greatly prefer the privacy and extra space that the new seats offer.
Prior to the flight, I spent the day in the Newark Polaris Lounge, which remains a superb lounge for premium cabin flyers and even when crowded is worth a visit (and frankly, consider eating here prior to your flight, especially if you are on a shorter transatlantic flight).
I was rather late to the gate to board and amongst the last to step onboard the flight.
United 1122
Newark (EWR) – Cape Town (CPT)
Sunday, July 17
Depart: 8:15 PM
Arrive: 5:45 PM+1
Duration: 14hr, 30 min
Distance: 7,817 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Seat: 11A (Business Class)
Stepping onboard, I waded through the crowded cabin to my seat in 11A. I’ve detailed the seat specs in great detail in prior reviews, so will only again recommend that the odd-numbered A or L seats are best if you are traveling solo. These are true window seats and have privacy. Rows 1 and 9 (bulkhead seats) offer even more room for your feet and are my favorite, though I was quite happy in row 11.
One huge annoyance on this flight was that the dimmable window shades were locked after takeoff and remained locked until about 20 minutes before landing. Flight attendants have been instructed not to do this, but they locked them anyway. While that makes sense considering most passengers preferred to sleep and the sun rose approximately six hours into the 14-hour flight, it would have been nice to eat breakfast with the sunlight streaming in rather than in darkness (this helps my circadian rhythm reset).
Finally, the window shades were unlocked and the beautiful shadows of the afternoon sun filled the cabin.
I must (humbly) boast that I managed to sleep for 10 hours on this flight. I am so thankful that I am able to sleep on airplanes and also thankful United keeps its cabin temperatures cool.
After dinner, I reclined my seat, fell asleep, and woke up with two hours prior to landing.
Food + Drink
I tried something different on this flight and ordered a special meal, an Asian vegetarian meal, rather than take my chances with the standard menu offerings.
Prior to takeoff, a choice of beverage was offered and menus were distributed.
Those menu choices really haven’t varied much in many years, so I was glad when the flight attendant confirmed, while taking meal orders, that my special meal was loaded.
Dinner began 30 minutes after takeoff with mixed nuts and a choice of beverage. I had sparkling water with lemon…I find it best to avoid alcohol and even coffee on long-haul flights and stick to water. I encountered virtually zero jet lag on this trip and think this helped.
Dinner was served on a single tray and included a leafy green salad, plain yogurt, and a spiced chickpea dish with white rice. While the presentation was lacking, I was grateful I ordered this Indian “comfort food” and would order it again.
A packaged chocolate chip cookie was offered for dessert (part of the special meal), but a flight attendant also offered me a vanilla ice cream with a chocolate cookie topping, which I quite enjoyed.
The real benefit in ordering a special meal, if you tend to get hungry on a longhaul flight, is the mid-flight snack. United only offers snacks and small sandwiches in business class as part of its standard offering:
However, a large salad with chickpeas was loaded for me as my mid-flight snack, which was light and refreshing (since I slept through the flight, I ate this with my breakfast prior to landing).
90 minutes prior to landing breakfast was served. My “special meal” was oatmeal, one of the two choices on the menu. I asked if I could have eggs instead and was obliged. The egg whites were served with chicken sausage, potatoes, and cooked tomatoes, with fruit and a warmed croissant on the side.
As always, United’s meal service is behind its competitors, but I find the food perfectly edible. I definitely recommend a special meal if you are a regular United flyer and tired of the usual choices.
Pajamas
Pajamas are offered on flights over 12 hours and United’s pajamas once again feature pockets, which was my biggest complaint before. I changed into my pajamas before takeoff and find them comfortable and note that American and Delta do not offer pajamas in business class.
Lavatory
I used the lavatory a couple of times during the flight and found it clean on both visits. I always remind you that when the floor is wet, it often is not water…do wear slippers or shoes when you go into the lavatory.
IFE + Wi-Fi
All my work was done prior to the flight and Sunday is my day off, so I did not connect to wi-fi during the flight, though a flight pass was $29.99. IFE choices included over 100 movies, TV shows, and games. I watched The Duke, which I thought was a green movie.
I finally was able to enjoy some scenery outside the window during the final moments of the flight.
CONCLUSION
I say it often and will say it again here. I fly United often and United does the job for me. The food is still miles behind American and Delta when it comes to longhaul flights, but the overall product works very well. I can always count on a good rest on the journey to Africa and will choose United again next time.
The beautiful thing was that I left Newark on a muggy summer evening and landed in Cape Town on a crisp, cool winter evening. I love to be in the southern hemisphere during winter!
Thanks for the great review, Matthew – I must admit to having a chuckle at the amount of chickpeas you ate on a plane (main meal + w/breakfast)!
Great review Matthew. I am hoping to be on the inaugural next month from Dulles. Business still looks wide open.
I know you take a lot of pictures, something you should start including in your reviews is the IFE screen that says “Enjoy your flight to Cape Town” with a beautiful picture of Cape Town. I always take a picture of that screen as a way to remember each trip!
I do too! On most reviews you will notice I include this. For whatever reason, this screen did not come up on the rotation.
I had this flight booked in the reverse direction, for a day after the Cape Town marathon which I’d planned to run! Unfortunately, an injury has prevented me from taking the trip and I must cancel… I loved my Polaris flight home from Johannesburg last year tho, just after the roadtrip of a lifetime over 2 weeks in Namibia!
Willem, I’m currently working on putting together a three week road trip from Cape Town through Namibia. Renting a 4×4 camper for the nights we are not at lodges etc. Any tips here would be greatly appreciated as there is a great deal to figure out as to what to avoid and what are musts. Especially if you could suggest your favorite areas so I make sure to spend more time there. Would really appreciate it!
I am a very poor sleeper on planes, so fourteen hours in a darkened cabin I would find quite unpleasant. I hate when they lock the damn windows.
A flight of that duration and that kind of food ?! I’d rather stay home. Long live the ME3.
Agreed, there is no non-stop worth that misery of food. A few extra hours is fine. Even on BA. Which is saying something.
BA is close to being top notch now, based on multiple recent premium cabin flights (long haul and short haul)
Are they back to offering full (pre-Covid) catering?
Yes! Catering is back to normal and great now on BA.
Interesting report, but I’m curious how you got back home? Or you still there?
Kenya Airways.
Food looks like prison grade quality.
Literally!!
I would rather have PJs than a slightly improved meal. We’re not talking about the difference between michelin and McDonalds.
I too absolutely hate it when the FAs lock the windows. Did you voice your displeasure to them regarding this?
That meal looks identical to what AA caters on domestic flights when you choose Asian Vegetarian. For this reason, I’ve always been afraid to select it on long-haul flights. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s fine, I just like to think that a bit more is spent on int’l vs. domestic, so I’m sort of missing out by ordering a special meal that I don’t require.
What you failed to note is that you sat in an odd numbered seat. Those seats have a wide foot well which works for people like me at 6’4″ tall. The even seats have a narrow foot well, making it near impossible to stretch out completely and get a nice sleep. Your legs are always cramped and bent in those even numbered seats. I was on the EWR to JNB flight this summer and have first hand knowledge of both seats and service. Which except for the Polaris club which was standing room only for us, your review is mostly accurate.
I did mention the odd numbered seats…?
Do you think that the increased humidity levels in the Dreamliner had anything to do with being able to sleep for 10 hours? Do you find the Dreamline and A350 to be substantial more comfortable on these types of long flights?
I truly do. Makes a big difference.
I am jealous as j have lost the ability to sleep well on flights now. One point to note is AA does provide PJs on the JFK-DOH route in business class too.
I just flew that route and there were no PJs. I was bummed out.
business class? In darkness with that kind of pig slop to eat?
United has been for years their quality and still is today possibly the worst major airline in the world! The only reason to even contemplate flying with them is their quality partners.
I don’t defend the darkness, but I ordered that AVML meal…the “regular” meals were nicely plated.
I love a nice soft product, good food, and nice presentation, but I find the Polaris bedding, bed, and cabin temperatures ideal for sleeping.
I’m glad you were happy with it, but United Airlines should be ashamed of that food being served in business class. Even in economy, Sheila Lukins would have never!
I just flew AA from DOH-JFK and while the food was more plentiful and there were nice touches like the full sundae service and a proper mid-flight snack, I’m not sure the meal was leagues and leagues better. That’s a poor reflection on AA, though, rather than a great reflection on UA. Of course nothing beats QR, a carrier I’ve had the pleasure of flying on so many times this year and it puts even JetBlue to shame.
So it sounds like somebody was able to get you a SWU
Nope. I had to use 25K miles + $350. Painful. Very painful.
Gary, hear hear brother!! I’m with you all the way on this one. UA has no shame, it’s lost its way and should turn around make a 180 and reverse course immediately. This kind of crap they call food and service is going to start affecting them more negatively than not. People are starting to notice and take notes. People are not stupid, they’ll remember and choose accordingly! PS. AA could not have chosen a better moment to unveil its new Flagship hard product.
Thanks for the review. Love South Africa. Only quibble I have is setup that alternative to UA or DL is long layover in Europe. If coming from NY or BOS you can take daytime flight to London and connect conveniently to CPT. The second flight actually sets up well for decent nights sleep and morning arrival. I actually greatly prefer that routing. Avoiding the US airline food and service is just added bonus. Very much looking forward to this trip report.
Great reviews. Any reason why you stopped mentioning the booking details on you last reviews
Booking details? You mean how I booked them? I purchased the ticket with cash, as well as both internal flights in South Africa. Used miles for the return journey on Kenya Airways, then another purchased ticket from JFK-LAX on United (upgrade failed to clear on that flight).
Correct. You used to post how much you paid for tickets (which plan, how many miles, etc). I ask because i find it nearly impossible to book polaris with miles different than United’s. Thanks for your answer.
I’ll take the longer route to CPT via Doha in Qsuites over any US based carrier. To each their own I suppose
“I had sparkling water with lemon…I find it best to avoid alcohol and even coffee on long-haul flights and stick to water”
Proceeds to order a coffee with breakfast in the same trip report…
There is a popular opinion that Africa is an extremely dangerous place. Of course, some of the common stereotypes have a basis, but, in fact, everything is not as scary as it looks in the eyes of the public. To ensure your own safety, it is enough to follow simple and well-known rules of conduct.
I appreciate the clean bathrooms and pajamas and the food is definitely sufficient. The cool cabin temperatures make it nice to sleep with those cozy blankets!
I like the veggie Asian meal option in Europe, Asia and the Middle East Usually a tasty curry and if you’re in j they can usually give you a leftover main as a backup. I flew emirates from Düsseldorf to Dubai last week and forgot that I had chosen the Asian veg meal in economy before being upgraded. It was super tasty especially combined with the chicken curry 🙂
I’m of the opposite mindset regarding shades…I’d rather they be dimmed and locked so individual jerks can’t ruin it for the rest of the cabin. If a majority (>50%) of the passengers want to sleep – or, better yet, ARE ALREADY sleeping – one passenger can literally brighten the whole cabin and disrupt the sleep of everyone else aboard. Good for the FAs as we clearly can’t trust individuals to think about anyone else or comply with social contracts and constructs. And it’s not like you can’t see at all. That’s such a bogus complaint. You can absolutely still see out of the shades, it just doesn’t fill the cabin with sunlight.
Eyeshades. They give them to you for a reason.
Is it me or are the United menus the worst quality printed menus for business class? It reminds me of a menu that they offered to economy class in the 1990s. It’s one thin piece of cardstock now with no wine menu/descriptions. Seems really cheap compared to what other carriers have.
Well, if you are serving food that is of the level of a cheap NJ turnpike diner one might want to scale back the stock paper and presentation. Ya know, expectations.
Why do they list salad as an appetizer? Soup and salad is supposed to be a separate course with an appetizer separate from that. And I love how they state in the ‘express dining’ option to receive all the courses together….since there is no starter, the only thing that is separate (now) is dessert. But at least you got sandwiches on your mid-flight snacks…I flew them from Zurich and it was just the packaged (junk) food snacks. The purser was embarrassed by the offering. She told me that passengers like myself need to complain to corporate/customer service..they need to hear that the food offering is not acceptable.
AA biz has PJs and Casper mattress pads on some long-long hauls. MIA-TLV has them. Slept like a corpse… though the return TLV-JFK does not as it’s slightly shorter. Unsure what is the AA duration cutoff for this service.
Recently did the IAD / CPT flights in Polaris – personally, I found both flights to be underwhelming. Compared to Qatar or Emirates business class, the only advantage of United was a direct flight. The best part of this experience was the Polaris lounge at Dulles – 10 out of 10 for this part of the trip. Once through a chaotic boarding process, the staff and service were underwhelming. On the return flight, my wife’s tray table was “inoperable”. Other than this being mentioned at the boarding gate with the promise of “compensation”‘ there was no apology or compensation – period!
The food was very uninspiring as was the wine list ( and staff knowledge of what they were serving!). The seats were ok at best. The actual flights were good and being direct certainly cuts time out of the trip but going forward, should I choose to revisit Cape Town, I would be tempted to once again fly with Qatar.