Let’s take a look at the current state of affairs in longhaul business class on United Airlines. I just flew on a 767-300ER in Polaris from London to Chicago.
United Airlines Polaris Business Class 2024: What To Expect
Stepping onboard, I found my seat in 1L. I prefer bulkhead seats because the cutout for your feet is much more generous than in other rows. Even though the seat was next to both a galley and lavatory, I was not disturbed during the flight.
However, I was disturbed by the dirt and grime around my seat. I just do not understand why United cannot give its aircraft a deep cleaning…
Why tick people off from the moment they board by not cleaning planes? I bet that debris had been there for weeks…
The bedding in Polaris is quite nice, including a duvet, large pillow, cooling foam gel pillow, and lighter blanket. I ended up sleeping for most of the flight and that is what United does well: cool cabins with individual air vents plus great bedding.
In that sense, I could not have asked for a better flight. In the nine hours to Chicago I slept for over 6.5 hours.
My flight was delayed to damage discovered on a the cargo door. We sat on the ground for an hour before Untied decided it would defer repairs on it.
Dinner was served after takeoff.
First came a hot towel, followed by warm nuts and a choice of beverage.
I had pre-ordered a sirloin steak (with sweet potato mash and roasted asparagus) and it was served on a single tray along with a side salad, bread, and appetizer (considering the main course, I chose burrata over a beef appetizer).
It was certainly a lot of food…essentially two salads plus a huge hunk of beef along with the yams and asparagus. The quality of the meat was not great, but at least it was fairly lean.
I do think it is time for United to return to three-course service, serving the main course separately, but the upside to this single-tray service was that I was done eating just an hour into the flight.
For dessert, I imbibed on an ice cream sundae…the quality of the ice cream is better ex-London than from the USA.
I woke up about an hour before landing and was offered a pre-arrival meal of a hamburger with French Fries or mushroom risotto with a side salad. I ordered the risotto, which looked like a grog of baby food and was overwhelmed by peas.
I rose to use the lavatory before landing and found the trash bin overflowing with paper towels.
United offers wi-fi onboard as well as a respectable library of movies, TV shows, and games. Oppenheimer is a selection this month. I’ve been waiting for that!
Noise-cancelling headphones are provided. While not of great quality, at least they do not have to be collected before landing.
United is currently offering Polaris passengers an amenity kit from Therabody (like fanny pack) with skin products including mist, eye serum, lip balm, and hand cream.
We landed about 40 minutes late. Chicago (ORD) is my penultimate least favorite US port of entry, since the journey from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1 is also burdensome (only Denver is worse…).
CONCLUSION
Overall, I slept for 6.5 hours and find the bedding and seat on United more comfortable than many of its peers. That is always a positive. However, the poor condition of the cabin, particularly the dirt, is such an unnecessary problem and while the food is better than it was a year ago, the quality is still not great.
Put simply, the flight was unmemorable. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but do not expect to be “wowed” when flying Polaris.
That beef looks like a piece of plastic. And the risotto…… To be fair with UA, Delta also does not do deep cleaning on their planes. It very often looks filthy. Although United’s amenity kit does not look like something I would take with me from the plane, it is much better than the joke Delta offers on their flights.
The beef looks disgusting and the risotto doesn’t look much better. Yuck!
I know. You sure a chihuahua didn’t shit in the bowl?
Lol.
You prefer schlepping it from T5 to T1 over DEN? That seems strange. I would think DEN would be near the top of UA hubs in terms of intl arrival. It’s generally the least crowded. Global entry levels that playing field a lot, but I also find DEN to have the fewest number of people using GE also.
I find the walk to immigration aggravatingly long at DEN and then the walk back to the B gates is also tedious.
ORD is by no means much better, but I find it is often quicker for me than DEN.
IAD still the best if making a connection. So easy in midfield arrivals facility.
I find ORD far less time-consuming than DEN. The forthcoming Global Terminal 2 will offer international and domestic arrivals side-by-side. And T2 will continue to offer a passage to United’s massive Terminal 1 behind security as it does now. The most annoying U.S. Terminal set up is PHX with long walks in the sun outside and two trips through security.
I know it is a much smaller airport but no airport can beat MSP in terms of arriving from an international flight, clearing immigration and getting to your connection. Absolutely a breeze.
God forbid the lazy FA’s clean the bathroom.
As a FA for UA, I consistently ensure the Lav’s on my A/C is tidied, I utilize Lysol wipes onboard, and especially check the garbage bins are not overflowing with discarded napkins. I do this for all lavs numerous of times on a/c I work in.
It is not their job to inspect the bathroom after every single passenger . If you are seating in a “premium cabin “ you are expected to have some home training .
I do think passengers should clean up after themselves, though here it was just an overflowing waste receptacle.
They did. That mess was from six self entitled economy jabronis who fouled the lav. Good forbid you call them out…
Exactly. Likely the can wasn’t full but the paper towels and plastic liner cause static and people simply need to push their towels all the way in so that the lid will close. I hope he never goes to Santo Domingo or San Salvador (et al) where used toilet paper is simply thrown onto the floor into a huge pile.
This amount of hair, dirt and crumbs should not be tolerated. Passengers are expected to eat and sleep in that space. Kennels are cleaned to a higher standard.
I could not agree more.
I flew Dulles to Zürich to Dulles 2 weeks ago and agree the sides were not cleaned at all. At least, Vaccum it for I wanted to put my Eye Glasses somewhere – yes, could have placed it atop. I also carried my new Bose Ultra headphone and was unable to use them due to the twin sockets – They do not have the Adapter for sale – When will Bluetooth become the modern way? . The gaps, better, steam Vaccum it. How much does it cost? Overall, a fantastic route with access to the Swiss Lounge with the Balcony.
2 weeks ago I flew Honolulu to Newark in first(at least that is what they called it). The pics I took look the same as above tje well and all the compartments and holdlers were dirty. There were no wipes to be found. The head phone jack was broken. I know this is considered a domestic flight but it was 9.5 hours and overnight. Premium should be premium and there should be no difference in the product. One of the food choices was pureed cauliflower. That should say it all.
Man. That food looks so disgusting. I would never eat on these planes. I can’t believe people eat that !! They really need to simplify the meals so they can deliver something fresh.
I wish Italy had some sort of way to protect their food like France has with champagne. It is absolutely outrageous someone call that s..t risotto.
I’ve had same very bad risotto in Italy. Perhaps not United bad but not far from it.
Well, as an Italian, I can say you have to work pretty hard to eat bad in Italy. You probably went to a tourist trap otherwise you can get amazing food almost anywhere else.
I have to agree. The three times my wife and I visited Italy, I can honestly say we only had one bad meal and it was indeed a tourist trap. We LOVE to eat and drink our way through the country and look forward to our 4th visit!
I thought you were from Brazil?
Wait, now you’re Italian? I realize that many Brazilians are of Italian descent but that’s a stretch statement lol. If you want to give me a treatise on rice and bean quality I would understand. I trust you with feijoada, but not so much risotto. Unless you tell me you are from the Fasano family…then I might give you a pass.
Maybe someone could suggest to the UA CEO as a cost savings enhancement to make mandatory for nonrevenue pax to go around the cabin with desinfecting wipes scrubbing stains and dirt off surfaces.
When I travel NON REV, I always leave the lavatory cleaned. However, to suggest that non revs in general to be assigned clean lavs is sort of a low blow in many ways.
That’s a dick comment Joenotsosmart. You don’t have perks at your job? In order for you to receive them, do you have to clean the bathrooms at your office? You probably don’t realize that many airline staff trade salary for flight privileges – which don’t come with scrubbing toilets.
United is a self service airline. As I board I take 3 of the cleaning wipes they are handing out and comment that I know I will need all of them. Then I locate the mattress pads, usually in the overhead bin near the back of the cabin. I help myself to one and put it on the seat before ever I sit down. Then all the hard surfaces including the entertainment screen get wiped down. Maybe I’ll start bringing a small vacuum cleaner.
Flying Polaris is all about the seat and bedding, and getting a good rest. I know I won’t get good food, good wine, or good service. But I know I will sleep well. For my upcoming trip to Japan I chose United on the way over because I prioritize sleep on that leg. I chose ANA on the way back because I prioritize food, drink and service.
I was served that risotto dish recently. I told the FA to take it away before the tray even touched the table. Her response was “I understand”. Absolutely disgusting mess.
I had to laugh when reading your first paragraph. If you ever decide to bring a small vacuum with you and clean up before the flight (along with your regular routine), I’m sure that video would have millions of views on TikTok!
Now, it is not a United employee that cleans the plane in London. It is an outsourced company that is basically not doing their job.
Flight attendants do not clean aircraft’s. United has third party company.
Doesn’t look good.
Anyone flown business on Austrian air lately? Are things better with them going from Chicago to VIE?
I’m flying VIE-ORD in two weeks. OMAAT reviewed this route about a year ago, looks like much better food/coffee service and not great bed.
I find the better seat and bedding on UA, plus wi-fi, make up for the far better food (and even the amazing coffee menu) on Austrian Airlines. Austrian has great potential – hopefully new bedding comes with the new Dreamliners.
But you will enjoy great food, especially ex-VIE.
So thats why you always go with the burger, I guess. Someone actually had to sign off on that “risotto.” That’s just amazing.
That risotto looks AA-level bad. Count me as shocked that you didn’t order the cheeseburger…
The things I do for this blog! 😉
Matt, love the blog. Wondering why do you always order the steak? It seems like you have a 90% fail rate…
Hope springs eternal.
Last time I ordered the fish ex-LHR and it wasn’t great.
Historically, red meat ex-LHR has been decent.
Next time, back to fish.
Although I love meat and fish, in my experience ordering chicken or past is the safest bet while on planes. Now, I have to say that in the last year or so, Delta has been fantastic in their catering in Delta One and their beef short ribs is outstanding.
I flew business class, paid the money. Seat did not work. They couldn’t get it to work. In fact on my return my plane before that was late. So I got rescheduled in economy class because the had 17 paying customers to get to my seat that I already paid for. The food was disgusting. 2 months after my flight they emailed me and cancelled my dinner. They gave me a tidbits. 5000 miles and 600.00 for a 11,000.00 trip.
Let’s see – yup, Matthew had the steak
You write: . In the nine hours to London I slept for over 6.5 hours
I thought you were flying from London to Chicago?
Otherwise your experience mirrors my recent experiences in Polaris
You’re right. It was LHR-ORD.
What was the method of flight purchase, did you use points? Curious how you got this LHR-ORD Polaris flight.
Can you please try and review kosher Meals in polaris especially leaving newark airport and london? Also kosher meals in the polaris lounge in Newark
Coming soon. As part of current trip report I ordered Kosher meal from EWR-SFO.
I get that your choices were slim, but if you know anything about risotto, you know that it’s a slow tedious process to prepare. Only fine Italian dinning establishments prepare it to order.
Other restaurants precook it at least 1/2 way then finish it when ordered. Do yourself a flavor, no pun intended and never order risotto on a plane unless you want a blob of starch and glue.
Buon Appetito.
I was on a beef overload, but should have just skipped the meal altogether.
Tsk tsk Matthew, you’re talking about the best airline in the history of the world according to Scrooge McDuck Kirby so go easy on the disgusting dirty cabin. Unfortunately Kirby’s perpetual cost cutting shows sometimes like this.
Is 1L a safe distance from the lav? I agree bulkhead seats offer more overall space. TY
No fumes. It was not a problem at all.
November last year flew ewr hnl rt in Polaris renovated 767 400 .
Window seat very tight, isle seat just easier to access, I’m 5’10”, not impressed at all.
Reading non stop flights after 4/24 are done, my booked flight in May through ord rescheduled thru Las Angeles now. Was hoping to ride a 787 , but those plans dashed.
Maybe time to look at HA
For those arriving at ORD intl, be prepared for up to a 3,5 hour wait for immigration if not on Global Entry. With the remodeling of the immigration area, and what seems to be continual short staffing by immigration officers, I’ve come in 2x in the last 6 weeks (once at 5pm, another at midnight) to see the lines obesely long. I’m on GE and had to navigate through the line which was double file stretched down the narrow concourse hallway to get to GE. People thought I was cutting as there was no dedicated walkway. A friend did not have GE and waited 3.5 hours to clear immigration.
I can confirm this. It’s a s-show.
We were booked for an April trip to Athens (Des Moines-Chicago-Zurich-Athens) with the ORD-Zurich leg biz class on a United 767-300. United pulled a switcheroo on us yesterday and now we’re DSM-ORD-EWR-ATH with the final leg biz class on a 787-10. Curious if anybody has any thoughts on which of the two United wide bodies is better. Also, wondering if we should see iff United will let us go to Newark the day before the non-stop to Athens. Our layovers in Newark and Chicago are each about an hour and a half. My nerves don’t do well when two layovers are involved before making an international flight.
The lav picture, with overflowing trash receptacle, is that to be expected on a US airline? Never seen that on Asian airlines. Even Air China’s lavs are better. I recall BR and CL FAs clean up the lavs after every use when situations permit.
The seats – not sure what it is with US airline premium cabin – we flew on JetBlue Mint the first time, and the seats (and the bins!) were just as filthy. Clorox wipes is our standard travel gear now, since we have pre-flight wipe downs. Our 2nd Mint was much better – plane swap to the new Suites and much cleaner insides!
Maybe you’ve mentioned this in a prior Polaris review, but the new socks in the amenity kit are absolutely useless. Their size is awkwardly between ankle and tube length, and they are not elastic. I tried wearing them through the airport once, and it felt like I had cloth shopping bags on my feet, as they bunched up at my ankles and were all wrinkled at my soles. I hate United’s new in-cabin “sustainable” initiatives; these socks can’t even be worn once before being thrown in a landfill. Granted, I’m not flying Polaris for the United socks, and I don’t need to fill another dresser drawer with them, but an extra pair of *usable* socks in the amenity kit has actually come in handy for me at times when packing light.
Reminds me of the utterly filthy Polaris Lounge in EWR last year. This is as dirty and almost reaches a BA-level of dirt and filth. Disgusting.
Sounds like a very typical flight I think sat in the same seat on the same plane a few weeks ago. The marks and dirt look exactly the same as I remember.
You forgot the mattress pad.
You’re right – I forgot to request one. I was quite tired.
That beef looks disgusting, certainly nothing like a Sirloin.
So was this the connecting flight from your previous story:
1-Hour Connection In London Heathrow…What Could Go Wrong?
It looks like you made it.
I did make it!
https://liveandletsfly.com/heathrow-connection/
Thanks for the link. I must have missed the post. I am looking at something similar for October. IST to LHR with a little longer layover on a flight to EWR.
The on-time performance is the thing that scares me the most.