An interesting thread on FlyerTalk discusses a recent survey sent to select Mileage Plus members suggesting that United Airlines is considering a more premium product within its Polaris Business Class cabin.
Polaris Plus: Will United Airlines Introduce More Premium Seats Within Polaris Business Class?
The survey begins with this overview:
United is considering the introduction of a limited number of new seats within the Polaris business class cabin. These seats would be more spacious than the standard Polaris seats. If available, after purchasing a Polaris ticket, you might have the option to purchase an upgrade for the more spacious seat.
In addition to the more spacious seat, United is exploring premium amenities that would only be offered to customers in the upgraded seats.
United has not announced any new Polaris seat, though Live And Let’s Fly has been told that a new seat with doors will eventually be announced for future Boeing 787 Dreamliner deliveries and we will also see new business class lie-flat seats for the Boeing 737 MAX 10, should that aircraft ever take flight.
Some have wondered whether United will simply charge more for preferred seats like odd-numbered window seats or bulkhead seats that have more legroom. That’s not how I interpret the statement above. Instead, I tend to think United is talking about a superior seat within business class, much like Lufthansa will shortly debut with its Allegris product or like JetBlue’s Mint Studio (in the first row of business class) or Virgin Atlatnic’s “Retreat Suite” on its Airbus A330-900neo.
I strongly doubt United will ever wholly retrofit existing planes with Polaris Business Class, but we could see it pull out bulkhead seats to create a roomier version of Polaris in row one…that might be possible…and popular. We are also likely to see a different seat type on future deliveries that includes a more premium seat option.
Enhanced Service Wtihin Polaris Business Class?
In addition to a new “more spacious” seat, frequent flyers were also asked about what they might be willing to pay for enhanced service onboard, including:
- private check-in
- no wait for a table in Polaris Lounge restaurant
- pre-boarding with Global Services members
- “first class-style” amenity kit
- pajamas
- mattress pad
- exclusive pre-order menu plus additional courses offered onboard
- “Press for Champagne” button on seat (LOL, is this April 1st?)
These surveys could go nowhere, but it is interesting to me to see what United is considering. The carrier abandoned its first class product in 2018 and originally offered a high level of service and amenities in its then-new “Polaris” business class product, though many of those perks, like chocolate truffles during boarding or wine flights, have disappeared due to cost-cutting.
CONCLUSION
I have a feeling the next generation of Polaris seats will have more premium seating options and now United is trying to decide whether to offer an enhanced level of service or just keep the service the same and perhaps charge a bit more for the seat reservation. I think there is great potential in a more premium product as long as it is available and applied consistently. That, unfortunately, has been a problem at United: the only thing consistent on a long-term basis is the inconsistency of service and food onboard.
top image: United Airlines
Incredible nonsense, can’t they see what LH is going through with the Allegris fiasco?
Would ‘private check in’ be open 2 hours before the first departure, or would the poor passengers be passed from pillar to post just to send a suitcase to a connecting UA flight under a different PNR and made by staff to demonstrate their inability to do that through the kiosk? My recent ‘premier access’ (*G flying business class) airport experience at IAH was quite possibly the second worst in my life- only marginally better than boarding a Hellenic Air Force C-130 at SKG in late afternoon in the middle of summer with the engines running and having to walk across exhaust fumes to get in.
@PM … Ah … C-130 takes me back in time ,,, the good old days in the military .
I only did it for the experience- I wasn’t in the military but had a parent working in a civilian role within the Air Force and could fly on those flights for a nominal fee (I think it was something like €8.90 each way between SKG and ATH, could take 4-5 hours each way as it was a circular route with various stops). It was very interesting, but definitely not something that I would enjoy doing on a regular basis.
If United goes through with this, that would mean the bulkhead seats would be used. That might mean an end to standard bulkhead Polaris seats, which I love selecting every time I fly Polaris on long-haul flights due to the bigger footwell (I’m tall and a side sleeper so the standard seats feel a bit tight at the feet when in bed mode).
They really need to expand the width of the seats; 20.5″ isn’t wide enough. Singapore Air offers 28″ seat width on long haul on A350’s.
I totally agree. I just got home from Rome to ORD in a Boeing 787 Polaris seat and it was awful. I’m 6’4″, and lean and was miserable as soon as I lied down – too narrow at my shoulders and if I tried to lie on my side the footwell was so tight when I tried to rotate my feet and legs had so little room I almost had a panic attack. I felt like I was in a tomb. Given the price of these seats I was not a happy customer. Same experience last year in two different 777’s on United in Polaris.
I’m about to book a flight for July and going to consider another airline as United just isn’t working for me anymore.
The Press for Champagne button would be fun for the first few months when it actually exists until UA decides they blew through the champagne budget too quickly and decides to eliminate it altogether.
Whenever United intimates improvements are coming things are soon to get worse. “the only thing consistent on a long- term basis is inconsistency…” should be there motto. I don’t hate United as they are no different than any US airline. US airlines are 10 years behind the Asian airlines. We are so lucky to be Americans with access to US airlines at premium cost.
In some ways (loyalty programs, app, bedding) the US programs are far ahead.
Seems like a survey that was made up by people who are pretty unfamiliar with the Polaris product.
First, how often can one find a Polaris seat on a 14 hour flight that only costs $2500 to begin with? Worrying about folks will pay to upgrade a flight product that likely rarely even exists seems silly.
As for the press for champagne button– this really doesn’t seem like a good idea. I’m a pretty devoted champagne lover, but making a button like this seems to be encouraging irresponsible consumption. Also the typical Polaris in-flight champagne selections aren’t always the kind of thing I want to hit more than 2 glasses on. Lastly, there is already a “press for any drink we have on board” button, so that seems to obviate the need for a button with a more narrow scope.
FCO-SFO is about 13 hours and UA return business class tickets seem to start at €3250 or so- these pseudo-upgrades are done for individual segments so you can obviously buy those flights for less than $2500 each. Of course, there’s not much reason to actually do that when Turkish Airlines will sell you a much better product for a price that’s hundreds of Euros lower.
The numbers in the example were 14h and $2500.
The longest FCO-SFO UA flight this month has been 12h 19m, with most of the flights under 12h. Calling it 14h, if it rarely goes over 13.5 seems is a stretch too far for me.
Long-haul business class flight prices have gone up, IMO.
One way FCO-SFO UA Polaris seems to bottom out around $4700 these days, excluding special sales.
I don’t doubt that you may be able to work the system to find a round-trip FCO-SFO UA Polaris flight for under $5000 if booked sufficiently in advance during a low demand time period. If you then divide by two you can figure that each leg costs you $2500 or less.
However, if you’re going to go with average fare for RT segments, it seems only fair that it would be average time for the RT segments, which my guess is will be less than 12h.
If I’m wrong, it shouldn’t be hard for you to post specific dates that I can look at.
I’m sure someone can find an example somewhere of a UA 14h Polaris itinerary that is RT less than $5k total, and thus less than $2.5k each leg– but finding a single example doesn’t disprove the idea that it isn’t a very common scenario for 14h flights.
I didn’t say it was 14 hours- of course it isn’t, but it is the same sort of ballpark, i.e. a proper long haul flight where top-notch food and service can create a memorable experience (as opposed to the typical overnight N. Atlantic sector when sleeping is the priority for most pax). 14-28 May gives €3272 on itamatrix, direct on the outbound and returning via ZRH (SFO-ZRH is a tad shorter, of course). The pseudo upgrades seem to be pitched for individual segments, so it makes sense to consider the return ticket to be priced just under $2000 per direction. I imagine that playing around with connections (e.g. to Mexican destinations) might also give similar/lower fares per direction.
My point is that these prices are still pretty high and I don’t think I would choose UA over the competition, let alone be open to paying even more for a slightly less underwhelming service.
No kidding. You’d be lucky to find a PE seat on a 14 hour flight for $2,500.
So they are going to start responding to the call button…..but only for those who pay extra
SMh
@tom … +1 . Funny .
This is hogwash! UA can not even get Polaris back to what it was at its launch in December 2016, and now they’re trying to restore a modified global first experience!? Hogwash! Stay focused on getting Polaris back to what it was, and then offer a consistent experience for the customers.
Would love to see the catering go back to what it was in 2017. Maybe that’s something UA needs to be focusing on instead of this nonsense.
@Aaron … +1 .
And match Big D for OTP and completion factor.
what a joke!!! staffing at its lowest levels ever on international flights and crew members stretched to their limits while being constantly asked to do more with less! do any of these idiots actually travel with all the nonsence they dream up…
Continental Airlines offered a real first class experience and crew members who were appreciated by their management….let’s start there…look at the disaster of chocolates and plastic “vases ” they used for a year while boarding
It reeks of desperation, shaking your customers down for every last nickel. I think it’s also a sign of just how unsustainable that new pilot contract is. And just wait until the FA’s get their piece of pie. Where are they going to get the revenue for all of this?
“Where are they going to get the revenue for all of this?”
Sadly, not from shareholder value and/or salaries and bonuses for management, which is where the priority for most corporations is these days.
Maybe those seats might actually get properly coursed meals rather than an entire meal on a tray as you try to eat the first two courses before the main is cold and curdled. Or maybe they will soon learn that one tray meals in Intl J is absurd for anyone.
This
F O Y
Few businesses will pay for j. They will pay for O. High end leisure pays for F.
Eliminate J entirely
I don’t know if it’ll go anywhere but certainly sounds lovely. But I’m over here wishing they’d go back to the 800 miles meal service in First. A guy can dream lol.
I’m with you. Huge cut for DEN flyers.
But remember, it was “customer feedback” that led them to those cuts 😉
The idea of buying a ticket on United, then multiplying by 5x or more to be in Polaris, and THEN paying an extra $650 for an extra meal course and a mattress pad… I can’t wrap my head around it. I generally find that the less money I pay United, the less likely I am to end up feeling angry. The least aggravating spot for me when I have to fly UA is, paradoxically, cheapest coach.
What a bizarre survey. United is already ahead in so many ways (app, pluspoints, etc). Really no need for such complicated changes. Instead, if anyone is listening, I’d recommend the following (rather simpler) fixes:
– improve the food in J to at least BA/VS standards. Right now it is terrible
– give employees more skin in the game (i.e. delta) to create a more consistent service culture
Tbh, as someone who almost exclusively flies long haul J with UA, that’s pretty much it. If they were to do these two things I think they’d be my favorite long-haul J carrier (given the competition out of LHR, etc etc)
This
Personally, they are basically asking me to pay extra for amenities and catering that top tier airlines have already offered without a surcharge. Extra course – come on… they need to bring back the old Connoisseur Class service first. Better quality Pajamas and first class amenity kit basically mean downgrading the current Polaris amenity kit and pajama. “Press button for champagne” – that is even more ridiculous, as they will actually requiring your flight attendants to answer the service button.
If they want a surcharge, they need to introduce the following:
Catering – Caviar & Balik Salmon
Champagne – how about serving a REAL premium champagne like KRUG? Button for Champagne seems so stupid
Pajama and amenity kit – honestly I don’t think most premium passengers care too much about it.
Mattress pad & padding – they simply need to introduce a more luxury set
Honestly ground service is the only item that I think some premium passengers will pay for it. And US airlines actually do that ground service pretty well.
I hope United will have a chat with their F/A team before even considering a surcharge.
Carfield
Agreed.
My impression on reading this is that, as to seats, they might go back to having something like the old GlobalFirst seats. I did like those, and it was often easy to get an upgrade.
But the amenities list makes me wonder if what they are really thinking is to strip down the amenities and then make you pay to add them back. Given how bad the Polaris soft product is, it is hard to believe any amenities you would pay extra for would be very good quality.
My first thought when I finished this was: “who is going to deliver some of these products?.” The Polaris f/as are already stretched thin. Things like wine refills, or even wine with dinner, don’t happen. How are f/as going to do things like “hand deliver” each course, or, hilariously, provide champagne on request? There’s no way they’re bringing back the f/a position they cut.
What is really the difference between Option 1 and 3? Just the champagne button.
The standard Polaris meal set up needs to go back to pre COVID – separate app / salad then main served after it’s done.
AA and DL do this. It’s table stakes.
Charging extra for it is an insult and not competitive.
Having a bigger seat with a few extra amenities is fine. However, this seems like a bad idea to offer all these extra amenities for just a handful of seats in the business class cabin. It’s a problem of economies of scale. Flight attendants already do a terrible job serving business class. This will only add in more confusion. United would do better to add these extra services as part of every business ticket and charge $100 more per ticket. Having to stock these extra amenities on board and having to staff a dedicated premium plus check in really seems inefficient. A bigger seat, better amenity kit, and better meal would be doable. Every dish being hand delivered separately seems like it will make things too difficult for the flight attendants to get right. Things like the pre boarding or the guaranteed table in the lounge seem excessive. Business class is already pretty good. Mattress pads should be by distance.
Swissair has number of bigger and more private seats in business class you can buy up to though the service is the same
This is the 777-200 GF all over again – there were no FC fares and GS were CPU’d into GF. IF…. No one pays for the Upgraded Biz seats. If this is charged as an ancillary fee – think NON-Refundable! ROWS 1 with the larger footwell also come with a price of gallery lights and noises – there are already window seats on their WB a/c that do not come with a view.
As a 1K, I get my first choice of a meal – or better yet, I pre-order it. Since this option started, I am at 100% of getting my pre-ordered meal.
As a GS, I can tell you we were never CPU’d into GF. GF was almost entirely filled with Non-revs and air marshals. That always irked me. They never even offered a reasonable buy up to GF
So, in other words, “first class”.