As I shared in my Frankfurt to San Francisco Polaris First Class review last week, the new Saks Fifth Avenue bedding on United Airlines is really nice. So nice, apparently, that customers are walking off with it at an alarming rate. Now United is asking its flight attendants to be more vigilant in ensure the bedding does not leave the aircraft.
United Polaris Bedding
When you fly in United Polaris, you are met with the following bedding amenities in your seat–
Upon request, you can also get a very comfortable cooling memory foam pillow.
In your menu, a special note is included to remove any doubt about whether you can take your blanket or pillow home as a souvenir:
The premium amenity kit and slippers are yours to keep upon landing. We hope you’ll find our other comfort items and amenities make your flight more restful, but please leave them on board when you exit the aircraft.
Apparently customers are ignoring this request.
United Asks FA to Police Cabin to Avoid Bedding Theft
A FA friend forwarded me the following internal memo–
Our customers are continuing to enjoy United Polaris service, in particular our new high-quality bedding designed by Saks Fifth Avenue. However, recently we’ve noticed some confusion about which amenities may be taken off the plane at the end of the flight. We’d like to take this opportunity to clarify the policy regarding our new bedding and ask for your help to ensure its safekeeping on board the aircraft.
You can share with customers that all pillows and blankets are to be left on the aircraft at the end of each flight, including the cooling gel memory foam pillow. Even if only a small number of these items are taken off each flight, that can quickly add up to millions of dollars across our network over the course of a year. To help ensure we are able to continue offering these high-quality products, it’s important to remind customers that these items remain on board the aircraft after every flight. We will begin communicating this policy on board soon.
We launder and re-board pillows and blankets for several cycles before the product naturally degrades from wear and tear, and we replace it.
Of course, all United Polaris customers are welcome to take their amenity kits featuring Cowshed products with them at the end of the flight. Slippers and pajamas — on flights where they are offered — are also available for customers to take with them.
We are exploring offering certain amenities for sale on the United Shop in the future.
Commentary on FA Directive
United is so diplomatic. There is no confusion. People are smart enough to know that they should not take their blanket and pillow with them, especially when it is made clear in the menu.
Interestingly, United singles out the cooling gel memory foam pillow. Just yesterday on Flyertalk I read a comment about passengers with memory foam pillows popping up inside United Clubs. These are small, easy to slip in carry-on bags, and also attractive due to the United Polaris logo on the pillowcase.
A draconian reaction would be asking FAs to collect and count all pillows at the end of each flight. But United is wise to offer additional reminders to passengers that the blanket and pillows must remain onboard.
Others have reported FAs disappearing with memory foam pillows when they retreat to the crew rest bunks. United should also ensure that even if unused by passengers, Polaris bedding is not for FA use.
CONCLUSION
I’ll admit. The thought of taking my memory foam pillow with me did cross my mind last week. Thankfully, I quickly dismissed the thought because I knew it was wrong, even though I could have easily gotten away with it. The old adage, “This is why we cannot have nice things” came to my mind then and is present in my mind now. Shame on anyone who steals — yes, steals — this bedding. Those who do will ruin it for the rest of us.
I’m not sure how extensive the bedding is, but as someone who flies business/first, I could see how some people think it is okay to take them home (like the amenity kits). I don’t think it’s a bad idea for the FAs to pickup the bedding 10 minutes before landing, if you don’t have the bedding, the message is clear.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Do you want an easy solution for this? No logos!!!! Hotels reduced drastically the number of towels being taken by guests from rooms by simply not having any logo or brand on it. It may still be very high quality but nobody would care if there is nothing to show off. I understand United wants to promote their new brand but unfortunately that will come with a cost.
I agree that this is the main problem.
Also I read somewhere that you can’t take photographs off the plane with you either 🙂
I watched the passenger next to me stuff all of it and the foam pillow into her huge bag overhead. Not my place to correct her….but why no one saw this, don’t know!
My most recent of 4 Polaris flights the gel pillows were in short supply, seems a catering issue unless dozens were taken only a few of us passengers got them, of course 3 were pre-set at the seats of non-rev flight attendants (along with slippers), so they can proactively provide the goodies as long as it is to their own.
United is a horrible, despicable airline. I think they deserve to have their things stolen. Maybe if they stopped charging fees for everything and actually cared about customers, people would give a shit about them. I wouldn’t be caught flying United longhaul in their horrible seats, but if I did, I’d stuff everything I could into my suitcase, not because I want it, but because i’d want to stick it to them.
If you don’t like the airline then don’t fly on it. Maybe you just like being a thief.
I have seen FAs take the blanket/duvet from Biz on P.S. service, and even been told that it was ok to take one. This was the end of last summer, so maybe there’s been some changes since then, but the blankets are so nice that I doubt there will be a significant change in passenger behavior. I do hope that UA doesn’t use this as an excuse to eliminate them.
Matthew.
Do you know which company makes the Polaris gel pillow? They used to sell it on United’s website but stopped. I’m trying to find out the company that makes these if you can help.