Something is brewing at United Airlines concerning its longhaul Polaris Business Class product. I’ve only been able to put together a few puzzle pieces, but it appears a big announcement, dubbed Polaris 2.0, is planned for September 20, 2023.
Polaris 2.0: New Bedding, Other Soft Products Improvements Coming Soon?
After my story yesterday about new tableware possibly coming to Polaris, an inside source shared a couple of memos with Live And Let’s Fly about other changes that are on the horizon. First, it appears that new bedding is coming:
Later this month, we’re launching new United Polaris, Premium Transcontinental, Hawaii and International United Premium Plus (UPP) bedding, as well as pilot and flight attendant crew rest bedding. This change is part of a sustainability initiative to reduce single-use plastics on board. After this change, we will have no single-use plastics on our customer bedding in the premium cabins. Additionally, the new bedding will be made of sustainable materials.
United is now wrapping slippers in craft paper rather than plastic and the bedding change could be as simple as new packaging for the existing product. However, the last sentence above suggests all-new bedding. The Saks Fifth Avenue-branded bedding is among the best in the skies and so I hope that the next iteration of bedding is not downgraded.
Perhaps United will introduce bedding like Delta, which comes in a reusable cloth bag with a zipper and is made of 100% recycled polyester (rPET). Delta ditched its popular Westin-branded bedding for this more environmentally-friendly initiative and I could see United doing the same thing.
The upside is the Delta bedding is still quite nice. The downside is that the bedding on United right now is one of the strongest upsides of the product: there is absolutely no need to tinker with what is already working so well.
In a separate memo to ground staff, United used the term “Polaris 2.0” to reference the changes coming on September 20, 2023:
On September 20, we’re implementing Polaris 2.0, which features new amenity items and seat provisioning.
To prepare employees for the upcoming changes, a “one-hour instructor-led course” is obligatory and must be completed prior to the end of next week.
What Will United Reveal?
The signs are pointing to a soft product relaunch. New amenity kits were recently introduced and new tableware and food and beverage (including cocktails, which have not previously been menu items) are being evaluated. With the memos above, it appears an all-new bedding will be introduced as well.
Taken together, this appears to be a concerted effort by United to evolve its Polaris product. Whether that will be positive or negative for premium cabin passengers remains to be seen.
CONCLUSION
United is launching “Polaris 2.0” on September 20, 2023. While details about the upcoming changes are vague at this point, I would expect an evolution rather than a revolution. It appears new bedding is coming and the changes in bedding may coincide with a launch of new tableware and potentially additional drink options onboard, like cocktails.
What do you think United will introduce on 20 September?
top image: United Airlines
It’s amazing how many downgrades can be made in the name of “sustainability.” Obsess over appealing to the wokies while still raking in the profits
I love this take!
Studies show people from across the political spectrum care a lot more about sustainability than random strangers whining and posting their own political drivel on someone else’s travel blog.
What studies? You mean your own ideas off a basement?
It’s amazing how threatened members of our society’s patriarchy are about any effort to protect our environment and save the planet. They whine and complain about any little change that might help society as a whole over their own self interests. All they do is show their own ignorance and narcissism.
Let’s be realistic here: There’s a lot more potential upside than downside here. On an optimistic basis maybe Kirby will reverse some of his negative changes to the Polaris experience. Time will tell but there’s not a whole lot more damage he can do so it’s kind of an any news is good news situation. I’m guardedly optimistic.
Not wanting to spoil anything, I saw pictures of the new bedding, and I can confirm Sack’s will remain the brand!
Can you share more details? How comfortable is the new bedding?
Great news! I’m flying Polaris on 9/27 and would like to get some value for my money for a change.
Knowing United, I wouldn’t get my hopes up if I were you.
Amen, Derek…
United really needs to re configure that bus. class cabin; too many narrow seats, jammed into a rectangle. If SQ can offer a 28″ wide seat on their A350’s with 60 inches of pitch, and still make a profit, United needs to move in that direction; 20″ wide seat just doesn’t work on long hauls for sleeping; even the aisles are very narrow; the cart hardly fits in the aisle.
That assumes your plane has been updated
What a farce. United had an opportunity — a moment — to be the only US legacy airline actively trying to get better. American and Delta are racing to the bottom. Then United cut everything that made Polaris, well, Polaris. Now they’re gutting it even further just as the last of the planes finally got the Polaris seat even though people had for years booked Polaris only to find a legacy seat that was a significant downgrade.
I don’t like American, Delta’s upcoming changes worry me, and United shows they are clueless. Right now, Alaska and JetBlue seem to be the only domestic airlines with a forward-cabin product that’s worth buying. Otherwise, I’m buying a foreign-flagged airline when flying internationally.
I think UA can still have it’s moment. Right now, UA is the only US Airline with a consistent hard product in Polaris across it’s entire international fleet. IMO, that was the hardest part of the transformation. IF UA really transforms the soft product right, Polaris can leave both AA and DL in the dust.
Let’s hope UA does it right.
Flying a foreign-flagged airline for international flights is fine, I suppose. Just make sure it isn’t Lufthansa.
What are we hoping for here? That UA brings Polaris almost back to 2019 levels? The product will continue to be 100% driven by the physical seat because the rest of the offering is so uncompetitive with the rest of the market.
That was the FIRST thing that came to mind as I read your article – oh no they’re going to eliminate everything Saks branded. I hope not it has been wonderful to enjoy the Saks Products for almost seven years since Polaris launched in December 2016. Equally disappointing will be if Polaris 2.0 falls significantly short of what Polaris originally was.
I really hope the bedding isn’t a downgrade. UA’s on board J food is substandard, the seat is OKAY, but the bedding was really some of the best I’ve ever experienced on any airline in J. In fairness, their Polaris lounges are also excellent and better than AA’s Flagship and obviously the college dorm cafeterias also known as Sky Club, IMO.
Just start with some PJs, please. After that, we can talk about smaller items.
I’ll believe Polaris is improving when I see it. The original marketing of Polaris 1.0 was a pack of lies.
UA just needs to widen the seat for comfort; we’re paying a high price for bus. class, so UA
needs to get close to SQ’s wide seat of 26″ on a A350. Comfort, sleeping is very important on a long haul flight.
Boy has my focus been so so short-sighted! Can’t believe I haven’t been paying more attention to the bedding, forgetting how much of my total ticket cost is a made up that obe single luxury.
It’s almost shocking where so many people place the value of this bedding and what the ramifications could be if some of these folks here experience a “Bad Bedding” day , we’re taking potentially HUGE consequences! Forget the quality and freshness of the caviar appetizers or the entire privacy sliding wall..After all a man does have priorities.
Dammit, UAL had better iron out the deficiencies of their linen and send a selection of their employees to Saks to be retrained…there’s a right and a wrong way to fold a sheet..especially the linens that are environmentally superior
Jason Babcock