As a lifelong American Airlines customer and frequent Cathay Pacific flyer, United had a long way to go to impress me with their Polaris business class product. They did. Here is another leg in my status run to Hong Kong trip report.
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This post is part of a trip report series from a recent status run to Hong Kong. I should clarify that Matthew is the king of onboard photos, I am not. Some of these are not my favorite but true to my experience.
- Mileage Running May Be Dead, Status Running Still Alive
- United’s Polaris Lounge San Francisco
- Polaris Business Class Service San Francisco to Hong Kong
- Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui – Suite
- Hyatt Regency Sha Tin – Suite
- Shenzhen Day Trip
- Too Much Traveling
- Singapore’s Bad Hong Kong lounge
- ANA Business Class Hong Kong Tokyo
- ANA Haneda Lounge Review
- ANA Business Class Tokyo-Haneda to Chicago O’Hare
Initial Buyer’s Remorse
I have written before that I switched from American to United mostly due to the issues with American’s soft product and the deterioration of its loyalty program. When I did my first long-haul business class status run with United last year to qualify during my 1K challenge, I was flabbergasted by a new-ish 787 that featured a 2-2-2 configuration (complete with stepping over your seatmate in the middle of the night).
That was the best alternative at the time to dodging the absolutely unconscionable 2-4-2 business class – yes, really. Can you imagine buying an $8,000 ticket in business class and sitting in the middle seat in a four-seat section, bursting shoulders on either side for 12 hours? If you can, congratulations, you qualify as a fanboy.
In all honesty, row 20 is a more spacious row in Economy (2-3-2) than row 10 in business class. I had no idea prior to challenging with United how rare their direct aisle access seats were even on new aircraft. Shame on me for assuming that United was actually ahead of American who only recently retired the oxymoronic “angled flat” seats in a 2-3-2 configuration on their 777s: I should have done more research.
However, the carrier’s soft product – the service aspect of the flight – was much better than American’s. The last straw for me with American was having to send two meals back on a 14-hour flight from Hong Kong where the first was served in metal tins. There was a total lack of effort even on the only aircraft in their fleet that still featured a separate first-class section. Following that flight, I had a chance to try Qatar Airways and realized that other carriers were doing better and it was time to move on. With the soft product, United has succeeded there from the start.
Boarding to Hong Kong Is Always Bad
I have been flying to Hong Kong for awhile often several times per year and the equipment of choice from the USA is apparently a 777-300ER. American added the destination once sufficient 777s were added to their fleet at first from Dallas, later adding Los Angeles. Cathay Pacific nearly exclusively uses 777-300ER while United has a mixed fleet but primarily the same 777 as the others with a very similar layout.
As with any of those carriers, the boarding area is always a nightmare. Although the gate area for this flight was huge with United (American’s in Dallas is remarkably inadequate) it still turns into a bad situation as gate agents don’t clearly tell people where to go. I guess on one hand it’s nice to know that this problem is not a oneworld issue but appears to be universal for the route. But it’s also disappointing that no one can seem to get this process right.
Also, it’s a big airplane – 300+ seats big – and without fail, every time I fly the route it’s always oversold or very close to it. I overheard my outbound flight was oversold once I was already onboard. I was disappointed there was no announcement in the 40 minutes boarding was intended to start until the time it actually did. It’s a shame because I was on a mileage run that was already scheduled to be too long, I would have been a cheap date if they would have announced the overbooking at the gate.
I Bee Boarded
Making my way to my seat, the last of the front business class section, I realized I made another rookie mistake. I booked next to the galley, which is in front of the walk-up snack bar and opposite the second set of doors and bathroom. It didn’t ruin my flight to be so close, but I won’t book there again if there is another choice in the cabin (presumably not on the other side of the plane in the same row).
Buzzing around me was a honey bee, infatuated with my seat. I tried to ignore it for some time, but then the thought of a 13-hour flight with a bee that had no interest in the rest of the cabin turned. There are two ways to remove a bee from your seat without getting stung.
- Kill it. Just roll up a magazine and strike it against a wall or window.
- Shoo it out the open door. That was hard to do, a cursory attempt was made.
- Leave it to chance. I’ll probably be fine, and hopefully everyone else will be.
I had no intentions of leaving it to chance. One of the crew members saw me attempting to strike the bee and asked why I don’t just take it outside the aircraft. I offered her the opportunity to capture it and then safely relocate it back into the San Francisco air, she declined. I struck again unsuccessfully. After two or three attempts (killing a bee that crawls into crevices without looking like an idiot smashing a magazine against a brand new airplane is difficult), he/she had disappeared. I left it to chance the rest of the flight and never saw or heard it again.
I wouldn’t have let it delay the flight, but some are allergic to bees (I am not) and should that bee have stung the wrong person somewhere over the Pacific ocean, I wonder if the FA would have still preferred that I politely request the bee to vacate or buy a ticket.
Seat
The seats are designed in a herringbone fashion. I had only ever flown in reverse herringbone and didn’t really understand what the difference was (other than slanting the opposite way). It clearly became clear why I prefer reverse herringbone, window seats face at an angle toward the window as opposed to the aisle. I can’t think of a reason why facing away from the window and toward the aisle is a benefit but I am sure there is a contingent that can explain, perhaps they will be so inclined to opine in the comments.
United hit a home run with the seat design. Cathay Pacific was the original leader in the space, and American liked it so much that they licensed the design from them – a really smart move. United didn’t exactly copy the model, but its seat is excellent. The layout was 1-2-1 with a mix of herringbone and a straight seat at the windows.
In a seated position, it was comfortable to sit in though the controls were new to me, and maybe not as comfortable a design as what I was previously used to. There is a spinning dial to move the selected portion (footrest, lumbar support, reclining back of the seat) forward and backward. It wasn’t a detractor nor strength, just different than other carriers.
Hong Kong-based Crew
What differentiates the service from United as opposed to American is their Hong Kong-based crew. For American, a slew of senior flight attendants, some of whom are jaded (this is a blog not a news story, my opinion is based on experience but remains my opinion), some of whom are just looking to log some serious hours. I have yet to encounter an FA from American on the route (at least from Dallas) that was in any way looking to provide an excellent experience.
United was different and as the first introduction to the service, it made all of the difference. It was evident that the crew was Hong Kong-based (both by their Cantonese pendants and the way they ran the service). I had previously flown on United long haul to Shanghai (787 and 747) with a US-based crew in each direction and the attention to detail was superb from this crew. The others were fine, but this one was amazing.
It also sends a message to the market and to the customer. We don’t just fly to Hong Kong, we are Hong Kongers. The storied history of the route within the United system is probably part of that difference from American, a newcomer to the market.
Meals
I prefer to test a new travel provider if I can. I don’t want to get in too deep only to find that they can’t handle more detailed requirements as I did with American. I asked to have my meal held and cooked later in the flight to sleep nearly right away (not before a sundae) and wanted to see if they would remember and deliver before arriving into HKG. I understand in principle why they serve breakfast upon arrival, they assumed you have slept during the flight. Landing at 6:45 PM still means breakfast service two hours prior to touchdown.
But if you truly want to assimilate to your new surroundings and beat jet lag, you should wake up at about the time in the flight that will be morning in your arrival destination, and sleep when it would be night time. So I did that, falling asleep at the equivalent of about four in the morning in Hong Kong (a late night I guess) and woke up at about 11 in the morning Hong Kong time. I then requested my meal, beef short ribs with wasabi grits.
It was perfect. The food was all hot when it arrived, it was what I ordered, not a replacement off the snack station, the team remembered and it was well-plated. That’s why I left American in the first place. It was the following meal (a replacement after I sent the first choice back) that finally pushed me away from my lifelong carrier of choice. After many, many long-haul flights on American, they simply wouldn’t have put this kind of care and high-level execution into an off-schedule meal service (examples above).
Summary
From start to finish my experience met or exceeded my expectations. American and Cathay Pacific have a reverse herringbone seat design that is hard to beat, and while I found United’s offering a little strange, it still delivered privacy, an excellent lie-flat experience and great placement for chargers and storage. Their soft product was next-level. I can’t say that the Polaris lounge beats the Wing from Cathay Pacific, but this is not a United Club, this is something else. Dougie and his team at American should get out a pen and a piece of paper to jot down some notes from United. Still, despite my excellent experience, there are simply not enough Polaris-equipped planes and lounges to make them my first choice all the time. You can call business class on a United 787 in a 2-2-2 configuration Polaris if you want, but frankly, it just cheapens the brand. I implore you to work tirelessly, United, to get the rest of your international offerings up to the Polaris standard. You will find yourself peerless in the United States.
Have you tried Polaris? How has your experience been? Is Polaris elevated service enough to switch you from another carrier if you are currently loyal elsewhere?
I did the reverse trip back in July. No complaints whatsoever. I haven’t yet experienced the Polaris club at SFO. In theory I could have after clearing immigration/customs, but the club is such a hike from the other end of the terminals it’s not worth it. I agree on the b787s but they ok for Transatlantic runs eastward.
Marissa – I wouldn’t argue with that. If you are departing Newark, I am not even sure how worth it business class really is when flying trans-Atlantic, especially in the winter months where tailwinds can push flight times close to five hours. By the time you get settled (assuming you skip the meal) to the time they ask you to start getting ready for arrival, you will struggle to get four hours of sleep.
But I flew the 787 from San Francisco (or Los Angeles, I can’t recall) to Shanghai on United last year and that’s not a quick trip. For that route it seems ridiculous to not have direct aisle access and I am sure they were still flying it as of recently. I know they also run the SIN routes with a 787.
Your “initial buyer’s remorse” section is exactly why AA > UA. Sure UA is upgrading all the planes with polaris seats, but at a very slow and tepid pace. They dont expect a full completion in retrofit until 2020+ and beyond. Fly on other UA routes and you’ll see the grass isn’t as greener on the other side. Even UA’s uber long SIN routes are on the 787 with those outdated seats. The AA catering you described must’ve been a one-off, because i fly to HKG all the time and i dont have any issues with the food.
My suggestions would be NRT & LHR.
Tony, thanks for your comment. I will agree with some of what you have written but not all. I think we can agree that the pace of United’s Polaris rollout is slower than comfortable, United’s executives have stated as much. I know that in previous statements on the matter they site difficulty with Zodiac who make an excellent product… when they deliver (my words not UA’s). American dropped them because they just couldn’t produce reliably and that seemed to precede United’s selection of Zodiac as a provider which to me was confusing. It would be silly to blame Zodiac if you chose them after they proved they couldn’t be relied upon so I do think that it’s going too slow and not for a good reason.
I also think that the carrier is relying on customers continuing to fly them when better choices exist while they get around to the update. Frankly, I would be more apt to choose them for upcoming flights if they took the 777-200s out of service and leased a better product until the 2-4-2 setup was out of the system.
But where we disagree is on the Hong Kong route. I flew it five times last year, and more than a dozen times since American has launched. In the beginning, if I ordered the filet, the service was fine, sometimes I would get some with a proper temperature in the middle, but more often than not it was shoe leather. Thus, I started to branch out and regretted it. Since you have flown the route, I am certain you have seen those menu items and the manner in which they are delivered. I blindly accepted this until I flew Qatar back on one of those flights and even the mezze plate (just hummus, nuts, olives and pita) on the carrier were delivered with such care and grace for half the price that I couldn’t be bothered to put effort into an airline that can’t put the slightest effort in to my meal preparation. As we were based in Manchester, England for many years the LHR routes and MAN routes on American are familiar as well and they don’t put a ton of care into any of their soft product. They also don’t have lounges that come close to Polaris – none of them.
I have flown them both with 1K and Executive Platinum the last 14 months and where American wins is a great hard product across their business. Where they fail is the soft product, they seem to hold their customers in contempt. With Polaris, United finally has a hard product and premium soft product unmatched in the Americas. But I also agree it’s far too rare and won’t except Zodiac as a scapegoat.
So you’re saying the crew refused to get rid of the bee onboard, which is definitely dangerous, might cause allergies and even shock to some passengers, offered YOU to expose yourself to it, and you’re still saying the crew was great and attentive?
To me it sounds like some garbage service on behalf of United.
The bee might be a minor thing, but it showcases that they don’t care about anyone, at least to me.
In the case of that flight attendant, I think she was more concerned for the bee and would have preferred to see it ushered outside than flattened against the window. I don’t think she had any malicious intent or even ambivalence, I think she just thought it was unnecessary – I disagreed.
Interesting UA report from a route which I have never flown.
As a longtime UA gold status flier (Plat or 1K, depends on the year) I have about 8 flights under my belt now in “Polaris” from IAH to GIG and back since they started marketing it as such.
Finally got the new cabin on my last flight in June which was on one of the older 767’s………IMHO the 787 is much better and having to potentially step over someone or have them do it to you, is a non-issue for me anyways, as 80% of the time my seatmate is my spouse, or I am asleep.
Having said that I do commend you for chastising UA over their ridiculously long rollout of the hard product. Still haven’t been in a Polaris lounge yet either.
As for the food I only eat breakfast, and have always found it to my liking. The crews on the IAH-GIG route are usually outright amazing or utterly terrible……..quite the mixed bag.
Able to afford better then economy and travels for fun – still complains about service , I love it
Are those all mutually exclusive?
Peerless in the United States, are you forgetting DL actually exists, how about the local boys like JetBlue.
JW – That’s a fair question. It’s the combination of the lounge and the hard product in the skies that help me along to that conclusion. I haven’t seen (and I am open to an introduction if I have missed it) the kind of ground experience offered by Delta to match Polaris lounges. For the seat itself, United is up to par with American and Delta. Catering (and I haven’t been able to try Delta One) is superior to American, I would hope on par with Delta. But the ground experience on Delta is nothing special. I have visited their lounges and haven’t been able to find one as beautiful as the SFO Polaris, spacious, with a total offering as Polaris has including a restaurant inside with menu.
If (or when, depending on what and whom you believe) Polaris is truly rolled out across the fleet with these lounges to accompany the experience, I do indeed believe that they will be peerless.
In regards to JetBlue which I love (post coming out soon), excellent Mint product for an unbelievable price… as long as you are flying cross country or out of JFK/BOS. Otherwise, it is the roomiest coach seat in the business without a first class seat on offer, no lounges – I am struggling to see how that compares to Polaris.
I’ve flown the Polaris-equipped 77W from SFO to EWR shortly after it entered into service (though it was “p.s.” service and not Polaris). What I like about what UA has done with the J cabin is that they’ve provided choices for everyone. There are more typical reverse herringbone seats with privacy if that’s what you want, or “honeymoon” seats together if you don’t. What irks me about standard reverse herringbone designs is that it ignores those who fly J for fun with their significant other. It’s frankly a bummer to fly with my wife and not be able to talk because the seats are angled away from each other.
Ironically, that domestic flight featured the same short rib you ordered. It was a tad overdone, but still tasty. And way better than anything I’ve gotten on AA since the Dougie Diet was rolled out.
I agree with the limitations of couple seating. The Q Suites would be perfect for families, if only that product was rolled out to more than just Qatar.
Fortunately it sounds like UA is working to make the 2-4-2 in Business a thing of the past. I read that there are now 4 or 5 777-200s configured to Polaris and multiple lines are open for the rest of the reconfigurations. All sUA planes are being prioritized so all 2-4-2 planes should be gone by the start of summer travel.
787s will begin reconfiguration next summer, hopefully also at a similarly accelerated pace.
Start of summer 2019? 10 months from now?
Yes it would be better if they were done sooner, but, based on the speed of the initial rollout, I was thinking we’d be seeing 2-4-2 configurations for years!
UA Food is not much better. All my flights from Europe to USA in Polaris have had food that resembled pig vomit. Has anyone tried the Beef Strogonoff? Has anyone realized that every appetizer on every flight is some form of plastic chicken?
I haven’t flown those routes but it could not possibly be worse than American’s longest flight offering. Disgusting. How is it that Cathay Pacific can execute a cheeseburger, cooked to temperature with a toasted but and crisp fries on a Boston-Hong Kong flight (AS A SNACK!) and American can’t execute a plate of rice with sauce and shrimp as a main course?
TATL, I have managed to never get to fly a new Polaris seat in the last 10 flights or so. Though it does seem like the 787s are appearing more, which is still an improvement. Food wise, I’ve never thought UA was very good. The shortribs is a good, safe choice, and they have had some decent spicy chicken in a sauce, but a number of other options have not been good at all. The fish is usually a poor choice. I don’t think people fly UA out of loyalty – I don’t – but because they are competitive in price for a good enough product. Also, I am usually connecting in IAD, which has no Polaris lounge, but at least has LH Senator.
Good news for you Arthur, you should be getting a Polaris lounge soon. The 787 seats made no sense to me at all. The rest of the world had moved on to direct aisle access and all had made it work but UA outfits without this feature? Then they hire Zodiac who has been so incompetent that they were fired from their huge American contract and now United blames them for slow rollout? It seems like someone in UA’s hard product department needs to read a trade journal and fly the competition.
As for their prices, I am not sure I follow. I haven’t seen outstanding prices, just kind of middle of the road at best. There’s nothing wrong with running with the rest of the pack as long as your product is middle of the road too. But middle of the road for trans-Atlantic flying is still direct aisle access which makes them expensive due to their inferior product.
Soon? I think late 2019 is the projection. I will believe it when I see the construction start, supposedly around C18. Until then, it is the LH lounge for me. By price, at the routes and dates I tend to look at, it seems to me that UA is often running around 3K, while LH and AF run around 3.5K to 4K. And I can get UA down a little further with a GPU, which I often can use at least one way. BA has some routes I could use, too (and is pretty easy to upgrade on), but their business class is inferior to the pre-Polaris UA. And while I wish the 787s had the new seat, I still much prefer a 787 with the old seats over a 777 with the old seats (unless I could get in F).
Kyle, About your seat control comment: “There is a spinning dial to move the selected portion (footrest, lumbar support, reclining back of the seat) forward and backward.”
I must confess I feel like a fool after reading your instruction. I flew SFO-HKG on United’s 777-300ER recently, and I kept trying to press the white buttons but couldn’t get anything to happen. The spinning dial always worked, and it would put me into any position I wanted to go into, but the white buttons all seemed to be broken. I assumed that the white buttons were for moving only one part at a time, and the dial was for moving them all at once. Apparently, based on what you wrote, I should first press the white button to select the type of movement and then use the dial to make it happen. I didn’t understand that.
At the risk of feeling further stupid, how does one learn how to use that system? My trial and error efforts were not successful, and I saw no written instructions on the seat controls.
There was a seat guide in the magazine rack but I found how to operate it by dumb luck. That being said, Zodiac is the manufacturer (a great product when they deliver) who have had issues making seats. It could be that despite your seat being new, it simply wasn’t functioning product. I recommend you send a note to UA and let them have an opportunity to make it right for you.
Being one of those burned by the old United Business Class, quite hard to believe they have improved however the new seating configuration does somehow give one hope. UNITED Service?? well….
Traumatized yes, I remember I made a quiet fuss one day that even with a 2-2-2 format, the flight attendant on my side was still serving my seat mate from my aisle thus eventually some of his food/liquid spilled on my lap. I was then advised that i should not have moved as they were serving meals across my seat ….really??? Obviously I somehow took umbrage with that statement “quietly” and made them aware about serving etiquette. My faux pas for being so bold, did not eat anything during that flight as am always aware (as per FA advice) never to argue with the crew before they serve your food or drinks… one can imagine.
Well, Lou, I did the same but I filed a complaint after the flight. UA apologized and gave me a $200 flight voucher for next booking. The inconsistency of UA services continues to plague them not to be rated as a 5 star.
Thanks for an erudite and detailed report. It seems you went into details about things that many other trip reporters gloss over. The one aspect about the service that made it clear the cabin crew was attentive was holding your meal until later in the flight and that it was exactly what you asked for, not having the send it back. The meals you sent back looked horrible, I mean, like somebody intentionally made it look disgusting just to see what you would do when you saw it.