For our regular vacations to Europe, my partner and I normally fly European carriers. But for our trip to Paris for my 40th birthday, we downgraded a bit and booked United to try out the new Polaris service. We found a good deal using miles (75k) for one ticket and paid $8,200 for the other ticket. UA is now operating a 787-8 on the route, so it was a good excuse to try a new aircraft type as well. This experience was Polaris "lite", as it was the new service, but old seats, and we were anxious to try it out.


United Airlines
Boeing 787-8
Polaris Business Class
San Francisco - Paris Charles de Gaulle
Flight time: 10 hours, 1 minute
February 2, 2017

Check-in was quick and painless by a friendly desk agent at SFO. She tagged our bags, gave us our documents and wished us a great trip. Heading over to security was a breeze as well. It wasn't until we got to United's premium lounge that the pre-flight experience turned into a drag. Having used this lounge countless times, we had never seen it so incredibly crowded. After circling the entire lounge, we realized there was absolutely no place to sit. So we stood for quite a while, nibbling on carrot sticks, until we spotted two seats against the wall open up. I don't know if it was the time of day or what (it was around 1pm, and normally we are never in this lounge until 5pm or later), but the whole place was a zoo. As we weren't in any mood to stay here longer than necessary, we headed over to the departure gate to check out the plane. She looked beautiful parked at the gate on this dreary and rainy day at SFO. The boarding area was nearly-deserted even up until our 1:50pm boarding time, and we soon realized that the plane was mostly-empty, but with a full business class.

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoJfQ][/url]unnamed by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoJsd][/url]unnamed-1 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoJJA][/url]unnamed-2 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoK3b][/url]unnamed-3 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

Boarding is always exciting, no matter whether it's on a great airline, mediocre airline, new airplane type or one I've been on hundreds of times, and this was no different. We were greeted at the L2 door by a not-particulalry excited flight attendant who managed to mumble "Bonjour". We took a left into the business cabin and found our seats (1A, 1B). We were very familiar with these seats, as they are the same as on UA's other international flights we've taken, although this time they were filled to the brim with the new Saks Fifth Avenue bedding. As we were getting settled, Jennifer, the Cabin Service Manager, came by, greeted us by name and let us know that she was there if we needed anything. She saw me taking photos of the seat and warned me not to lose the phone in a seat, which was funny because that is exactly what happened on our TXL - EWR flight last year. Once we were seated, the surly gentleman working our side of the cabin came by, greeted us by name and asked what we would like for a pre-departure beverage. Shortly after, the drinks were delivered on the new drink trays (which are kind of cute, but also kind of cheap-looking) along with a piece of chocolate (nice touch, UA!).

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoKdw][/url]unnamed-4 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoKrY][/url]unnamed-5 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoKKU][/url]unnamed-6 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoL5w][/url]unnamed-7 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

While we waited for boarding to wrap up (the fastest boarding I have EVER experienced), I perused the dinner menu and refreshed my memory on the seat functions. I was excited because I remembered that I always sleep really well in these seats, and now with the new bedding, I expected a really enjoyable night. I also really loved the new amenity kit. It was well-presented with plentiful products (and I've always liked Cowshed). My partner and I also noticed dirty socks at my seat leftover for the flight from TLV (!!!!). Our French-speaking flight attendant came around and took our dinner orders. I opted for the Asian Fusion Chicken Soup. He then left to make all the announcements in French and we pushed off the gate a few minutes before our 2:35pm departure time. . Our taxi time took a little longer than usual, due to the direction of take-offs this rainy day. I admit, I did have a bit of buyer's remorse when I saw the Air France 777 right behind us taxiing out as well. We had a wet and short takeoff, and within seconds, we were in the clouds.

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4Mez][/url]unnamed-8 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4MqX][/url]unnamed-9 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4MAM][/url]unnamed-10 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoLGd][/url]unnamed-11 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoLTW][/url]unnamed-12 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoM57][/url]unnamed-13 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoMnb][/url]unnamed-15 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoMZy][/url]unnamed-17 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoNrf][/url]unnamed-18 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

Shortly after takeoff, our still-surly flight attendant came by to place a cheap-looking blue tablecloth thing on the tray table and brought out my drink and nuts. Dinner started with a salad and Thai lemongrass shrimp (which were quite good), placed all together on a tray with more cheap-looking blue material. I loved the UA globe salt and pepper shakers. The real highlight of the meal was my Asian Fusion Chicken Soup. The amount of flavor they got into it was overwhelming (in a good way). It was so fragrant and delicious that I drank every last drop of that soup. And, yes, I drank it as there was no spoon provided for the soup. Dinner was followed by a classic UA sundae, although there were other options on the dessert cart, like really beautifully-presented parfaits.

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4P9g][/url]unnamed-20 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4Ph2][/url]unnamed-21 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4Prk][/url]unnamed-22 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4PBk][/url]unnamed-23 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoPRQ][/url]unnamed-24 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

Shortly after dinner, the cabin lights were dimmed, and I cuddled up under the Saks bedding - super comfortable -especially the duvet that actually covered me from head to toe. I soon passed out and woke up just south of Iceland. I woke up to see that the crew had set out a bunch of soggy sandwiches, fruit and chips at the "bar" area just near the restrooms. I watched a movie and before long, it was time for breakfast. Not ever being a fan of breakfast food, I thought I ought to this time, in the name of research. I got the Rustic Omelette, which came with chicken sausage, potatoes, fruit and a sad croissant. It was actually quite good, though I do get tired of omelettes appearing on almost every airline menu.

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RsoQ4o][/url]unnamed-25 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4Qgr][/url]unnamed-27 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

We arrived into Paris, shortly before our scheduled time.

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4QoR][/url]unnamed-29 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

Overall, this leg provided us solid food offerings with high quality ingredients, comfy bedding and a responsive IFE with plenty of choices. The new Polaris service was nice and will be well-paired with the new seats. If the level of hospitality by the crew could match the level of service UA is going for with Polaris, this would be a winning product. However, it's the same old mediocre crew just going through the motions with a nice product to work with.

United Airlines
Boeing 787-8
Polaris Business Class
Paris Charles de Gaulle - San Francisco
Flight time: 11 hours, 7 minutes
February 6, 2017


After an amazing weekend in Paris, and with a heavy heart, it was time to head back home. Check-in at CDG was a breeze, just like the outbound flight. We were directed to the Star Alliance premium lounge which was already bustling at 7:30am. It was one of the nicer lounges we've been into lately, with modern decor, well-laid out food stations with plenty of options and plenty of seating areas. Being a bit early in the morning for me, I didn't get any pics, and we didn't stay long anyway as it filled up quickly. We headed to the security area and made our way to the departure gate. Once again, this was a small crowd, and once again, it was a very light flight with a full business class. We boarded and were soon greeted by the friendly Cory, the Cabin Service Manager on this leg. He greeted us by the wrong names, but soon corrected it once he found the correct manifest. We looked over the menu and were a bit surprised to see that dinner was on offer on a 9:15am flight. Not at all hungry for such heavy food at this hour, we picked what seemed to be the most palatable options. The gentleman working the cabin this morning was very old and very surly (once again). And again, he was the designated French speaker who made the announcements in French. Juice and water were offered as the pre-departure beverages and he successfully spilled the first couple of rounds of drinks for people sitting on the opposite side of the cabin. Very flustered the whole flight, it was almost amusing to see what he would do next. He came to take our dinner orders (I went with the Lemon Ricotta Ravioli). I heard him return to a few different seats to ask for their orders again as he had forgotten what they'd told him. Again, we boarded up early and made a quick taxi out to the takeoff runway. We soon were above the clouds. Dinner service started just as we were above the UK, with the Bloody Mary and Mimosa cart making its appearance.

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/RR8S5R][/url]unnamed-30 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4RuZ][/url]unnamed-31 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4RJB][/url]unnamed-32 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

I don't so alcohol, so I got a water, which came out with the nuts. Next came the starter (a salad and smoked salmon with quinoa), which was nauseatingly bad. I could barely swallow the two bites I took. Next came the ravioli main course, which was so dried out and flavorless that I put it aside and had the surly guy clear it (he also made it awkward when he said, "Oh, you don't like ravioli? That's what you ordered. Okay, guess I'll take it away." Next came the offer of a sundae or a parfait, once again, from the lovely dessert cart. I declined anything sweet and went with the cheese and cracker plate. The packaged crackers were okay with a couple of bites of yummy cheese and grapes. I would've been fine having a large portion of that for my whole meal. Once dinner was done, the cabin lights were dimmed and the window shades were darkened (except for one guy who insisted on having his window opened the whole flight). This time is the "bar" area, the crew had placed an assortment of macaroons and chips.

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4RUr][/url]unnamed-33 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4Sck][/url]unnamed-34 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4SpV][/url]unnamed-35 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4SCF][/url]unnamed-36 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4T5x][/url]unnamed-37 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

I was so exhausted from a late night out in Paris the night before, that I could barely stay awake for even a few minutes of a movie. I started to set up my bedding and realized that I hadn't gotten a duvet. I asked the crew, but they couldn't locate one. So I only had a flimsy blanket that didn't even cover my feet. Luckily, I was so tired, I passed out for a good portion of the flight. I woke up while we were just entering Canada and the other passengers also seemed to be stirring. One of the flight attendants (a friendly, young guy) saw that I was awake and he immediately came over and asked if I'd like some food. I said no, but thank you. My partner got the tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich, which looked amazing and he said it was excellent. I didn't have any other food, but a pre-arrival meal was offered.

We arrived back into a rainy SFO about 40 minutes early, but as a gate wasn't available, we ate up that 40 minutes sitting and waiting.

[url][url=https://flic.kr/p/QN4QE2][/url]unnamed-38 by Michael Bragg, on Flickr[/url]

The food was much worse on this leg....not sure if it was Paris catering that was bad, or just a bad menu. And once again the crew were hit-or-miss, with the young ones being more friendly. The French-speaker who did the service was just a mess and seemed confused and discombobulated the entire time. Not having the duvet provided was a big disappointment, but fortunately I was wiped out anyway and slept for several hours.

I have previously abhorred the idea of traveling UA internationally, and the two times I have done it before (TXL - EWR and FCO - EWR) were pretty bad. So this experience was a test, and I have to say UA slightly passed (thanks to the very decent outbound leg to CDG). It certainly wasn't amazing, and UA wouldn't be my first choice in the future, but they have made some nice strides and the product now is one that I would consider for my travels if the pricing and timing was right. We have one more UA flight coming up this summer in Polaris First from FRA - SFO on the 747, so it'll be a nice indicator of how Polaris is overall, with this being our third flight with the new service. We just might have to hop on again in the next year to try the new seats and cabin.


Other Trip Reports:

QATAR BUSINESS Part 1
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QATAR BUSINESS Part 2
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1353797

SWISS FIRST
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1346371&p=19152239#p19152239

ETIHAD FIRST APARTMENT AND BUSINESS
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1338717

ICELANDAIR SAGA CLASS
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1339473

AER LINGUS BUSINESS
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1338193

That "tablecloth" looks like something Aeroflot might have had in 1972.

Also, haha at the awkward ravioli-clearing. I'm not cabin crew but I suspect the correct response would have been something like "oh I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy it - would you like to choose something else?"

Great report, thanks.

Great report and pictures, thanks. I loved the anytime a la carte menu.

Great reportsnd very balanced and fair I feel.

Chocolate with the drinks is an interesting choice. Perhaps nuts or a basic canapé?

Agree the crockery looks much
Improved, the tableware is shocking. Why not basic crisp clean white? Looks cheap

Nice report. Funny that you mentioned that omelets seem to be common breakfast foods for airlines...I had accidentally skipped over the text section prior to that picture in the report and instantly thought of Delta's version of the omelet. It looks extremely similar with the sausage links, fruit, and yogurt.

Thanks for the report. Just what I was looking for since I'll be flying UA to experience their Polaris business class offering. I must say, right from the beginning that the blue tablecloth is ugly and very cheap looking. Its only a small detail, but I think in premium cabins, its the details that matter. As for cabin crew, UA can institute all the shiny new baubles it wants, but this product will rise (or more likely fall) on the strength of its cabin crew. I mentioned in another post that when travelling with US legacy carriers I set my standards quite low, to lessen the inevitable disappointment. Its an approach which has served me well. For good service, I've come to rely on Virgin America and JetBlue. Safe travels always!

ExLibris76 wrote:

Thanks for the report. Just what I was looking for since I'll be flying UA to experience their Polaris business class offering. I must say, right from the beginning that the blue tablecloth is ugly and very cheap looking. Its only a small detail, but I think in premium cabins, its the details that matter. As for cabin crew, UA can institute all the shiny new baubles it wants, but this product will rise (or more likely fall) on the strength of its cabin crew. I mentioned in another post that when travelling with US legacy carriers I set my standards quite low, to lessen the inevitable disappointment. Its an approach which has served me well. For good service, I've come to rely on Virgin America and JetBlue. Safe travels always!

Thanks for your feedback! And you are completely right. If the crew isn't there for the right reasons, then the new product won't work. Friends of mine who travel UA a lot on int'l flights tell me that they always have great crews, so maybe I just have bad luck. But I have never had a good crew on UA int'l (oddly enough, I have on domestic). It seems as if they are just there to collect a paycheck and the everything else is a bore for them. The food was so good on the first leg and so bad on the return, I'm not sure what to make of it. And, btw, I am flight crew for VX, but I travel on my own dime, so I know what crews are capable of and what the service should look like. I have one more UA Polaris flight in a few months, and and AA flight to CDG in a few months, so the comparison will be interesting.

I just flew Polaris for the first time, business EWR-LHR and first LHR-ORD. I have to say I was impressed with my experience. The crews of both legs were very professional and extremely friendly, although I give a slight edge to the LHR based crew on my EWR flight as opposed to the ORD based one on the return. I think United is clearly trying to improve their game and it was definitely a step in the right direction. As for the lounge, I think once the Polaris lounges are up and running it will be much better. I did get to try the Polaris lounge in ORD and it was by far the best lounge I have been to in the US. It will vastly improve the preflight lounge experience. Regrading food, I had the Asian fusion soup as well, and I agree, it was FANTASTIC. I was also confused why a spoon wasn't provided. I did ask for one and the FA apologized that they only had teaspoons, but he did bring me one, and after daintily sipping the broth for a few spoonfuls, I gave up, picked up the bowl and fully committed to chugging it down. I was not wasting that deliciousness!!