United to fly its new(ish) Polaris business class seat on all London – New York flights

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• NigelthePensioner says:

  12 Aug12 August 06:02

  I have always believed that it is not just the seat, but the number of seats in a premium cabin that equally contributes to the experience on board. Hence the rather unimpressive response to the BA 777 Club World cabin when it came out. I feel the same about the BA A350 Im afraid. The greater the mass, the less the exclusivity. This is why the “pre cabin” on the BA 789 and upstairs on a 744 work so well and are so popular.

  • Catalan says:

    12 Aug12 August 06:35

    Well both the new BA Club Suite and the Virgin Upper Class Suite will have 44 seats installed between doors 1 and 2 on their A350s, so those are two business class configurations you won’t like!

  • Jake Mc says:

    12 Aug12 August 07:12

    Agreed. BA 777 CW is a school dormitory. There is a danger of that happening again to a certain extent but hopefully the doors will enable one to be removed from the effects when seated.

    • AJA says:

      12 Aug12 August 08:25

      As long as the door doesn’t fall apart. I’ve read reports on FlyerTalk that people are pulling the red emergency handle (either deliberately or mistakenly) causing the door to come off its track. And it’s only been a week of sub 2 hour journeys 🙁

      Which backs up my theory that you should never warn anyone not to do something as that just highlights the problem and people then test out what happens when you do.

    • Spaghetti Town says:

      13 Aug13 August 11:11

      What else do you expect? practically all airlines have similar layouts.

• Rob says:

  12 Aug12 August 07:35

  ‘If you are wondering what the Polaris seat is like, we are too. Neither Rob, Anika or myself have ever flown the product, although we are keen to review it in the future.’

  I see what you did there 😉

• Mikeact says:

  12 Aug12 August 08:01

  I guess book on line via AerLingus and earn Avios ….. assuming they are still partners.

  • Polly says:

    12 Aug12 August 08:10

    Yes, they are…

  • Rhys says:

    12 Aug12 August 10:39

    Part of Star Alliance too

• Marcw says:

  12 Aug12 August 08:12

  Just pay and fly it.

  • Peter K says:

    12 Aug12 August 08:38

    Another insightful comment.

• Joe says:

  12 Aug12 August 08:18

  The Premium cabin is bookable as Economy Plus (free with status) for now it seems. Look out for a 2-2-2 seating config in rows 20-23 on the 767-300 and some 777s

  I’ve enjoyed it for free my last few trips and it’s really good for economy.

• DS says:

  12 Aug12 August 09:08

  OT highly unexpected: SK opens London, Heathrow (LHR) – Scandinavian Mountains Airport (SCR)
  https://www.sasgroup.net/en/sas-introduces-direct-services-to-the-new-airport-in-salen-trysil/

  • bsuije says:

    12 Aug12 August 09:35

    Great news! Not that it was overly difficult to get to Trysil now (fly to Oslo and get the bus), but this should make it a lot easier.

    For anyone who’s interested – Trsyil is great for beginners, and there is quite a big focus on kids, too (it is Scandinavia, after all!). There are two excellent Radissons – one in the center and one in the mountains. Both are great, though for the mountains one you would really need a car to get around & it’s a toll road to get up and down.

  • Prins Polo says:

    12 Aug12 August 15:37

    Once a week on Saturday – so not very different from a couple of other direct seasonal flights (Are, Rovaniemi etc) and not super useful for those who want to do a weekend/long weekend out there.

• United1K-out-of-the-UK says:

  12 Aug12 August 09:09

  I am a United 1K and have been so for many years. Also a one million miler. I say this so my comments are truly seen to be objective. The Polaris product in my mind is split in three, Polaris lounge, the seat, and the service on-board.

  The Polaris lounge is fantastic. Truly First Class lounge with the choice to dine at a table table to eat a 3-course meal or enjoy a wide selection of hit and cold food from the buffet. Free and great drink selection. There is always a wide variety and styles of seating.

  The Polaris seat is good although I feel it to be cramped. There is not that much space to move around. The Polaris bedding is very comfortable. With the angled configuration every seat has aisle access which is a bonus. Due to this the every second seat has a more enclosed and private feeling with a narrow access to the aisle around the bottom of the next seat.

  Now the problem. The service on-board has not changed in my mind over the years. More often than not it feels like it is a trouble for the crew to provide any level of service that can be compared to business class let alone defined as Polaris. The food quality is ok, but again not great and not business class quality. It’s been years since they had any decent red wine. And the crew could look a lot more smarter.

  When I fly into Asia, I generally fly with Lufthansa, Thai, or Turkish. Just recently I flew LOT for my first time and they blew me away. Extremely attentive service. Fantastic quality of food (look and taste). The seat was in a Dreamliner and not the best configuration but certainly comfortable.

  I don’t pay to fly business with United. I use my upgrades and I always leave the flight with the feeling there is a lot more they need to do if they wanted me to pay. They seriously need to benchmark their entire look and service against others in the Star Alliance and outside. Crew that look smart in crisp uniforms would be a start.

• RussellH says:

  12 Aug12 August 11:24

  > Crew that look smart in crisp uniforms would be a start.

  Really? As long as the crew are easily identifiable I do not give toss how they dress, though I think it would be nice if they were given something that they might actually want to wear away from the job (the only example I have seen was British Caledonian in the ealy 1970s).

  Better food and wines / beers **would** be a good start, thought.

  • Shoestring says:

    12 Aug12 August 15:49

    sounds like you never flew with the Lauda Air girls

    • RussellH says:

      12 Aug12 August 17:06

      ?

    • Lady London says:

      12 Aug12 August 21:12

      Russell means those little kilts the British Caledonian girls had. Several males of my acquaintance have commented nostalgically on those over the years !

      • Shoestring says:

        12 Aug12 August 21:19

        I am one of those who nostalgically remembers the short skirts & the pretty girls

        so hit me, millennials! – I actually like to see pretty young girls in short skirts!

        • Bootlace says:

          12 Aug12 August 21:32

          As a fellow perve of a certain age I wholeheartedly agree with you Harry!!

        • Callum says:

          12 Aug12 August 21:39

          Most straight men do, even millennials…

          You’ll find most complaints are about people perving over them as opposed to just acknowledging they’re attractive. I know I’d feel incredibly uncomfortable if I was a young woman who had elderly men gawping at my legs while I was trying to do my job!

        • Lady London says:

          12 Aug12 August 21:53

          Times were different then, Callum :-). I sense you’re a millenial !

          One thing that doesn’t change is biology and it’s a good sign for our species if men still enjoy looking at young girls in short skirts. It’s actually a lot more innocent and the pure normal level of admiration (and nothing more) of most men shouldn’t be criminalised. Yes there was exploitation of women (and I grew up with it and could tell you some stories) and some things needed to change, that have changed. Yet boys will be boys and should be boys so far as appreciation of little kilts on the right sort of girl goes!

        • Rob says:

          12 Aug12 August 22:45

          I recommend you try the new Four Seasons Athens (actually a seaside resort) where the hotel has been refurbished at truly ludicrous expense to recreate 1950’s jet-set interiors and the staff have been told to dress accordingly ….

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