United 777 Polaris
These 777-200 widebody planes have been updated to United’s latest “Polaris” configuration. They offer 3 cabins — economy class with 202 seats; a 24 seat premium economy class branded “Premium Plus”; and 50 seats in Polaris Business class.
WiFi
- Oct 15, 2020 All of United Airlines B777-300er and B787-10 offer the new Polaris Business Class product. More and more Boeing 767-300ER and 777-200ER offer the seats as well. View list below for exact numbers. The way you can tell if an aircraft has the new polaris cabin is from the seat map.
- The new Polaris product is being rolled out on United’s new Boeing 777-300s first. Their 777-200, 767-300, 787-8, and 787-9 aircraft will be retrofitted with the new product after that. The new Boeing 787-10 and the Airbus A350 will be delivered with the new product as well.
WiFi on the United 777s is provided by Panasonic. Speeds are pretty good — better than the old air-to-ground systems, but not quite fast enough to stream video. The Panasonic coverage area is great — the WiFi works over almost the entire globe.
Despite the slower-than-expected progress, United recently announced the tenth route on which it will fly a 777-300ER with its new Polaris seats. United flights 960 and 961 will operate from Newark. New United Polaris Business Class – Image United Airlines. While United’s 777-300ER and 787-10 aircraft all come equipped with true Polaris Business Class and while the airline is in the process of upgrading its 767-300 aircraft with the new seat too, most of United’s other long-haul aircraft offer a somewhat antiquated 2-2-2 Business. Until April 2018, United offered its new Polaris business-class seat on just 14 Boeing 777-300ERs, along with a small number of retrofitted 767-300ERs — if you wanted to experience the airline’s latest product, you had to fly one of a handful of -300ER routes, or hope you’d land a last-minute swap to the refreshed 767.
United 777 Polaris Review
United offers several WiFi plans on most planes, ranging from hourly rates to a single price for the whole flight. If you fly United a lot, you can also purchase monthly subscriptions. For $49 you get unlimited WiFi for travel within North and Central America; for $69 you get it for travel globally.
In-Flight Entertainment
These planes have seat back video units at every seat providing hundreds of hours of on-demand entertainment. There are movies, TV shows, games, and audio content, as well as information about your flight. As an extra perk that self-proclaimed aviation geeks love, there is even a channel where you can listen to live communication between the pilots and air traffic control.
All in-flight entertainment on United is free.
Power & USB
Every seat on this 777-200 has both a power port and USB port.
Economy Class
There are 202 economy class seats on these 777-200s arranged in a 3x4x3 configuration. The seats are 17 inches wide with 31 inches of pitch. They have 3 inches of recline. Comfort-wise, these seats are nothing to write to home about. They follow an industry-wide trend where airlines use slimmer, narrower seats to squeeze more onto each plane. Like a lot of airlines, United hopes to throw enough modern amenities at you to compensate for the lack of space. To that end, these seats have seatback screens, power, and USB ports.
Within the economy cabin, there are 46 seats with 3 inches of extra legroom which United brands “Economy Plus”. These are otherwise the same seat as you’d get in regular economy. They can be reserved after your purchase for an extra fee or for free if you are a MileagePlus Gold member or higher. (If you’re a silver member, they are free if available at time of check-in). One thing to note, if you are flying on a “Basic Economy” ticket you will not be able to purchase an Economy Plus seat.
On the long haul international flights that this plane is typically used for, economy class travelers get full service that includes a 3 course meal with a salad, artisan bread, a main course, and dessert, in addition to a mid-flight snack. The beer and wine are complimentary; liquor is available for a charge. During the COVID pandemic, however, food and beverage service has been drastically reduced. Less food is serviced and most of what’s offered is pre-packaged.
Premium Plus
United’s new Premium Plus cabin offers great value for those who want an elevated experience without paying hefty business classes prices. According to Forbes, “Premium Plus is a very significant upgrade, similar to what you would get flying first class on most domestic flights, and akin to what international business class seating was in the days before lay flat seats.” Premium Plus seats, in a sleek purple and black, are large leather recliners that are 18.5 inches wide with 38 inches of pitches and 6 inches of recline. The seats have leg rests that extend out and make sleeping easier. They are arranged in a 2x4x2 configuration. You get way more storage than you would get in economy class. Under the extra wide armrests are storage compartments large enough to store a book or a tablet. Large seatback pockets provide even more storage space. Each seat has a power port and USB port and a 13 inch HD touchscreen monitor. The tray tables are larger and sturdier than what you would find in economy, making it easier to work on a laptop if you need to.
Premium Plus travelers are given a Saks Fifth Avenue pillow and comforter as well as an amenity kit. You’ll also get a printed menu for meal choices and food is plated on china, not plastic, although the food itself is closer to economy than business class. Besides the meal service, snacks are available on-demand and all drinks, including alcoholic ones are complementary.
United Polaris Planes
Polaris Business Class
It’s with the Polaris Business Class cabin that this version of the 777-200 shines the most. United has a lot of different business class seats across its fleet, but ThePointsGuy ranks this one the best. The seats are arranged in a 1x2x1 configuration so every seat has aisle access. If you’re traveling alone, the single seats by the windows provide lots of privacy. If you’re traveling with someone, the middle section in odd number rows is ideal, as in the even number rows the seats angle away from each other. The are 8 rows of seats at the front of the plane and then another 4 rows in a “mini” business class cabin behind those. (Galleys and lavatories separate the two sections).
The seats are 22 inches wide and can be converted into a 78″ fully flat bed. Each seat pod is almost fully enclosed with dividing walls, although they are not fully enclosed because the area where you enter the pod is open. For maximum privacy, try to select a window seat in an odd row as those seats butt up against the windows, with quite a bit of distance between them and the aisle.
Plenty of storage space comes with your Polaris seat. There are 2 different enclosed storage areas, plus a side countertop that you can use for a laptop or books. There are buttons to control the seat and a remote control for the large HD video screen. There is also a power and USB port.
Bedding is provided by Saks Fifth Avenue — a pillow, a duvet, a day blanket. The United bedding has gotten rave reviews by bloggers. You’ll also get a Star Wars themed amenity kit with socks, ear plugs, an eye mask, a dental kit and some skin products from Sunday Riley. A nice tip from ThePointsGuy: there is a “secret menu” of amenities that you don’t get automatically, you have to ask for them. These include slippers, a mattress pad, a memory foam pillow, and pajamas for flights longer than 12 hours.
United is proud of it’s “chef-designed multi-course inflight dining experience” offered in Polaris, designed in collaboration with The Trotter Project. You’ll get a choice of entrees on printed menus and then a multi-course meal with dessert. Snacks are also available on demand throughout the flight. On longer flights, a second meal is served.
(Note, food service during the COVID pandemic has been limited).
COVID Cleaning
Speaking of COVID, United has implemented its “CleanPlus” program to keep travelers safe while flying. All passengers over the age of two are required to wear masks, except when eating and drinking. This includes in the airport before departure and after arrival. The 777s have hospital-grade HEPA air filtration systems that refresh the air every 2 to 4 minutes. In addition, United has partnered with Clorox to develop a cleaning protocol to disinfect all high touch surfaces between flights.
United Airlines Polaris class merges previously separate First and Business cabins into one upper class flight experience on most transatlantic and transpacific routes. Pros: Excellent award availability through United Mileage plus reward program, true 180 degrees lie flat bed, Wifi onboard. Cons: service average at best, run out of food choices during dinner, 19” wide seats in 2-4-2 configuration are one of the narrowest in the business. Bottom line: good choice when redeeming miles and looking for direct flights with lie flat bed, not so much if you want a memorable luxury flight experience.
Booking
For our return flight from touring Iberian peninsula, I chose Turkish Airlines Business class Booking through United Mileage plus reward site is a breeze and after deduction of 140000 miles and $106, my wife and I had a reservation taking us from Barcelona to Istanbul, Houston and Jacksonville.
About 1 month before our travel, United changed timing on the Houston connection, and rebooked us in Polaris cabin from Barcelona to Newark, NJ, lowering the cost of the tickets to 60,000 points per person and $48.16 in taxes. ( I had to wait till trip was completed to get back 20,000 United Rewards miles).
Full price
United 777 Polaris Business
I wasn’t completely disappointed, since I did want to review Polaris Class, and it got us home few hours earlier.
Checking-in
Barcelona International airport is very well organized. Check in and security was as easy as it gets, and unlike some other airports that do double screening of travelers flying to US on American based airlines (Dublin, Toronto etc.), here everything was super smooth. In less than 30 min we were entering VIP lounge.
Lounge
VIP Lounge Barcelona
VIP lounge at Barcelona airport serves most Starwood Alliance flights as well as some other non-affiliated airlines. It is spacious, has a good choice of food and drinks, both alcoholic and non. I has a shower facilities and quiet are as well.
VIP Lounge Barcelona
Boarding
welcome drink
Boarding took place on time, and B777 has separate walkways for Polaris class and economy. This way boarding was completed relatively fast. Champagne, water and snacks were served upon seating. Flight attendants seemed stressed and overworked.
Seats
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United Polaris Class on B777-200 utilizes 2-4-2 layout as comparing to 2-3-2 layout for airlines outside US and Great Britain. By squeezing an extra row, seat width is reduced to 19”. This can be narrow for a full size person these days, especially if you tend to sleep on your back. Seat cushion, however, was very comfortable and sleep quality once the bed was in full flat recline was great.
Polaris-B777-200-seats
As far as storage goes, these seats are not most generous. Fortunately there is plenty overhead bin space to use in the premium cabin, so for take-off and landing I just stored our things there. Seat controls are easily accessible and straight forward.
Entertainment
I’m not a big consumer of the in-flight entertainment opting instead for good book or audiobook. For the purposes of this review, I tested the system. Noise canceling headphones worked great. 19” tv screen provided plenty of viewing area, and choice of movies and TV shows was very good.
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Polaris-B777-200-seats
United 777 Polaris Seats
You can also use Wi-Fi for free in combination with United App for more in flight choices of entertainment. There are USB ports and electric plugs easily accessible.
Amenities
United-777-200-Business-Class-
The seats were stocked with a full-size pillow, a thick rolled-up blanket (from Saks Fifth Avenue) , an amenity kit and noise-cancelling headphones. The amenity kit contained a face mask, socks, a plastic-wrapped toothbrush and toothpaste, plastic-wrapped ear plugs, lip balm and face cream. No thrills.
Food and Service
As I stated before, during dinner service, flight attendant informed us that they run out some menu choices. Neither my wife nor I consider airline food a must have experience, even if it is a first class flight, however, this can be very annoying for most travelers paying full price for a business class seats and experience. Big no no. Flight attendants were also unfamiliar with their wine choices, again not a good “Polaris” experience.
salad
Food that was served, however, was very good. Nice touch was a dessert tray with cookies and ice cream as well as selection of cheeses passed with after dinner drinks.
Between meals a snack bar with serve serving drinks was set up in the front galley.
self-service-bar