Way back in 2017 we wrote about United’s next-gen premium cabin product called Polaris. Early in Polaris’ rollout I tried it on a shiny new 787-10 on a transcon route, but in all the time since then I haven’t flown it on a true international flight. I finally managed to work long-haul Polaris into my travels. And the timing was perfect because it’s been a newsworthy period for United’s onboard product in the past few months.
Back when it unveiled Polaris, United highlighted key features like direct aisle access, seat consistency across the fleet, improved onboard service elements, a strong focus on sleep, and a potentially best-in-class set of airport lounges. And so during this flight from Newark to London I was paying close attention to how well Polaris was delivering on those promises nearly a decade after its rollout.
Read on for the full scoop on whether this flight delivered on the Polaris promise — plus plenty of the usual photos and window-seat-view videos. We’ll also walk you through some major announcements that United just made about its short-haul and long-haul fleets, including the next generation of its flagship business class experience.
Author’s note: the flight experience in this story was actually from last year. I’m writing about it now because it’s a good starting point for talking about the cabin update news United announced more recently.
The Polaris Lounge at Newark
Newark’s AirTrain is in bad need of an update (fortunately it’s getting one) but it still provides some great views to get you excited about your arrival at the airport.
There’s a standalone (but pretty basic) area for Polaris and United 1K passengers to check in.
It’s crazy to think that my favorite part of an airline’s business class isn’t even on the plane. But honestly the fantastic flagship lounges may be the best part of the Polaris package.
In terms of space, decor, dining, and other features, Polaris lounges are much different than the standard United clubs.
The main seating area is huge, but it can still get busy before the main banks of transatlantic departures. United recently cut back on Polaris lounge access to many of its Star Alliance partners and is also introducing a basic business class fare class that won’t include access to the Polaris lounges. Those changes may help with crowding, but they’ll upset those who lose lounge access — more on that at the end of the story.
There’s a gorgeously lit bar at the center of the lounge.
I walked by the impressive lineup of self-serve food.
But the best part of this lounge — and Polaris lounges in general — is the full-service dining room. Last summer United unveiled a new dining room in the EWR Polaris lounge. Clearly someone on the design team was an AvGeek, since there’s a row of single-occupancy tables along the window facing out toward the ramp. I made sure to get seated at one of those tables, and I had an amazing time taking in the views as I enjoyed a three-course meal.
I liked the food…
And I LOVED the views:
Another win for the Polaris lounges is the option for a shower.
Over seven years after my initial visit to the Newark Polaris lounge, it was good to see that the experience still held up.
Meet the Seat
I lined up to get onboard the 767-300ER that would be operating the flight to London.
While it was a pretty old plane, United has outfitted a subfleet of its 767-300ERs with a VERY premium-heavy layout. You have to get all the way behind the wing to see any economy class seating.
All the Polaris seats are in one massive cabin occupying the front half of the plane. Seats are staggered in even vs odd rows, with universal direct aisle access.
The design and finishes still feel fresh nearly a decade out from Polaris’ initial launch.
I was in one of the odd-row-number window seats. These are set closer to the window and further from the aisle, making them the clear best seat choice in the cabin. In the 767 Polaris cabin there aren’t any seats that work well for couples hoping to chat during the flight. On 777 and 787 Polaris cabins there are some paired center seats that work well for that purpose.
Each seat has a storage locker with a door.
Flight attendants came by with pre-departure drinks. With only 167 seats onboard this low-density 767, boarding was over quickly.
Although EWR sometimes gets maligned for its location, I think flights in and out of Newark get some of the best views of the city. The skyline makes for a nice backdrop when you’re watching the action on the ramp and runway.
The views on this departure were amazing, with up-close looks at the active runways during taxi, a loop around the airport after lifting off, and a climb-out over NYC proper.
Starting the inflight service
Our crew got the dinner service started promptly by coming around for a round of drinks.
Over the past year United has made a big deal about upgrading their wine list. They have occasionally loaded some red wines that retail at nearly $200 a bottle, though those tend to be more of a rare treat than the norm. To United’s credit, on my flight the wine list included a $100-ish cabernet.
Dining has generally NOT been seen as a strong point for Polaris in recent years. The frequent flyer consensus is that things have been embarrassingly bad in recent years, though it’s an area where United says it’s making investments. The meal I had on my flight was at least good enough to beat the low expectations.
Here’s a look at the menu for the main meal service.
The steak entree was solid, though not that visually appealing and not that memorable.
Of course it wouldn’t be the complete United experience without an ice cream sundae to cap the meal off. To its credit, United does a great job with inflight sundaes.
All in all, it was a pretty good meal, though again it benefitted from some low initial expectations.
Settling in for the long haul
Polaris offers large seatback screens for the entertainment system.
In the time since my flight last year, United rolled out improved Meridian headphones in business class. Pictured below are the old ones.
Just once, I’d love to be on a flight where the “From the Flight Deck” audio channel is turned on. Alas, I’ll have to keep dreaming, since it wasn’t online on my flight.
The Polaris amenity kit is well stocked, and another area where United has made some updates since my flight. Kits are now Brooks Brothers branded containing Perricone MD skincare products.
The lav was, well, a 767 lav. Nothing special.
And here we come to what is probably Polaris’ single biggest strength: sleep. The Saks Fifth Avenue branded dual pillows and blanket make for an amazing night’s rest.
The seat in fully-flat mode:
Bed width and footwell size were about average for a business class seat.
Transatlantic flights from New York to London aren’t that long. I generally wake up for all meals to squeeze the most fun out of the flight as possible, but the objectively smarter move would be to fill up on dinner at the lounge and go straight to bed after takeoff.
I woke up an hour before landing just as the sun was coming up.
I managed to squeeze in a brioche French toast breakfast, which was simple but tasty.
With the sun finally over the horizon we began a descent into Heathrow.
The map had a great level of detail, but annoyingly when you tried to zoom in the plane icon didn’t shrink and so blocked most of the map. Small gripe, I know.
There are a LOT of transatlantic arrivals into Heathrow at this time of day, so we had to do a few minutes of circling over the clouds before arrival.
And with that, my Polaris adventure was done.
The verdict on present-day Polaris
This flight didn’t really have any surprises in store, and that’s a good thing! Polaris delivered on its known areas of strength, namely:
- The seat design still feels reasonably fresh a decade after its initial debut. Also the consistency across the fleet is a big plus compared with other major airlines that have drastically different business class seats on different aircraft.
- The bedding in particular is arguably best-in-class.
- United has been making concrete investments in some areas of its onboard product, like wine lists, headphones, and amenity kits.
- Polaris lounges are fantastic, with restaurant-quality dining, shower suites, and other features that set them apart from standard domestic airline lounges. That row of planespotter tables along the window in the newly-expanded dining room in the Newark lounge may be one my new favorite AvGeek happy places.
There are a few downsides to be aware of:
- Polaris is a relatively dense business class cabin, offering less space per seat than some other airlines do. Also without privacy doors Polaris can’t compete with the elite tier of business class cabins. At least not yet — more on that in the section.
- Meal service using carts and trays improves efficiency and pace of service, but at the expense of a premium feel. And while United says its working on improving Polaris inflight dining, it’s starting from a pretty sad baseline. On flights like this short transatlantic red-eye, it objectively makes the most sense to enjoy dinner on the ground in the Polaris lounge and focus on sleep onboard.
- While Polaris lounges are overall a strong point, they have some downsides. The crazy crowding during peak times is a major issue. Crowd factors should get better with new restrictive access policies where not all Star Alliance business class passengers will get Polaris lounge access, and some United business-basic fares won’t include Polaris lounge access. But those restrictive policies are a downside in their own way. Also as nice as the Polaris lounges are, they’re outclassed by Delta’s newer Delta One flagship lounges (at least in NYC).
Major 2026 updates across United’s fleet
A major impetus for revisiting this 2025 flight is that more recently United unveiled some major updates to the passenger experience.
The headliner is a new subfleet of 787s with the “Elevated” interior. The business class seats are suites with doors, representing United’s first new long-haul premium cabin seat update since Polaris’ initial unveiling.
The front row of each of the two business class cabins are “business-class-plus” products called Polaris Studio. These feature 25% more space, an ottoman where a second passenger can pass some time, a larger screen, and soft product enhancements like an improved amenity kit and caviar service.
United is also bringing A321neo and A321 XLR aircraft into the fleet, with a special purpose for each and a new onboard product to match. At least some of the A321neos will be designated as “coastliners” for premium transcontinental routes. The XLR aircraft are anticipated to handle routes to Europe and South America. Both fleets will include a new lie-flat suite-style product.
The Coastliners will have a walk-up self service snack bar.
Another major update from United is that it will offer new basic bundles for business class and premium economy. The basic business class bundle will, for example, prohibit flight changes, seat selection, and will only offer standard United Club access rather than Polaris lounge access. It’s not fun to think about, but basic bundles are becoming a trend in the airline world these days.
Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
