United’s Polaris business class seats are the crown jewel of an airline that’s angling to be America’s premier international carrier.
Whether you’re flying to Europe, deep into South America, or over to Australia and Asia, United Polaris has become a mainstay and one of the easiest ways to score a lie-flat seat if you’re cashing in points and miles. Fortunately, they’re darn comfortable and good-looking, too.
But flying business class is more than just about the seat. It’s about the onboard service, dining, and all the extra goodies that flyers have come to expect when they splurge for a trip abroad. And while United’s onboard food has been the butt of all-too-many jokes over the years (including here), we’re happy to share that the airline is clearly leveling up.
Read on for the full review of flying United Polaris on the airline’s Boeing 787-10 from Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) to Frankfurt (FRA).
How to Book United Polaris
Thanks to its membership in the massive Star Alliance network, there’s no shortage of ways to book a seat in United Polaris business class whether you’ve got United MileagePlus miles, miles with a partner airline like Air Canada Aeroplan or Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, or transferrable credit card points from Chase, Amex, or Capital One.
For years, the hardest part was ensuring you’d actually be sitting in the newest Polaris cabins – not United’s old, woefully outdated seats. No more: Virtually all of United’s Boeing widebody fleet – from the older 767s to the state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliners – is now outfitted with the airline’s newer business class cabins.
To ensure you’ve got the best seat possible, check the seat map for your flight right on United.com. If it shows business class in a 1-2-1 configuration (or 1-1-1 on the Boeing 767), you’re set.
Finding award availability to book United Polaris overseas can be hit or miss, though United seems to be more generous than either Delta or American – especially if you’re OK booking within just a month or two of departure. No matter which miles you intend to use, United.com itself is the best website to search for award availability to book with your miles.
But every now and again the floodgates open. Just weeks ago, we sent Thrifty Traveler Premium members the heads-up for two or more travelers to fly in United Polaris over to Europe, for example.
Using cash? Expect to pay north of $3,000 roundtrip to Europe or much more to Asia or Australia. But if you’re using miles, you’re in luck: You’ve got plenty of options.
- If you’re flying roundtrip, look no further than ANA Mileage Club. You simply cannot beat booking roundtrip business class seats to Europe for just 100,000 ANA miles. While the cash surcharges are low, you must book roundtrip as one-way redemptions aren’t allowed. ANA is an Amex transfer partner, so points from cards like *amex platinum* and the *amex gold* will do you right.
- Trying to fly between Europe and the East Coast or Chicago? Look to Air Canada Aeroplan, with award rates starting at 70,000 miles each way for these shorter hops to Europe – and in some cases, as low as 60,000 miles. You can transfer points from Amex as well as Chase and Capital One.
- United MileagePlus itself is a decent option with award rates as low as 80,000 miles each way with low surcharges. It’s a Chase transfer partner, if you need to top up your miles with points from cards like the *chase sapphire preferred*. As a bonus, you can often start your journey from another airport and connect through a United hub before hopping on your business class flight abroad for the same rates as a nonstop.
- Using Avianca LifeMiles will typically cost you 70,000 miles each way. They’re transferrable from Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One miles, and Citi ThankYou Points.
In this case, we had Amex Membership Rewards points to burn so the best option for a one-way redemption was transferring them to Air Canada. All it took was 70,000 points, a few seconds to transfer, and a $56 tax-and-fee bill to book a ticket flying business class from Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) to Frankfurt (FRA).
At Thrifty Traveler, we don’t accept freebies. We use our own points, miles, or cash to pay for every single flight or hotel you see reviewed here – including this one.
Lounge Access & Boarding
Flying United business class out of Chicago is a treat for one reason and one reason alone: The United Polaris Lounge Chicago.
Much like the United Polaris Lounge Newark (EWR) and locations at other major United hubs, this lounge puts your standard airport lounge to shame. It’s reserved only for United and Star Alliance business class flyers, and that exclusivity raises the bar.
(Unfortunately, the Polaris Lounge at O’Hare is currently closed as of publication for the winter season as the airline renovates the space. You’ll get access to regular United Clubs with premium drink coupons instead. I’d recommend taking the airside shuttle bus to Terminal 5 for the new LOT Polish Business Class lounge if you have a long enough layover.)
The Polaris Lounge is located in United’s Terminal 1 in Concourse C, just up the escalator from the underground walkway connecting Concourses C and E – steps away from many United international departures. It’s typically open from 7:15 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily.
While not massive by any means, its 16,000-square-foot layout gave plenty of space for travelers to stretch out … at least until the lounge started to fill up late in the afternoon. But there’s a good mix of solo work cubbies and armchairs, along with a beautiful bar and dining spaces, too – all overlooking the tarmac.
There’s plenty to eat at the serve-yourself buffet area, but the star of the show is the Polaris Lounge’s dedicated dining room. It’s quite small and seating is available only on a first-come, first-served basis, but the lunch here was some of the best food I’ve eaten in an airport lounge.
Plus, there are some amenities you won’t find in every lounge like dedicated quiet rooms to take a nap on lounge chairs as well as an array of shower suites, which are truly top-of-class. Pre-flight showers don’t get much better than this.
United’s Polaris Biz Class Cabin
On many routes to Europe, including this flight over to Frankfurt, United flies one of the biggest business class cabins you’ll find in the skies.
Onboard, United’s sharp blue and metal color palette is complemented well by the faux-marble countertops on each console table. Throw in some nice mood lighting overhead, and it certainly looks sharp. United designed these new Polaris cabins in a clever way to pack in plenty of seats without sacrificing privacy or direct-aisle access.
Both United’s Boeing 787s and 777s are laid out in a 1-2-1 configuration, each with a straight shot right into the aisle. The middle Polaris seats in odd-numbered rows are great for couples. You can even drop down the divider to create a very social atmosphere if you’re traveling with someone.
United’s Boeing 767s, meanwhile, are all laid out in a 1-1-1 configuration, with just a single seat in the middle row. That makes the Boeing 767-300 fantastic if you’re traveling solo: There’s absolutely no chance you’ll be stuck smack dab next to a stranger.
In Polaris cabins, each row of seats is slightly offset from one another in the same row. Seats in the center section are set a ways back from those along the windows. That means more privacy … and less chance that you’ll be able to talk with your neighbor across the aisle.
See what I mean?
There are just two bathrooms at the front of the plane and one more behind the business class cabin. They’re nothing special and quite small, in fact. As far as special amenities go, there was only some Sunday Riley facial mist and wrinkle release spray up here.
The Seats
Whether you’re in row one or row 11, there’s no denying it – this is a nice business class setup.
Like all odd-numbered seats, my seat was positioned closer to the window, with a fairly large console table and shield creating even more privacy from the rest of the cabin.
It’s a much different story from the even-numbered seats along the windows, which are far more exposed to the aisle.
Each seat measures in at just under 21 inches wide, which felt plenty wide – at least around the shoulders. Reclined fully flat, there’s a whopping 77 inches of legroom, too. Most importantly, I thought the seat was very well-padded and comfortable. I’m glad that United opted against leather upholstery and went with a crisp blue fabric – aside from the substantial leather headrest, which was adjustable.
It’s comfortable and private, and that’s what matters most. But how does it look? I’m a bit torn. On the one hand, there’s no question this is a major step up from older iterations of United business class – or almost any airline. The sconce lighting at every seat is a nice touch.
But the dark grays, blues, and metallic finishes at every seat and throughout the cabin just don’t quite do it for me. It almost feels too industrial. But that’s nitpicking: This is a sharp look. Compared to the ancient cabins some other airlines are flying across the Atlantic Ocean (ahem, Delta), United’s newest business class seats blow them out of the water.
There’s a tray table that slides out from under the monitor at the front of the seat. Fold it out, and it’s a positively massive surface for working or eating.
Each seat has a thin armrest along the windows, under which you’ll find a handy set of controls to control your seat as well as lighting. I can’t tell you why, but I really like the wheels you can use to recline or bring your seat back upright.
On the other side of the seat you’ll find a more substantial armrest, which can be raised and lowered – a nice touch to give yourself a bit more space when laying down. It also doubles as a handy literature pocket. There’s also a small compartment here, perfect for stashing a bottle of water.
But the storage goes far beyond that, and it’s quite impressive. It starts with the sizable faux-marble console table, which is more than large enough to rest a laptop – or, in my case, a drink.
Built into this large storage console along the aisle, you’ll also find a handy reading light, headphone jack, universal charging along with a USB socket, and a wired remote for the in-flight entertainment.
And then there’s the storage cubby itself, which pops open with a (sometimes almighty) push. It’s a fairly sizable compartment, capable of storing a water bottle, amenity kit, wallet, and a few other items. It’s also where United hangs its business class headphones – plus a small mirror on the door.
And underneath the monitor at the front of the seat, there’s yet another shallow but useful storage spot, a good spot to stow a phone or passport. There’s also yet another USB port to charge your devices here.
Finally, there’s the footwell at the front of the seat. The footwell itself is fairly decently sized – not the biggest nor the smallest I’ve ever seen, with plenty of room for all but the tallest, largest-footed travelers.
And directly underneath that footwell, there’s one last storage spot. It’s not quite large enough for bigger backpacks, but I’d imagine a slim laptop bag or purse could fairly easily fit under here.
Reclining the bed back into bed mode was a cinch with the seat controls. And while the seats can feel a little narrow in bed mode on the 767, it felt plenty roomy to us when we flew on the Dreamliner. Here was our setup on the 787.
The sleeping surface is plenty comfortable – especially with the excellent bedding United provides, including a mattress pad and Saks Fifth Avenue-branded duvet and two pillows – one plush and one memory foam.
Amenities
United Polaris absolutely knocks it out of the park when it comes to extra goodies – with one glaring exception.
The seat was filled to the brim with almost everything you need upon boarding the plane.
The Saks-branded bedding is easily some of the best I’ve ever used on a plane – not just among U.S. carriers, but across the globe. That includes a plush pillow and a memory foam pillow and a perfect duvet: not too thick, not too light.
Compared to other, even five-star airlines that offer flimsy pillows, United stands out. There were also dedicated mattress pads available at every seat. They’re thin but certainly add some extra padding. There were slippers available by request, but not pajamas.
The amenity kit itself is unique, too. It’s from Therabody – the company that makes the popular massage devices. And the container looked like the massage gun container. Could it be? (No…obviously not. But I had hope for a brief second that I’d just scored a massage gun on a business class flight…)
The contents of the amenity kit were excellent. Inside, was some high-quality face lotion, hand cream, hydrating face spray, and even eye serum from Therabody.
I’ve certainly never seen eye serum on an airplane before. I had to text my wife to ask what it was…
The socks were excellent. I love the ones with the grippy rubber bottoms. The eye mask was a nice, comfortable fabric, but wasn’t one of the structured masks that don’t touch your eyelids that I prefer. A small pen, some ear plugs, a dental kit, and some tissues made up the rest of the kit.
The kit bag itself was also a keeper. It’s a sturdy package that I’ll definitely use again.
For as great as these amenities were, the headphones were … just bad. They’re flimsy and feel cheap. They’re not particularly comfortable, and both the sound quality and noise cancellation were pretty poor.
With a better pair of headphones, United would have hit an absolute grand slam on the amenity front. As it stands, it was more like a solid triple.
And that’s still quite good – better than you’ll get on most airlines.
Service & Dining
I was greeted by kind and often funny pursers and flight attendants. I never felt like I was awaiting service – even with such a big business class cabin on the plane.
While the rest of the plane boards, business class is offered a choice of sparkling wine or water, which is brought around on trays. They also drop off menus and take dinner orders while the rest of the plane boards. Dinner service kicked into action about 40 minutes after takeoff.
And that’s where United business class has typically gotten few marks – including from us.
The first time we flew United Polaris, several years ago, we were not impressed with the catering onboard. On that trip, we went with the seared turbot fish fillet. Dinner was served at once all on one tray back then, too.
It included this strange quinoa, lettuce, watermelon, smoked salmon salad that was…confusing…to say the least.
The entree was better … but not by much. And while dessert was a big step up, breakfast was also very uninspired on our first Polaris flight.
While the meal was all certainly edible, and all a step up from what you’d get back in economy, decent doesn’t cut it when you’re spending thousands of dollars or tens of thousands of miles on flights. These are the things that set apart great business class flights from the merely good ones. And when we first flew Polaris, we weren’t impressed. Other airlines have clearly bounced back from their COVID-19 cutbacks much faster (and further) than United had.
After flying Polaris again this year, I’m happy to report that things have gotten much better – although United is still far from the cream of the crop when it comes to inflight dining.
Service started with a drink order and some warm nuts.
I did not ask for that hearty of a wine pour, by the way. I must’ve just looked like I needed it…
Then came an appetizer service which, after reading the menu, I thought was adventurous for an airplane meal. But I loved every bite, including the garlic bread! The salad was crisp and well-dressed, and the pork dish was good flavorful, but the meat wasn’t quite right. It seemed like a big swing for 35,000 feet.
I thought this tray of food was plenty, but then they came out with my main course soon after I polished off my apps.
The chicken and peppers dish was served in a dinner bowl with some pasta, tomatoes, and brocollini. This time, the meat was the winner, as well as the tomatoes and pasta. The peppers and broccolini both fell on the mushier side, but the whole concoction worked.
Finally, now a signature of Polaris, flight attendants came around with an ice cream sundae cart. Nothing hits harder than hot fudge on vanilla ice cream at 35,000 feet.
After a few hours of sleep, I woke up for breakfast, which was definitely – and surprisingly – the best meal of the flight.
The banana cream pie with berries was delicious, and something I also had little faith an airline could cater adequately onboard. The fresh fruit, croissant, and cup of Chobani greek yogurt were perfect accoutrements to the meal, too. Airplane coffee always stinks. I wish United had espresso, but they do not.
In all, the food was still the weakest part of this flight – and it wasn’t even close. But it’s getting better every time we fly United Polaris. It’s clear the airline doesn’t prioritize its catering like other carriers do around the world, but at least United seems to have heard the cries that it was lacking in the food department.
Entertainment
The entertainment setup on Polaris is a mixed bag.
Let’s start with the good: Every seat is equipped with a crisp, 15-inch HD touchscreen monitor. And it’s loaded with entertainment options, including a huge selection of both newly released movies and some classics as well as plenty of TV episodes. I found the selection fairly robust, but not as large as some other carriers.
The 787 I flew was only two years old and had a slick, intuitive touch screen. The remote (as always seems to be the case on business class flights) didn’t help much this time, either.
Of course, there’s also an inflight map you can use to track your progress across the pond.
There’s Wi-Fi available onboard, but for a hefty fee. Just an hour would run you $12 or 1,200 United miles. The full flight pass clocked in at $25. United is partnering with Starlink in order to provide free, high-speed Wi-Fi onboard, but it will likely be years before that expands to long-haul international flights.
For an overnight flight, I opted out of connectivity, especially at those prices.
Bottom Line
United Polaris business class seats are great. The amenities, including the new Therabody kits, are truly world class – especially the bedding, which is second to none in the skies.
United’s average (but improving) dining was still a shortcoming on our recent Polaris flights. Still, we’d book and fly United business class again in a heartbeat if you can find availability using points and miles.
