As a frequent United customer, I was excited to fly United’s Polaris 777-300 Business Class once again, this time from Chicago to Amsterdam Schiphol on flight UA909. I’ll reveal what it is like to travel in United Airline’s Premium product in this United Polaris Business Class Review, including the preflight experience in United’s exclusive Polaris lounge — reserved for International Business Class Passengers.
This is my complete flight experience in the up-front cabin on my flight from the USA to Amsterdam, Netherlands.
What Did I Love About United Polaris Business Class?
The United Polaris Business Class highlights for me were the very private and comfortable seating arrangement, the professional and efficient service from the flight attendants and exclusive pre-flight access to the Polaris lounge. I enjoyed a generous portion of champagne before departure (real champagne, unlike Air Canada’s substitution of prosecco pre-flight!).
United Polaris Business Class Lounge at Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD)
Pre-flight: I’ve flown nearly every configuration of United’s business class, including the Polaris services several times before but I rarely make it into Polaris lounges so I was so excited to get behind the curtain and enjoy this exclusive lounge.
Was the Polaris lounge as extraordinary and with the next level of serenity I’ve come to enjoy at the Air Canada Signature Suite in Toronto? No. In a word, the lounge was just BUSY. As I waited for my late evening flight, the lounge was packed.
The surroundings were very pleasant, however, with soothing LED lighting and plenty of mixed lounge seating with bartop and table seating. For those wanting a more quiet pre-flight escape, there were plenty of nice private booth areas to sit at.
The Polaris Lounge offers a lot of incredible amenities for long-haul travellers to make the most of their stopover with plenty of free drink options — including Champagne, an exclusive dining menu in a private dining room, a buffet for travellers short on time and private showers, and work areas.
Don’t Miss: You may also like our KLM 777 Business Class Review, Delta A330 Business Class and Qatar Airways A380 Uperdeck Business Class Experience Reviews!
United Polaris Boarding and Inflight Experience
Even with the chaos that is Chicago O’hare airport, boarding went very smoothly and I was on the plane in moments with my carry-on safely stowed above, and a glass of ice-cold champagne in hand.
Polaris Business Class Seat comfort: the highlight of the cabin for me was my window seat’s (seat 5A) very private and comfortable seating arrangement. It was almost like a private cabin due to the staggered layout of the seats as you can see in this seating layout on Seat Guru. As someone over 6 feet tall, I found there was plenty of room to stretch out, and the footwell was not too cramped, something I find can be tight and limited on some business class seats when laying flat.
Service: The pre-flight drink service consisted of champagne, beer offerings, orange juice and sparkling water, brought out before departure as the rest of the plane loaded in the back. The United amenity kit was well equipped with the standard business class offerings of socks, lip balm, toothbrush and toothpaste, hand cream and sleeping mask.
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Meals and Entertainment on United 777 Polaris Business Class
The food onboard this flight was a bit of a disappointment compared to other business-class offerings I’ve experienced.
The main course meal I chose included a hearty salad, hot roll, beef steak with a peppercorn sauce, served with vegetables and potato wedges. The beef was pretty overcooked, unfortunately. I did rather enjoy the veggie side, and finished the meal with a very nice chocolate dessert. The wine and drink menu was quite good and I sampled a couple of really nice red wines of USA origin.
The entertainment on the aircraft was great. A large screen of approximately 15 inches dwarfs the screens in the back, and United provides a set of full-size noise-cancelling headphones for up-front passengers, each cleaned and sealed in plastic for each business class passenger.
Content-wise there were plenty of newly-released movies as well as an extensive back catalogue. The United’s entertainment offerings include a large amount of TV programs that are binge-watchable on long-haul flights. I’ve found myself watching entire seasons of a new show on a single flight.
Interestingly It’s been my experience that the ovens on 777 aircraft will vastly overcook food compared to the newer ovens on 787 aircraft where I have actually been served medium temperature steaks! If you like a good steak like me, maybe try to catch a day when they run the 787 on your route. You can see for free how United rotates aircraft on websites like Flightradar24 with their flight history feature.
Conclusion
United’s Polaris Business Class offers a lot to like in a very competitive field. A very private cabin and comfortable seating arrangement, paired with professional and efficient service from the flight attendants add up to a good product, with exclusive access to the Polaris lounges a major bonus.
I’ve been lucky to see the evolution of United’s Intercontinental business class develop considerably since my first overseas trip on this very same route in 2008. Back then the 777 business class looked more like a cabin full of lazy-boy chairs and 7″ LCD screen. What a long way they have come in the industry!