United Polaris Business Class Review

Booking 
To get back home from our trip to French Polynesia, we flew United Polaris from Papeete to San Francisco. I then used the United Excursionist Perk from a modified ticket to fly from San Francisco back to Seattle. United Polaris is their flagship business class product after removing international first class a few years ago. I booked with flight with Aeroplan at 55K miles (transferred from Amex) per person. This is a sweet spot in Aeroplan’s zone/distance hybrid chart as the total distance was under 5K miles. By comparison, United’s own program charges 70K for the same flight and other partners such as Avianca Lifemiles charges even higher.

Ground Experience
Our flight to Papeete from Bora Bora arrived around 7pm. We decided to grab dinner at the local McDonald’s at the airport prior to checking in our Polaris flight back to the states. At times, we like to visit various McDonald’s around the world to see how menu items vary locally.

After finishing our meal, we walked over to the United counter to check into our flight. There was a dedicated lane for business class passengers and it was fast. After receiving our tickets, departure immigration was quick and we headed up to the lounge. All business class passengers and priority pass members share the Air Tahiti lounge.

The lounge itself wasn’t very large and had limited food and drink items. I was thankful we decided to eat dinner prior to the lounge with the limited options. I did enjoy a nice Tahitian beer.

Our plane was late arriving from San Francisco and got to see it taxi into the gate. Boarding started about 40 minutes after original boarding time.

Cabin & Seat
The 787 has 44 Polaris seats located between doors one and two. Polaris seats alternate in each row to maximize space. In the center section, odd numbered rows are “honeymoon” seats, where one is seated next to seatmate and further from the aisle while the even numbered rows are farther from each other and closer to the aisle. The same is true of the window seats where even numbered rows are closer to the aisle while odd numbered seats are closer to the window. The cabin certainly is sleek.

I booked Wallis is 3A and myself in 4A for the flight. Although Polaris seats don’t have a privacy door, the seats curved shell provides a decent amount of privacy. Waiting at the seat were mattress padding, blankets and pillows furnished by Sak’s. United doesn’t provide pajamas for international long-haul for flights under 12 hours (Papeete-San Francisco is scheduled for approximately 8 hours).

With the flight leaving just before 11pm local time and arriving to San Francisco early in the morning, I went to sleep almost immediately after the flight reached cruising altitude. The seat was certainly comfortable in lie flat mode and I was able to sleep a good six hours

In-Flight Dining
Shortly after takeoff, the crew came around to take meal orders. On this flight, there was a simple one-card menu.

I skipped the main meal service to sleep, but Wallis opted to have dinner (forgot to take photos). She mentioned that the beef tenderloin option was fine. There was no drink list but rather you state what varietal you prefer and the flight attendant would check to see if they had that on board. I don’t recall being offered a pre departure drink during boarding.

I did wake up in time to have the pre-arrival snack of the vegetarian panini.

It wasn’t particularly appetizing and was glad to be able to dine at San Francisco’s Polaris lounge during connection.

Amenities & Service
United partners with the luggage brand Away for their amenity kits. These stylish “hard pods” resemble miniature suitcases, and are characterized by a dark blue and ridged casing. Inside, the kit was packed with useful amenities, including an eye mask, a pen, tissues, earplugs, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and socks. Also included were several skin products by Sunday Riley inside, such as a facial cleansing cloth, face cream, hand cream, and lip balm.

United provides various wifi pricing options in flight. I did not purchase/connect during the flight.

The entertainment selection was very good with a crisp and responsive screen.

The service was fine-ish. With the late arrival of aircraft and delayed departure, they seem to be a bit hurried particularly during pre-boarding to catch up. Overall, I felt they went through the motions but that was about it. I did notice one flight attendant chatting with someone that seemed to be a regular premium cabin passenger.

Overall Impression
Generally, business class is primarily about the hard product (seat). To and from Tahiti, United’s product is the most superior option available. While not groundbreaking, Polaris is a solid seat with great amenities. United’s catering definitely can be better though. However, for 55K Aeroplan points that are easy to earn, this is my preferred aircraft should I go back to Tahiti in the future.