As reported by The New York Times, a woman, going by the name of Cathy, had been traveling in United's Polaris business class from San Francisco to Beijing Capital. Image Credit: xprabadi | Shutterstock | Simple Flying
A staple of the transatlantic offerings, United's Polaris on the Newark to London route is a highly popular option, but how much does it really cost?
A United Airlines passenger has recounted her experience of flying in a faulty Polaris seat with the Star Alliance carrier last October. The woman, named Cathy, purchased two business class (Polaris) seats to Beijing - the 2nd ticket for her adult daughter.Cathy was unfortunately forced to sit in a broken seat for the entire journey despite paying $7,388 per ticket. United’s compensation offer after the passenger complained? $650 in vouchers.
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.