United Polaris Business Class

After a few weeks of activities in New Jersey, I decided to splurge a little bit on my journey back home to San Francisco with a last-minute cash upgrade. While I don’t consider myself a United Airlines’ Frequent Flyer, having a United Premier Platinum status has been very useful. Especially with 3 complimentary checked bags (up to 70lbs each) and Premium Plus seat selection at booking. You can check out one of my reviews of the United Premium Plus Boeing 787-8/9 Dreamliner to learn more.

It was a fairly busy day at EWR Airport Terminal C where most of United’s flights operates in and out of, but checking in was a breeze using the Premier 1K / United Polaris / Premier Access lanes.

As an Alaska MVP Gold 75K elite that has flown out of that messy Newark’s Terminal A so many times, flying out of Terminal C usually presents a better experience.

As at the time of this post, the United Polaris Lounge is still temporarily closed.

There were quite a few last-minute changes from United regarding this flight, but with no proper notifications. Initially, this flight was scheduled on a Boeing 777-300ER, but the equipment was later swapped to a Boeing 767-300ER. One of the most annoying things COVID-19 has presented many top-tier elites is having to wait until everyone has boarded the flight assuming you’re flying Economy Plus since many airlines board from the back of the plane to the front these days.

I arrived at the Gate C90 right on time and was ready to board the flight UA322 from EWR to SFO.

Related: Delta One Business Class

While I was still able to maintain my seat 7A on the Boeing 767-300ER, the bummer was, there was no middle window at this seat which makes the seat a bit unpleasant. But the good thing for me was the fact that I was more interested in getting some good quality sleep during the flight than anything else. Actually, I intended to enjoy my Nigerian Jollof during this flight. More on the jollof shortly.

The aisles in the United Polaris Business are aisles I have walked down several times. You’re probably saying what does walking down the aisle got to do with a flight? I know, I was just trying to be funny. On a more serious note, even though the middle window wasn’t present at this seat, it still wasn’t a bad seat at all. While I am not going to recommend this seat, I’ll let you decide based on your personal preference.

This Polaris Business cabin is configured in a 1-1-1 configuration with each seat having a direct-aisle access. 

Waiting at the seat was United’s / Saks Fifth Avenue Bedding. This custom-created luxury bedding is truly one of the best out there. the bedding featured a light blanket and a standard pillow. No mattress pad nor a duvet present.

Amenity kit on a flight during the pandemic. Say what? One of the ways in which United stood out above some of its’ competitors is in its’ consistency. Unlike my flight on Delta One with no amenity kit, this Polaris Business Class flight offered a small amenity kit containing a United-branded sleep mask, a Sunday Riley lip balm, a San Francisco Victorian Houses (Painted Ladies) post card, an earplug, and a dental kit.

While the United headphone doesn’t really cancel out much noise in my opinion, it was still better than nothing. 

There were multiple USB ports available at each of the Polaris business seat. One below the seatback screen and another one located on the right-hand side by the power outlet. The 110V universal power outlet will pretty much accept most adapters.

Here are some more features of the United Airlines Polaris Business Class seats:

The tray table also featured a personal device (cellphone / iPad / laptop) holder.

Talk about how consistent United has been with its’ inflight dining experience despite the pandemic which is still a threat. I overheard one of the flight attendants asking the passenger behind me “chicken or ravioli”. Although I did not partake of the food onboard this flight, but I’ve had some really good sandwiches on my many other United’s First Class flights.

While bringing your own food onboard a flight may not be your vibe, it’s actually one of the most adventurous things to do. Especially since it’s even TSA approved.

I had brought my own food with me on this flight. A Nigerian Jollof Rice (popularly called naija-jollof). Naija jollof is a delicacy, a rice cooked in a zesty tomato sauce with spices and herb, paired with some sauteed fried fish.

No other restaurants in New Jersey / New York area does it better than Olaide’s Kitchen. An African restaurant creating a classic West African cuisine in a modern way.

The United Polaris seat was very comfortable to sleep in when in fully lie-flat bed even without a mattress topper / duvet. On this five-hour flight, I was able to get a good quality 2-hours of sleep before we started our descent into the San Francisco Bay Area.

The city was a bit overcast during our final approach.

IN CONCLUSION:

This was another great flight in United Polaris. The amenity kit was a plus, the Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, inflight dining, and the comfortable lie-flat seat all made the flight even more enjoyable. The consistency with United products has been an advantage for the airline. Although the lavatory in this Boeing 767-300 was a bit claustrophobic for a wider-body aircraft, the overall experience was a good one generally. Lastly, my best part of the flight was my Naija Jollof.