Background: Airlines offer their top products on the long transcon routes across the United States. Flat-bed seats, upgraded meals and departure lounge access come together to make for a uniquely premium experience on these flights. Competition is intense, leading to innovative product offerings and the best travel experience you can find domestically.
One airline competing in this space is United, and I have flown transcon with them a few times now. My first time was in mid-2015 on United's B757-200 in their old P.S. "Premium Service." I had been very pleased with that flight, and it was one of my top domestic flights at the time. I returned to United again in late 2018, flying cross-country on their flagship B777-300ER in the proper Polaris seats. I had enjoyed those flights, too, but mainly for the seat. The service had unfortunately degraded since 2015.
United has now introduced a proper international premium economy dubbed Premium Plus. They are the only airline regularly flying that class of service on the transcon market. In early 2022 I returned to United again to try Premium Plus for the first time, flying cross-country on the B767-300ER. I had been very impressed, and found the Premium Plus offering to be a great value. Now a couple months later, I had one more cross-country flight to take. I decided to fly United once again, this time in Polaris on the B767-300ER. I wanted to see what they're offering these days on a Polaris transcon, particularly in comparison to the excellent Premium Plus. I chose the B767-300ER for my Polaris flight, looking forward to another nice transcon on the B767, and also to comparing Polaris to my flights in Premioum Plus earlier this year.
Please enjoy the report, and I look forward to your comments.
SFO-EWR
United Airlines UA2175
Departure: 14:45 (actual 14:56)
Arrival: 23:18 (actual 23:15)
Actual Block Time: 5h19
Actual Flight Time: 4h38
Seat: 16D Polaris
Boeing 767-300ER
My day began in San Diego flying UA512 on a United B737-MAX9 to San Francisco to connect to my Polaris B767-300ER to Newark. Yes, United does offer nonstop flights from San Diego to Newark, but I was looking to fly the proper Polaris business class, and I always really like a domestic widebody flight, in this case the B767-300ER, a plane I always enjoy, particularly when I can now compare the B767 Polaris service to the B767 Premium Plus service I experienced two and a half months ago. In addition this itinerary got me on my first-ever B737-MAX9. Without going into my thoughts on that plane, I did enjoy trying it for the first time. My B737-MAX9 was N37510. We arrived SFO gate F16 eight minutes early, at 12:11, as I saw my B767-300ER being towed to its gate F11. My B737-MAX9 will now operate UA539 to Maui. My B767-300ER was set to begin boarding at 13:55 for a departure at 14:45. My B767-300ER today was N653UA. This aircraft has flown for United since 1992, that's almost 30 years, and is painted in the special Star Alliance livery. I headed to the United Club, to which Polaris transcon service includes access. Access to the new Polaris lounge is reserved only for international flights in Polaris.
My UA B737-MAX9, N37510, departing SFO for OGG:
My UA B767-300ER, N653UA, at the gate in SFO:
I was very much looking forward to my United transcon flight today, on the B767-300ER. I had really enjoyed my B767 transcon flights with United in their Premium Plus seats. I have flown Polaris in the B767-300ER once before, from GRU-IAD in mid-2018. I also flew Polaris transcon, EWR-SFO-EWR on the B777-300ER in late 2018. I was happy to be flying Polaris again today to see how the service is these days, plus this time on the B767, for comparison to Premium Plus on the B767. Also this time is my first Polaris flight in a non-window seat.
Pre-boarding began five minutes behind schedule, and included 18 Global Services and 20 1K elites - the hub-to-hub SFO-EWR route is very elite heavy! After all that, Polaris and Group 1 was invited to board. I boarded through the jetbridge into Door L1, and turned right onto the first aisle, and back to my seat, 16D, the last center-section seat in Polaris. United's B767 Polaris configuration has sort-of a staggered 1-1-1 setup with A-D-F-L. 'A' seats are on the window, with odd rows situated parallel to the window, and even rows next to the aisle, albeit not parallel to the aisle, rather the seat is tucked back a little from the aisle, and angled towards the aisle, in an effort to provide more privacy to those seats than can be found in similar seats, which are fully parallel to the aisle. The seats in the center section between the two aisles are similar: odd rows on the second aisle have the 'F' seats, parallel to the aisle, while even rows on the first aisle have 'D' seats angled towards the aisle, including my seat today, 16D. And finally, the 'L' seats are on the second aisle, with odd rows parallel to the window, and even rows angled.
Seat 16D:
Settling in, I do still really like the top-of-the-line Polaris seats. They are very stylish and modern, as well as comfortable. Legroom is very good, and the footwell for the flat-bed seat is very large. This is my first time trying one of the angled seats, as opposed to the seats parallel to the window, and it's a pretty good seat. The window seats parallel to the window, not being immediately adjacent to the aisle, do have the maximum privacy. But the angled aisle seats have good privacy as well, much better than when fully parallel to the aisle. I find seats like that to feel very exposed, and not private at all. So I like how they've improved on that with Polaris, tucking the seat a little back from the aisle and then angling it.
Legroom shot:
Safety card:
To my right can be found the lamp and closet, containing the headphones, along with an electrical outlet and a bottle of water, plus the seat controls. To my left, an armrest containing the magazine pocket, and the armrest can be lowered for additional space. The seat also had Saks Fifth Avenue bedding including two pillows and a blanket, plus an amenity kit. I liked the seat, and was happy to be trying the angled variety for the first time, and I was looking forward to a nice long transcon flight in this seat.
Closet & lamp:
Seat controls:
Welcome screen:
Boarding continued slowly, and since it was through Door L1, everyone had to pass through Polaris back to Premium Plus and Economy. And perhaps being unaccustomed to flying a widebody jet with two aisles, pretty much everyone was boarding down the first aisle, leading to a constant traffic jam for the duration of the boarding process. With the second aisle unused, the flight attendant was able to serve pre-departure beverages of either sparkling wine or water, so I selected sparkling wine to toast this nice flight. Eventually boarding slowed down and the first aisle emptied out, so the flight attendant proceeded to serve the passengers in the first aisle, and actually offered me a second sparkling wine, too. So far so good. The boarding door was closed at 14:30. Polaris had boarded full.
The view from 16D:
The flight attendant started taking meal orders, in a very random order, selecting one random passenger at a time. My best guess is that she was going in order of elite status, followed by passengers who paid cash before passengers who'd been upgraded, I'm not totally sure, but I haven't seen that very often. It is perhaps a good thing because they could run out of one of the two entree options. No menus were provided, but the flight attendant explained that the choices were vegetarian enchiladas or grilled chicken with morel sauce. I selected the grilled chicken. Beers on offer were Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, and Goose Island Neon Bear Hug IPA. To be frank I was very disappointed to see these beers yet again, the same ones that have been on offer since at least the beginning of December, so at least four months now, and two months after my last UA flights. Having been flying United for years now, I have always enjoyed being able to try different beers on their flights, and I have become accustomed to the beer selection changing periodically. I've even tried multiple Goose Island beers on United over the years, so I'm not sure why they haven't changed at least the Goose Island offering again yet. I decided to go for a Stella Artois. I really didn't feel like that Goose Island again, and at least I hadn't had Stella in a while.
The captain announced a flight time of 4h50, and he was expecting an arrival about 15 minutes early. He said all passengers were boarded but the cargo was not yet finished. Pushback was late at 14:56. The safety video was played on the individual screens. In Polaris you have to attach a shoulder strap in addition to the normal seatbelt. It was starting to feel pretty warm, but then I noticed that this particular B767-300ER had individual vents overhead. And since the economy seating configuration is 2-3-2, being seated in the middle section of seats, I had three air vents for myself.
Takeoff was at 15:19. Being seated in the middle of the cabin, I had no view out of any windows, and it was a little disorienting sitting at an angle towards the direction of travel. I enjoyed good pushback into the seat and B767 engine noise. The flight map was showing 4h45 left to get to Newark.
We're on our way - I like that the plane has the correct Star Alliance livery:
My first movie was The Truman Show from 1998 with Jim Carrey. I reclined the seat to watch the movie. I really do like the Polaris seat. While the window seats are the most private, being totally separate from the aisle, I also like this seat. I can see out of the seat, but can't see any other passengers, and no other passengers can see me, so it is very good privacy. And the recline position is very comfortable. The captain made an announcement that we were now 2,100 miles from Newark, expecting an early arrival at about 11PM local time. The current weather in Newark was windy, with light snow at 27 degrees.
In flight:
Meals were served front to back, one by one. Everything was served at once on a little tray, including a small salad, a warm pretzel roll, the main course, and a packaged slice of cheesecake. It was a decent meal service; the chicken was well-cooked with a nice sauce.
Meal service:
I was unfortunately disappointed with the Stella Artois, however. The can read Stella Artois - Premium Lager Beer brewed in the USA under the strict supervision of the brewmasters from Leuven, Belgium for uncompromising quality. Stella Artois - St. Louis, MO. So Stella Artois is no longer imported from Belgium for the US market. AB Inbev really can't stop themselves! I've been to the Stella Artois Brewery in Leuven, Belgium and have previously had Stella in the US which was imported from that brewery. If they are now making it domestically at the Budweiser brewery in St. Louis, with St. Louis municipal water and Budweiser yeast, then I'm not going to be a customer anymore, just like how I no longer buy Beck's, since they've done the same thing to that brand. I've been to the Beck's Brewery in Bremen, and no longer buy it in the US, because when I want a Beck's, I want a German beer, not a Budweiser-made beer from St. Louis. I think it's very disappointing that AB Inbev keeps doing this to their foreign brands to save a buck. It's disrespectful to the customers of those brands. /rant
Notice it no longer says 'Imported' anywhere:
Where Stella Artois is supposed to be made - Leuven, Belgium:
Where Beck's is supposed to be made - Bremen, Germany:
I looked into it later and it turns out that they've been making Stella in St. Louis since mid-2021. In any case the meal service concluded 1.5h into the flight with the offer of a fresh drink. I asked for a glass of water. We had 3h15 to go.
My movie finished midway over Nebraska, with 2.5h to go. My next movie was The Interpreter with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn.
When we had 1h15 to go, it was time for the pre-arrival snack. There was a choice of cheese and crackers or hummus. I went with the hummus, which was as tasty as it was on my Premium Plus flight, considering it was the same. To drink, a gin and tonic, since the gin on offer was Bombay Sapphire, and I just visited their distillery in Laverstoke in England.
Pre-arrival snack:
The captain announced when we were 300 miles from Newark. We should start descent in 10 minutes and land in about 45 minutes. The weather was gusty winds, overcast skies, and 28 degrees. Our landing runway will be 04R and our gate will be C102. My movie finished with under 20 minutes to go, entering new Jersey from Pennsylvania.
Our routing:
It was a very gusty landing, windy all the way down to the ground, until our landing at 19:57 - first the left gear and then the right - definitely an exciting landing, the pilots did a good job. We parked at gate C102 at 20:15, or 23:15 local time.
I enjoyed this flight, but it is disappointing to see the continued degradation of the transcon Polaris offering. There were no hot towels. The meal service used to have everything set on the table with a blue tablecloth, one piece at a time, with United globe salt and pepper shakers - that is, not a simple meal tray with everything on it. Then service would begin with beverages and nuts, then the starter and salad first, followed by the main course, followed by dessert - in particular, an ice cream sundae. Then there would be a mid-flight warm cookie service. Now nuts are eliminated, the starter is eliminated, the ice cream is eliminated, the cookie is eliminated, the United salt and pepper shakers are eliminated, and the salad/main/dessert (now a packaged dessert) are all on one tray. It's exactly the same as in Premium Plus, except with a pre-departure beverage, and with drinks served in glassware rather than plastic.
Again, I always enjoy any premium cabin flight, and I definitely like the Polaris seat, but it's disappointing to see service levels continually sinking to new lows. It's the same service as on any domestic first class flight with nothing special for a premium Polaris-branded transcon. Hot towels and a multi-course meal would really differentiate a Polaris transcon and take it to the next level...back to where it used to be. For now I think Premium Plus is a much better value. It offers identical service, just not a flat-bed seat...but still, a better seat than domestic first class. There is also no lounge access for Premium Plus, but Premium Plus is a much better price. This time Premium Plus was offered for $339 whereas Polaris was $590, with this Polaris price being pretty much the best you can get.
All in all, in 2015 I was really impressed with United's transcon business class offering. By 2018 the new Polaris seats were available, but the service had declined. And now in 2022, service has further declined. I really hope they can restore some of the now-eliminated service elements which they used to offer, otherwise I would have a hard time picking Polaris in the future, considering the quality and value offered in Premium Plus.
Previous Flying Transcon trip reports:
Flying Transcon: United P.S. 757-200 JFK-SFO J
Flying Transcon: Virgin America A320 PHL-SFO F
Flying Transcon: Alaska Airlines B737-900ER SEA-PHL F
Flying Transcon: United P.S. Polaris 777-300ER EWR-SFO-EWR J
Flying Transcon: JetBlue Mint A321 BOS-SEA-BOS
Flying Transcon: Alaska Airlines A320 PHL-SFO F
Flying Transcon: United Premium Plus 767-300ER EWR-LAX-EWR