Which Aircraft Have United's New Polaris and Premium Plus Seats?

United (sort of) recently has undergone several changes in its long-haul premium products. Firstly, at the end of 2016 (I know, it’s already been 2.5 years), United introduced Polaris, its new international business class product with updated lounges, amenities, and seats. Unfortunately, they took a long time to retrofit their aircraft with the new seats and not even 40% of their long-haul aircraft which will receive the new seats have them. Secondly, in March 2019, they debuted their new premium economy product, Premium Plus, and even though they had been retrofitting aircraft with the new seats since last year, they didn’t introduce the full product until this year with better food and amenities. However, most long-haul routes on United still feature their sub-par business class and no premium economy product. So what is better about flying on the new Polaris seats or on the Premium Plus product, and what aircraft have them?

What Is United Polaris and United Premium Plus?

Again, United introduced Polaris at the end of 2016. The main original differences were found in the better onboard amenities. That included better amenity kits, more food with better choices (although I’m not sure how much better), PJs on ultra-long-haul flights, and the best bedding of any US Airline, that includes two pillows, a duvet, a small blanket, and mattress pads. Additionally, United also introduced Polaris lounges, that are now featured in Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco, Houston, Newark, Los Angeles, and will be introduced at Washington Dulles (plans actually have been introduced, although we all know how long it will take at Dulles), London Heathrow, Tokyo Narita, and Hong Kong.

United 777-200 Polaris — The New Polaris Seats on a Boeing 777-200

Most excitingly, United also introduced new seats in business class. The new seats have all aisle access, are staggerd, pretty private, and also have significantly more storage than United’s old seats. FYI, before United introduced Polaris, none of their old business class seats had all aisle access and were either in a 2-2 (757), 2-1-2 (767), 2-2-2 (787, 777, 747, 767), or even in a 2-4-2 configuration in their older 777-200s. Fortunately, United has had flatbed seats on all long-haul aircraft since the early to mid-2010s. Both American and Delta have flatbed seats with all aisle access on all of their long-haul aircraft, so United (even though they were the first to have flatbed seats in business class) is behind both American and Delta in terms of business class products.

United Premium Plus, on the other hand, is their new premium economy product (not to get confused with Economy Plus). It was debuted at the end of March this year, although some aircraft got retrofitted with the new seats last year. I had the pleasure of flying on it on the 777 (but without the new service) in December – here’s a link to the review. The seats are wider than economy class seats (almost as wide as domestic first class), have significant recline, and have leg rests and footrests. In addition, Premium Plus passengers receive meals that are similar to the ones received in domestic first class, get premium bedding, and get a business class style amenity kit. Premium Plus is often available to upgrade for only 20-30 thousand miles on long-haul flights, and the seats are definitely worth the extra cost to make flying a little less painful on long flights. United Premium Plus is pretty standard for premium economy products and uses the same seat as Delta, American, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, and other airlines.

Both American (in 2016) and Delta (in 2017) introduced premium economy products. American has the most aircraft with over 120 aircraft with the new product, although Delta doesn’t even have 30 aircraft with their premium economy product. However, United has the second most premium economy seats of the three airlines, with over 50 aircraft with Premium Plus, showing that they have been retrofitting their aircraft with it relatively quickly. What also impresses me with United’s Premium Plus and Polaris retrofits is that it hasn’t sacrificed premium cabin space for premium economy seats like American and Delta did – it kept business class the same but sacrificed a bit off of economy class to add premium economy and the new Polaris seats. Most of the aircraft that have the new Polaris seats also have the new Premium Plus product. Listed below are the aircraft that will be retrofitted with the new seats and the timeline for them receiving them.

Boeing 777-300ER

The Boeing 777-300s were the first aircraft to receive the Polaris seats when the first aircraft were delivered in 2017 (the aircraft were delivered with United Polaris seats). Additionally, United retrofitted their Boeing 777-300ERs with their new Premium Plus seats starting last year and finished retrofitting them all with the new product by mid Spring 2019. United Polaris on the 777-300ERs is in staggered a 1-2-1 configuration (with 60 seats) and United Premium Plus is in a 2-4-2 configuration (with 24 seats). All of United’s 777-300ERs feature their latest premium cabin seats. United flies their 18 Boeing 777-300ERs on international routes out of both San Francisco and Newark to East Asia, India, and couple destinations in Europe.

A United 777-300ER and a Lufthansa A320 — A United 777-300ER in Frankfurt

Boeing 787-10

Similarly to the Boeing 777-300ER, United’s Boeing 787-10s were delivered with the new Polaris seats. However, since the first ones were delivered only at the end of last year, they also were delivered directly with the new Polaris seats. Business Class is in a 1-2-1 configuration (with 44 seats) and Premium Plus is in a 2-3-2 configuration (with 21 seats). United’s 9 (which will grow to a fleet of 14) Boeing 787-10s are based solely out of Newark Airport and operate flights to Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris CDG, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, and Brussels.

Boeing 777-200ER

United only started retrofitting its Boeing 777-200ERs with the new Polaris seats a little over a year ago, although they’ve really picked up the pace retrofitting their aircraft with it. Currently, 25 out of 51 (they have 55, although based on their website, 4 will probably be retired) Boeing 777-200ERs have the new Polaris and Premium Plus seats. Like the Boeing 777-300ER, Polaris is in a 1-2-1 configuration and Premium Plus is in a 2-4-2 configuration. However, United’s older 777-200ERs have business class in a 2-4-2 configuration, which is tight, to say the least. United also has a few ex-continental 777-200ERs which have business class in a 2-2-2 configuration and also will be retrofitted with the new seats. United’s 777-200ER retrofit process will be complete in mid-2020.

United 777-200 Old Business Class — United’s Horrendous 2-4-2 Old 777 Business Class

United operates its retrofitted 777-200ER aircraft in the new configuration on route to Asia, Europe, and New Zealand from San Francisco, Washington Dulles, and Newark. United schedules their 777-200ERs on a few routes out of those cities, although often you’ll also find them on routes scheduled on one of United’s old 777-200ERs where there is an aircraft swap when the specific aircraft are scheduled for specific routes, three days in advance.

However, it’s also worthwhile to note that United has 19 Boeing 777-200s (the non-ER version) which operate only on domestic flights and on flights from Guam and Tokyo to Hawaii. These aircraft have United’s oldest 2-4-2 business class configuration and are high density (they have only 28 business class seats, which is small, considering that most of United’s aircraft are premium heavy) and will not get retrofitted with the new seats. Instead, they will be retired within the next few years.

Boeing 767-300

United actually now has three different configurations for its 767-300s. The first doesn’t have the new Polaris seats or Premium Plus. It has Rockwell Collins Diamond seats in a 2-1-2 configuration in business class (here’s a review of that configuration). Those aircraft will be retrofitted in one of the two new configurations on their 767-300s. The first new configuration of their 767s doesn’t have Premium Plus but has the new Polaris seats. 14 of United’s 767-300s have 30 Polaris business class seats in a 1-1-1 configuration and have 194 seats in economy class and economy plus.

Three Boeing 767-300s are in United’s premium heavy configuration, which has a whopping 46 new Polaris class seats (1-1-1 configuration), 22 Premium Plus seats (2-2-2 configuration), and only 99 economy class and economy plus seats. These aircraft aren’t currently scheduled on any in particular routes and swap out for 767s in the older configuration regularly. That totals out at a total of only 167 seats on United’s premium heavy 767s, which is 12 seats less than what United’s much smaller narrowbody 737-900s have. Obviously, these aircraft are highly specialized for premium heavy routes. The three aircraft currently are scheduled on routes from both Newark and Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow, although Premium Plus isn’t sold on those routes yet.

United’s 767-300s without the new Polaris seats will be retrofitted into mostly the premium heavy configuration of the 767. Since United’s 767-300s aren’t young (some of them are almost 30 years old), United will only keep them around for a few more years before they retire the retrofitted 767s. Something else worth noting is that since business class is in a 1-1-1 configuration and are more spacious than the other flatbed seat that airlines use on 767s – the Thompson Vantage product, it’s safe to say that United has the best business class seats of any airline on the 767.

Boeing 787-8/787-9/767-400

None of United’s 12 Boeing 787-8s, 25 Boeing 787-9s, or 16 Boeing 767-400s have the new Polaris seats or Premium Plus seats yet. That really is a shame, since United’s Boeing 787-9s and 787-8s operate on their longest routes, so on United’s longest flights, you don’t get their best business class seat or a premium economy product. However, United’s 767-400s just operate on shorter transatlantic routes out of Newark and Washington Dulles. United has 13 additional Boeing 787-9s on order which it will take delivery of in a few years which will come delivered with both Polaris and Premium Plus. United plans to start retrofitting their Boeing 787-8s and Boeing 787-9s in late 2019. Hopefully, they will use their retrofitted 787s on their longest routes first before they use them on their shorter ones. United’s 767-400s will be the last aircraft to receive the new Polaris seats and Premium Plus, as they will start to be retrofitted in early 2020.

United’s 757-200, Old 767-300, 767-400, Old 777-200, and 787 Business Class (Image Courtesy of United Airlines)

Other Aircraft?

No other aircraft are slated to be retrofitted with the new Polaris seats or Premium Plus. United also has flatbed Polaris seats on their Boeing 757-200s which they use on shorter transatlantic and South American (and transcontinental) flights out of Washington, Newark, and Chicago. They won’t receive the new Polaris seats or Premium Plus, mostly because it is a single aisle aircraft and they are slated to be retired within the next several years. However, no replacement aircraft has been chosen for the 757, although the A321LR is rumored to be a replacement on the transatlantic routes that it flies.

Additionally, United will start taking delivery of Airbus A350-900s in 2022. They are slated to be delivered with the new Polaris seats and with Premium Plus. However, 2022 is still three years away, and by then, the Polaris seats will have been six years old. I would definitely not be surprised if United were to introduce a new Polaris seat on their Airbus A350s in 2022, perhaps taking the lead from Delta by introducing closed suites. United also has stated that they might add flatbed seats to some 737 MAX 10 aircraft (although they said that before the 737 MAX issues) on short-haul transatlantic and transcontinental routes, which most likely will feature a future iteration of the Polaris seat.

Conclusion

United is slightly behind American and Delta when it comes to the number of aircraft that have seats with all aisle access on long-haul aircraft. However, they have been making up for that recently by retrofitting about one aircraft a week with the new Polaris and Premium Plus seats. United Polaris isn’t the world’s best business class seat, although it is a massive step up from Untied’s older business class seats. Additionally, it was a great move to try and stay competitive to introduce Premium Plus, and the rate that they’ve been retrofitting aircraft with it was even more impressive. Overall, United has a massive discrepancy in the aircraft in terms of their business class seats, so always, if possible, try and get on an aircraft with both Premium Plus and Polaris, so you have better chances at an upgrade to either of those cabins.

Which Aircraft Have United’s New Polaris and Premium Plus Seats?