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This United Polaris 777-200 Business Class Review from San Francisco SFO to Newark EWR is in the form of a video review. Note that this domestic transcontinental route was unusual for the international 1-2-1 configuration of United's 777-200, which is more typically put on international routes.
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United 777-200 Polaris Cabin and Seat Selection
United has several Polaris configurations, but the internationally configured 777-200 aircraft all have 50 business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration across 15 rows in two cabins, where each seat has direct aisle access. Solo travelers are likely to prefer A and L window seats in rows 3, 5 and 7 in the front Polaris cabin, as these seats are closest to the window and thus a bit more protected from aisle traffic. My husband and I chose 5L and 7L for this reason, to try to get better rest on our red eye flight from SFO to EWR.
Couples may prefer D and G seats also in odd numbered rows, as these seats are closest together, for ease of talking, and also more protected from aisle traffic than the seats in even numbered rows, which are closer to the aisle.
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United Polaris Business Class Seat, 777-200
The Polaris seat on United's international 777-200 are 22 inches wide, equivalent to the JetBlue Mint Suite on the A321 used for transcontinental flights, and about the same as Qatar QSuites, and wider than Austrian Airlines Business Class and SWISS Business Class, although more narrow than certain international competitors, such as Singapore Business Class and JAL Sky Suite Business Class.
On each seat was a thin Saks Fifth Avenue blanket (the more comfortable duvets weren't available during the pandemic), fluffy white pillow, and a smaller gel memory foam pillow in a blue pillowcase.
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On top of the pillows was an amenity kit with the basics: toothbrush kit, ear plugs, sleep mask and Sunday Riley lip balm.
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There's a decent amount of small item storage space around the seat, including in the latched storage compartment above the counter, which contained a bottle of Dasani water as well as the IFE headphones (which aren't Bose but get the job done). A thoughtful touch is the mirror on the inside of the door, so you can comb your hair and see just how jet-lagged you look.
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Underneath the foot rest is some storage space for shoes, although bring your own slippers, since United and other U.S. airlines don't provide slippers.
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The United Polaris Seat reclines, joining up with the footrest to form a fully flat bed that is 6 feet 6 inches long–one of the longer flat beds in business class (see video below). I would have preferred having the missing duvet, but used the provided blanket as a kind of thin mattress pad and my own shawl as a blanket. The blue memory foam pillow was particularly comfortable.
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United Polaris Meal, SFO-EWR
Keep in mind that United's nonstop transcon flights between LAX and New York (JFK or EWR) and between SFO and JFK/EWR, whether they're on an aircraft with Polaris seats or not, have premium transcontinental service, not true international Polaris service. Due to the pandemic, there were no menus, just two meal choices, with everything served on a single tray at the same time, and we were reminded to quickly replace our face masks as soon as we were finished eating. My meal consisted of a mixed nuts in an enclosed plastic container, bread roll, simple salad with dressing, Thai chicken with noodles, and mango sorbet. Although the chicken and noodles was anything but photogenic, it actually was quite tasty. Still, the best part of the meal was the mango sorbet.
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The Verdict
We were fortunate to be in United Polaris on one of United's internationally configured 777-200 aircraft, which aren't typically put on the SFO-EWR transcontinental route. The hard product is very good for a U.S. carrier, and we appreciated the privacy of our 5L and 7L seats close to the window to get some rest on the short five hour flight. I also liked the blue memory foam pillow that was provided in addition to a fluffier white pillow and the thin Saks Fifth Avenue blanket (comfier duvets were removed during the pandemic).
Even so, I prefer JetBlue Mint, which I also had occasion to fly transcon during the pandemic: for me, the JetBlue Mint Suite, food and service, even during COVID-19, were preferable to the United Polaris onboard experience.
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This is only the Polaris hard product and not the Polaris soft product. Rather, it’s “premium service”, commonly known as “p.s.” This isn’t mentioned anywhere, and you should clarify it.