United unveiled its new Polaris Studio product earlier this morning. These seats feature many new and exciting amenities, including doors, 4K OLED screens, caviar service, and more. We’ve also got new seats in the regular Polaris cabin, as well as in Premium Plus and Economy. United calls these new interiors United Elevated.
Let’s take a look.
Polaris Studio
Polaris Studio will be located at the very front of the cabin and will offer an elevated experience with additional space and amenities compared to the rest of Polaris. We’ve seen many airlines do this in recent years by offering an extra product at the front in order to maximize space and revenue, and United is no different.
There will be 8 of these Polaris Studio seats. The airline notes that there are 25% larger than the regular Polaris seats. An ottoman is located for companions to sit down, and passengers can enjoy exclusive entree options, an Ossetra caviar amuse-bouche service, new amenity kits, and other luxury products.
Here’s a bit more of the elevated amenitites we can expect:
- Exclusive hoodie-pajamas and slippers
- New noise-cancelling headphones, powered by Meridian technology
- Amenity kits featuring clinically formulated Perricone MD Cold Plasma Plus+ luxury skincare products
- United-branded playing cards
- Plush velvet throw pillow on the ottoman
- Saks Fifth Avenue bedding that includes a duvet, day blanket, large pillow and cooling gel pillow
I’m in awe of these offerings in Polaris Studio. This is truly a game changer for the airline and reaffirms their focus on being a “premium airline”.
The seatback screens are Bluetooth compatible and are an impressive 27 inch, 4K OLED screen. United notes that this is the largest among all U.S. carriers.
Passengers will also find wireless charging and digital seat controls.
The airline also mentions that Polaris Studio customers can access “the airline’s Global Reception area, receive preferred boarding alongside United Global Services customers and are eligible for United’s tarmac transfer program.”
New Polaris Seats
The regular Polaris seats are getting a fantastic refresh as well.
The seats are in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone configuration. These seats will also feature sliding doors, wireless charging, and digital seat controls. The 4K OLED seatback screens are billed as 19 inches.
The privacy aspect of these Polaris seats seems to be getting a great upgrade. Some of the seats on the current Polaris configuration are quite exposed to the aisle, but the new doors and the reverse herringbone seating should offer a more personal experience.
United added that its Polaris Sundae cart will also get an upgrade with a rotation of limited time featured Tillamook ice cream flavors coupled with new toppings that will run throughout the year.
Premium Plus and Economy
Both Premium Plus and Economy class seats will get upgrades as well.
Passengers will enjoy a 16 inch 4K OLED seatback screen featuring Bluetooth connectivity. Interestingly, the airline is offering wireless charging in these Premium Plus seats, which is quite rare for this cabin class.
Economy class will also see 13 inch 4K OLED seatback screens. Dimentions wise, this is one of the biggest offered in economy today. Of course, these too will also be Bluetooth compatible.
Routes and Configuration
As of now, United is scheduled to take delivery of these Elevated interior Boeing 787-9s by the end of this year and is planning to begin passenger service in 2026 between San Francisco and Singapore and San Francisco and London.
The airline is expected to receive about 30 of these by 2027.
It’ll be interesting to see what routes United chooses to use these 787-9s in. These Elevated interiors feature a very premium heavy configuration. It’s not a coincidence that the airline is starting them off on its longer routes with a lot of business travel.
This new configuration will be:
- 8 United Polaris business class Studio suites
- 56 United Polaris business class suites
- 35 United Premium Plus seats
- 33 United Economy Plus seats
- 90 United Economy seats
This is a stark difference from its current 787-9 fleet with 149 economy class seats.
My Thoughts
These seats look gorgeous. I don’t have much else to say. It has been amazing to see United’s commitment to delivering premium products and services over the past several years, and these new United Elevated interiors reaffirm this feeling. The number of elevated amenities and the amount of detail in each cabin has me impressed.
As I said, it’s going to be interesting to see the routes United initially chooses for these jets as they’re very premium heavy.
Here’s to a new era of United Polaris!
All photos by United.
