United Airlines Takes its Polaris Business Class To New Heights In Major Boost For Passengers… Take a Look Inside

United Airlines has big plans for its upcoming Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and on Tuesday, the Chicago-based carrier officially revealed the new interiors – dubbed ‘United Elevated.’

United Elevated is a full tip-to-toe upgrade across every single cabin, although things get most exciting in the airline’s international Polaris Business Class cabin, where the airline plans to install suites with sliding privacy doors and eight larger Polaris Studio seats.

Along with new seats, larger seatback screens, wireless charging, Starlink high-speed internet, and Bluetooth connectivity, the airline also plans to improve onboard amenities, a new caviar amuse-bouche service in Polaris.

Let’s take a look at each cabin in more detail:

Polaris Studio

There will be eight Polaris Business Class Studio seats, which will offer more space and an elevated onboard experience, including exclusive Polaris Studio amenities like hoodie-pajamas and slippers on all flights, new Meridian noise-canceling headphones, and upgraded amenity kit with Perricone MD Cold Plasma Plus+ luxury skincare products.

The Polaris Studio seats are larger than other Polaris Suites because they are situated at the bulkhead where space would otherwise go to waste – an increasingly common design choice amongst airlines.

There will be four Polaris Studio suites at the very front of the plane and a further four Polaris Studio seats just behind the second set of doors. Six of the eight Polaris Studio suites also feature ottomans with an additional seatbelt fitted to allow for buddy dining.

Tech features include a 27-inch, 4K OLED seatback screen, USB-C and wireless charging, along with a plug outlet.

Polaris Suite

United is planning on having a supersized Polaris cabin on its Boeing 787-9s with 56 regular Polaris Suites installed across 14 rows in two sections between doors one and two and slightly aft of doors two.

The suite is based on the Adient Ascent seat, which will be familiar to some travelers as it is already installed on Hawaiian Airlines and Qatar Airways Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The seat is also set to debut very soon on American Airlines Boeing 787-9s as its new Flagship Suite.

Key features include:

• One-two-one configuration with direct aisle access and sliding privacy doors at every seat.
• A 19-inch 4K OLED seatback screen with Bluetooth connectivity so that passengers can connect their own headphones.

The Adient Ascent platform allows airlines to configure the center pair seats in two ways – either with passengers sitting closer together at the head and facing outwards or facing inwards with heads further apart.

The first option is great for couples traveling together, whereas the second configuration is better suited for lone passengers.

Unusually, United has opted for both configurations, with the forward section best suited for lone travelers and the rear section designed for couples.

United Premium Plus

United’s Premium Economy cabin, or Premium Plus as the airline calls it, is also getting an upgrade as part of United Elevated. The new seats feature mini privacy dividers, wireless charging, and larger 16-inch 4K OLED seatback screens.

There’s also a dedicated water bottle and headphone stowage, along with a built-in personal reading light.

There will be five rows of Premium Plus seats in a 2-3-2 configuration sitting just behind the Polaris cabin, bringing the total number of Premium Economy seats to 35.

United Economy Plus and Economy

The United Elevated Boeing 787-9 is going to be so premium heavy that there’s only enough space to fit 33 Economy Plus (extra legroom seats) and 90 Economy seats across the rest of the plane.

The experience is, though, still getting an upgrade with 13-inch 4K OLED screens at every seat – the largest Economy class screens in the world. There’s also Bluetooth connectivity and six power outlets per row of seats.

Onboard service is also getting an upgrade

Despite United’s recent investments to make it a premium airline, one of the biggest remaining complaints is the quality of food and drink served onboard.

United is hoping to finally change that pain point with the introduction of new tableware, an Ossetra caviar amuse-bouche service in Polaris, and an upgraded ice cream sundae cart.

Polaris Studio passengers will also have a post-meal snack box and access to a wider selection of entree options, along with the offer of Champagne Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé on top of the regular beverage choices.

When can you expect to see United Elevated?

The United Elevated interior will be installed on new United 787-9 Dreamliners that the carrier is taking delivery of. The first of these will hopefully arrive by the end of 2025 and United expects to take delivery of 30 Boeing 787s featuring United Elevated by the end of 2027.

If all goes to plan (which is never certain when it comes to Boeing), United anticipates it will launch United Elevated early next year on two routes:

• San Francisco (SFO) to Singapore (SIN)
• San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR)

Matt’s take – United continues its push upmarket

There is no denying that United is on a roll as it continues its push to become more upmarket and challenge Delta Air Lines for the premium passenger market. United Elevated is, however, a potentially long overdue enhancement to the airline’s long-haul premium proposition.

Is it revolutionary? No. But it doesn’t need to be. United isn’t competing with Qatar Airways, Emirates, or Singapore Airlines, and spending money on revolutionary seats would, arguably, be a waste of money.

Whichever way you cut it, though, this is a significant improvement on what United currently offers. United is no doubt anticipating a big increase in customer satisfaction on United Elevated planes and this feedback will help the carrier make the business case to retrofit existing planes with the concept.