United Airlines is eagerly awaiting the arrival of its first ultra-premium Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with the carrier’s next-generation Polaris Studio Business Class suites. And the formal delivery date is edging ever closer.
Unfortunately, however, a flight plan filed on Monday, which showed the aircraft would be flying to Washington Dulles on January 9, was a red herring and only forms part of the plane’s pre-delivery test flights.
While we’ll have to wait slightly longer before United takes delivery of the plane, it’s worth noting that this aircraft marks a big change for United’s premium cabin experience on long-haul flights, and is a testament to just how much chief executive Scott Kirby thinks premium travel is the way forward for the Chicago-based carrier.
More than half of the plane is dedicated to premium cabins with Polaris Business Class Premium Plus seats stretching all the way back to row 24. The main cabin only runs from Doors 3 to 4, which gives a real indication of where United is heading.
The ultra-premium configuration features:
- 64 Polaris business class suites stretching from row 1 to 17, which include eight Polaris Studio suites.
- 35 Premium Plus seats in a 2-3-3 configuration stretching across five rows.
- 123 Economy seats in a standard 3-3-3 configuration, with 39 of these Economy Plus seats with extra legroom.
The big change on board is United’s new Polaris suite and Polaris Studio suite, which mark a step change in the airline’s premium long-haul experience.
Based on the Elevate Ascent seat, the new Polaris experience features sliding privacy doors in a 1-2-1 configuration. In the forward Polaris cabin, the center seats are directed inwards, meaning that passengers are further away from one another.
In the rear Polaris cabin, however, the center seats are directed outwards, so passengers are closer to one another at had level. That means that the forward cabin is best suited for solo travelers, whereas the rear Polaris cabin is ideal for couples traveling together.
The news, though, is the addition of eight Polaris Studio suites, which are 25% larger than standard Polaris suites. These are situated at the bulkhead of either Polaris and are positioned as a ‘Business Class Plus’ product with larger television screens, an ottoman for companions, and an upgraded in-flight experience which includes a seperate caviar service, an upgraded amenity kit, and enhanced entrees.
All of United’s new Boeing 787s will be delivered with the new Polaris suites – part of United’s Elevated program to improve the passenger experience.
One of the first Boeing 787s with the United Elevated cabin (registration: N21102) is due to depart the Boeing Dreamliner factory in Charleston, North Carolina, on Monday evening and arrive at United’s hub at Washington Dulles at around 7:30 pm following a one-and-a-half-hour flight, as part of a pre-delivery test flight.
United had hoped to start taking delivery of 80 new Dreamliners late last year, but the timeline has slipped, and a spokesperson for the carrier didn’t confirm when United now expects the first delivery to take place.
We also don’t know when this aircraft will actually enter service, but when it does, we know United intends to send its first Elevated 787s on long-haul flights from San Francisco to London and Singapore.
United is hoping to have taken delivery of 30 Boeing 787s with the Elevated interior by the end of 2027, with additional destinations for these aircraft set to be announced sometime soon.
