Caviar, lie-flat beds and a cool snack bar: 17 hours in United’s swanky new Polaris suites

Craig Stephenson had around 1.5 million United Airlines miles sitting in his MileagePlus account and was itching to use them.

A longtime Premier 1K status member, he recently found himself scrolling through photos of the airline’s luxe new Polaris business-class suites. Before too long, he was perusing fares — and considering a spot on the first international flight these seats would be on.

“It’s expensive to go to Singapore,” he said.

But you only live once.

“I’m like, ‘You know what — this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Stephenson said. “‘I have to do this.'”

It took half a million miles, but he made it. And he was seated right behind me, Wednesday night, as United pushed back in San Francisco for a flight that would mark the airline’s biggest bet yet on “premium.”

New Polaris makes its global debut

United’s 17-hour Pacific crossing to Singapore’s Changi Airport (SIN) marked the true hard launch of the carrier’s “Elevated” Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the upscale plane that might now be the fanciest commercial aircraft at any U.S. airline.

This 222-seat jet boasts a whopping 99 premium seats between business-class and premium economy.

Reimagined Polaris business-class

Up front, this plane is the first to house United’s next-generation Polaris product, complete with the sliding privacy doors that have become a must-have for airlines hoping to court big-spending travelers.

Enhanced Polaris concept

But the real head-turners on this aircraft are the eight ultra luxe Polaris “Studio” suites.

These extra-large pods now represent the highest-end seating option United has ever offered, and they will likely be an enticing upgrade option going forward for travelers looking to splurge for more creature comforts.

A new look from nose to tail

The arrival of United’s “Elevated” 787 on the global stage came less than a year after the carrier first announced the revamp to its flagship long-haul product.

To be clear, it wasn’t just the fancy seats that were reimagined.

The plane’s premium economy and coach cabins got a glow-up, too, as TPG saw during a preview of the aircraft last month in Los Angeles. Among the upgrades in economy: seatback screens that United has dubbed the largest in coach on any airline in the world.

The cabins break down like this:

Less than half of the seats on board this plane are standard economy seats — a sign of just how premium this plane skews.

17 hours in United’s Elevated cabin: SFO-SIN

Where did I spend this aircraft’s maiden transpacific voyage? Up front in seat 1A — one of the swanky new Polaris Studios.

Here’s what it was like on board United’s first “Elevated” international flight, and what to know if you’re hoping to grab a seat on one of these planes in the not-so-distant future. A helpful tip: You don’t have to fly all the way to Singapore.

‘Welcome to the Dream’

As you might expect, enthusiasm emanated from the United employees and crew during the first departure for Singapore.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Dream,” the United flight attendant said as the United Dreamliner designated as UA Flight No. 1 pushed back from the SFO gate at 10:43 p.m. PDT.

By that point, I’d already acquainted myself with my spacious home-away-from-home for the next 17 hours.

United’s new studios sport all the Polaris table stakes you’d expect: a lie-flat seat, Saks Fifth Avenue bedding and sleek Bluetooth-ready headphones.

But these pods come with a host of cool new bells and whistles.

The real eye-catcher is the 24-inch 4K screen. There’s also a buddy seat you can use to dine with a companion (which TPG’s Summer Hull and I tried out last month).

If you’re traveling with a spouse or partner, you might prefer the middle two suites in Row 9, which can be configured as a pseudo double bed.

All of United’s Polaris suites come equipped with a host of thoughtful and high-tech touches, from ample storage to custom in-suite mood lighting features and a ton of charging ports.

Up front, the carrier has surrounded the Polaris Studios with new “soft product” touches like hooded pajama shirts you’ll actually want to wear again after the flight, as well as amenity kits from Perricone MD and Polaris playing cards.

New Polaris experience: Food and drink

Shortly after we were airborne, the flight attendants made good on one of United’s promises for its new upscale Polaris Studio seats: caviar served alongside a pour of Laurent-Perrier Cuvee Rose.

The food kept coming after that palate-cleanser.

The four-course dinner service was certainly a step in the right direction for United after years of catering critique. The ricotta gnudi (a Polaris Studio exclusive selection) was fabulous.

As a wine enthusiast, I also appreciated the build-your-own wine flight.

Plus, Polaris passengers received midflight tapas on demand (which tasted better than they looked). The breakfast service shortly before landing at Changi was less memorable.

On-board snack bar

A highlight on this plane, though, was the walk-up snack bar, which came in clutch during the ultra-long-haul journey that required many stand-up-and-stretch breaks.

I should note that while this pantry was only available to Polaris passengers, United is planning to deploy economy snack bars on two of the newest plane types it announced last month.

Growing pains

Any new plane is sure to have issues at the start. On this flight, easily the biggest hurdle customers encountered was the Wi-Fi.

United is in the process of rolling out Starlink service across its fleet, which is free to MileagePlus members once installed.

But this 787 still offered older, paid — and very unreliable — service from Panasonic. (United didn’t even wait for me to ask before it refunded my $8 Wi-Fi fee.)

A spokesperson told TPG the airline expects to begin outfitting its twin-aisle jets with Starlink service this summer. The service is already widely available on its regional jets.

Also, while the sliding privacy doors are a key new feature in these Polaris cabins, you’ll actually have to wait a bit longer to enjoy that feature.

The doors are locked in the “open” position for now while they await certification.

This has been a common regulatory bottleneck for multiple U.S. carriers that have added business-class doors to their planes; American Airlines ran into the same delay with the rollout of its new Flagship Suites.

A United spokesperson told TPG the carrier expects to have the doors in use by summer.

What to know about booking United’s new ‘Elevated’ planes

UA Flight No. 1 touched down in Singapore shortly before 7 a.m. local time Friday morning, completing its first of what likely will be many treks to Asia.

The Elevated Dreamliner will be a fixture on United’s SFO-SIN route in the future.

But if you want a seat on this plane — or others like it to come — you don’t have to fly to Singapore.

Next week, in fact, another one of these spiffy 787s will make its European debut on United’s route from SFO to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR).

And there are many more planes to come: United expects to have 20 Dreamliners with the new-look cabin by year’s end.

If you’re hoping to score your spot in a Polaris Studio, you’ll want to start by booking a regular Polaris suite on one of these planes and then paying for the upgrade to the fancier seat.

That’s exactly what Stephenson, a United million-miler, is doing for his return trip.

After redeeming half a million miles for a spot in Polaris, he gladly forked over another $600 to sit in the very front of the front cabin.

It’s an investment befitting the strides United has made, he said, to catch up to top rival Delta Air Lines with its high-end offerings.

“United has understood,” Stephenson said, “that they needed to up their game.”

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