Summary

  • United’s Polaris business class offers a premium experience with lie-flat seats, amenity kits, and upgraded inflight entertainment.
  • The top five most premium-heavy aircraft types in United’s fleet include the Boeing 777-300ER, 777-200ER, 787-9 Dreamliner, 787-10 Dreamliner, and 767-300ER.
  • These aircraft are deployed on various long-haul international and domestic routes.

Travelers seeking United Airlines’ most premium experience will find themselves in the carrier’s Polaris business class. This experience allows passengers to enjoy the best that United has to offer, from the beginning of their trip at the airport and throughout their journey to their final destination. Polaris business class is featured on most of United’s widebody fleet and select narrowbody planes. Polaris, however, is a step up from United’s domestic first product, which is outfitted on most of its single-aisle aircraft.

The luxurious cabin features fully lie-flat seats with direct aisle access, noise-reducing headphones, and larger inflight entertainment seatback screens. There is also ample space for passengers to store their personal items and charging ports for electronic devices. Amenity kits designed by Therabody are also offered on select flights. They include eye serum, facial spray, hand cream, socks, ear plugs, and an eye mask to ensure travelers have an elevated experience.

Inside the United Airlines Polaris Business Class cabin of a twin aisle aircraft.

Photo: United Airlines

Polaris business class is equipped on the following aircraft types within United’s fleet:

  • Boeing 757-200
  • Boeing 767-300ER
  • Boeing 767-400
  • Boeing 777-200ER
  • Boeing 777-300ER
  • Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
  • Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner
  • Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner

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While all of these types feature the premium class, not all examples are necessarily outfitted, as United has some subfleets without Polaris but first class instead. These planes are more suited for shorter domestic flights rather than long-haul international routes. Contrastingly, other aircraft types may be configured with a larger Polaris cabin despite their physical size, which shows that United, in some cases, allocates specific aircraft on certain routes and markets. As such, which are the top five aircraft with the most premium-heavy seating configurations?

5

777-300ER

60 Polaris business class seats

Understandably, United’s 777-300ER is, however, the carrier’s largest aircraft by passenger capacity and is equipped with the most premium seating as well. The aircraft accommodates a total of 350 passengers in a three-class format. In its premium cabins, there are 60 Polaris seats and 24 Premium Plus seats, which is the airline’s equivalent to premium economy.

United Airlines Boeing 777-300ER

Photo: United Airlines

Aircraft Type

Number of Examples

Total Number of United Polaris business class seats

Total Number of United Premium Select class seats

Boeing 777-300ER

22

60

24

Combining both cabins, the 777-300ER has a total of 84 premium seating options. According to ch-aviation, United’s 777-300ER fleet comprises 22 examples. All aircraft are configured in the same seating layout. The majority of these planes are based at the carrier’s hub at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), where they are deployed on some of the United’s longest routes, such as to Manila, Philippines, or Sydney, Australia.

4

777-200ER (Version 1)

50 Polaris business class seats

United operates two 777-200 family models: the original 777-200 and the 777-200ER. The extended-range model has the second largest amount of premium seating, while the 777-200 model is not configured with Polaris or Premium Plus classes. Additionally, the 777-200 fleet comprises aircraft from two different parties, as United merged with Continental Airlines in 2010. The original 777-200 fleet comprises legacy United Aircraft, while the 777-200ER fleet consists of both legacy United examples and ex-Continental aircraft.

Aircraft Type

Number of Examples

Total Number of United Polaris business class seats

Total Number of United Premium Select class seats

Boeing 777-200ER

55

50

24

A United Airlines 777-200 just before landing.

Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock

The 777-200ERs have a total of 50 Polaris seats. Adding the 24 Premium Plus seats, United offers 74 premium seats on the aircraft. According to ch-aviation, the airline has 55 examples of the 777-200ER for international operations and 19 examples of the 777-200, which exclusively operate domestic routes.

3

787-9 Dreamliner

48 Polaris business class seats

The popular 787-9 comes in third on the list with 48 Polaris seats. The Premium Plus cabin accommodates 21 passengers, meaning there are 69 premium seats onboard the aircraft type. Travelers have many opportunities to fly on the 787-9, regardless of the type of flight.

Aircraft Type

Number of Examples

Total Number of United Polaris business class seats

Total Number of United Premium Select class seats

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

38

48

21

United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Photo: United Airlines

These aircraft are also scheduled on some of United’s longest routes to Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, but are also deployed regularly between the airline’s two hubs at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). The 787-9 also operates long-haul flights out of Denver International Airport (DEN) and George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston.

2

767-300ER (Version 1)

46 Polaris business class seats

United has two different versions of the 767-300ER based on seating configuration. Version one is the fourth-most premium heavy aircraft with 46 Polaris seats and 22 Premium Plus seats. Version two has fewer Polaris seats at 30 but more Premium Plus seats at 24. Still, version one has a larger amount of premium seating.

Aircraft Type

Number of Examples

Total Number of United Polaris business class seats

Total Number of United Premium Select class seats

Boeing 767-300ER

37

46

22

A United Airlines Boeing 767 landing

Photo: MKPhoto12 | Shutterstock

According to aviation analytics and data provider Cirium, United deploys all of its 767-300ERs on international routes. The aircraft will operate 1,380 flights this month out of EWR, IAH, Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

1

787-10 Dreamliner

44 Polaris business class seats

Surprisingly, the 787-10 is United’s second-largest aircraft by capacity, with a total of 318 seats. However, it has the fifth-most premium heavy seating configuration. There are 44 Polaris seats and 21 Premium Plus seats, resulting in 65 premium seats onboard. Similar to the 787-9, the 787-10 regularly operates both international and domestic routes.

Aircraft Type

Number of Examples

Total Number of United Polaris business class seats

Total Number of United Premium Select class seats

Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner

21

44

21

A United Airlines Boeing 787-10 flying in the sky.

Photo: Markus Mainka I Shutterstock

It is notably deployed between LAX and EWR, but also operates a long-haul domestic route between ORD and Honolulu, Hawaii. On the international front, the aircraft is scheduled on flights to Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

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