I enjoyed a smooth longhaul journey on United Airlines onboard the 777-200ER in Polaris business class from Dubai to Newark, a flight I’d argue is a better option than Emirates’ older business class cabin on the same route.
United Airlines 777-200ER Polaris Business Class Review (Dubai – Newark)
I’ve reviewed the 777 longhaul business class product several times on United, but never on the Dubai route, which is one of United’s longer flights and also operated in cooperation with Emirates, which had a very big upside that I will discuss below.
Booking
I purchased a one-way ticket from Dubai (DXB) – Newark (EWR) – San Francisco (SFO) – Burbank (BUR) for $1371.05, with the Dubai – Newark – San Francisco flights booked in PremiumPlus, United’s premium economy cabin. I then used 30 PlusPoints to (try to) upgrade both segments. Only the Dubai – Newark ended up clearing (which of course was the more important segment). It cleared 24 hours before departure, leaving me with a limited seat selection in the cabin.
Check-In
After a long layover spent at teh Grand Hyatt Dubai, we showed up at Dubai Airport only 80 minutes prior to departure. The United check-in area is shared with Emirates and was very quiet (yes, we cut it a bit close…) and we quickly retrieved our boarding pass, checked two bags, and cleared security (via e-gates…no exit stamp).
Boarding
Both my friend and I had “SSSS” on our boarding pass (indiciating secondary screening required), but no one said anything about it…
Boarding had already commenced and we got in line (in fact, signs were showing “final call”) and were soon comfortably settled onboard.
United Airlines 163
Dubai (DXB) – Newark (EWR)
Thursday, April 6
Depart: 01:55 AM
Arrive: 08:45 AM
Duration: 14hr, 50min
Distance: 6,861 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 777-200
Seat: 4L (Polaris Business Class)
United’s longhaul product is predictable..and that’s a good thing.
Seat
The United 777-200ER cabin has 50 seats spread over two cabins in a 1-2-1 configuration.
I prefer bulkhead seats or at least odd-numbered window seats because those offer more privacy, but I took what I could get when the upgrade cleared, which in this case was 4L.
The seat was stacked high with pillows and blankets…United does bedding very well (the bedding has evolved slightly since my flight, but you can still expect a large pillow, cooling gel pillow, day blanket, and duvet).
This was an ex-Continetal Airlines 777, so there were no air vents. While the cabin did not seem to become too warm, that may be one reason I did not sleep as well on this flight.
Don’t forget to request a mattress pad if you fly in Polaris…it makes a difference.
I don’t prefer the even-numbered A and L seats becuase you often end up with just half a window…or half of one and half of another, which makes controlling an interesting game between you and your seatmate(s).
Finally, note the Polaris seat has a universal outlet and two USB-A chargers.
Food + Drink
This flight featured dinner after takeoff, a midflight snack, and breakfast before landing.
Dinner
Dinner was served after takeoff, starting with a hot towel, a choice of beverage, and mixed nuts.
Among the many appetizing options, I chose the beef tagine, a Moroccan-inspired stew that is slowly cooked for hours (at least in theory). The dish was served with turmeric-infused Israel couscous, olives, roasted red onion, and parsley. A home run.
What was a bit odd was that the salad (halal bulgur, bean and corn salad with mesclun, cumin seed, and cumin vinaigrette) and appetizer (sumac chicken with Aztec farro, jicama, bean and corn salad with smoked paprika aioli) were largely the same. Fattoush and lentil soup would have been preferred, but this was not bad. Bonus: buttery garlic bread and French butter.
Next I enjoyed a delicious cheese course with crackers and grapes before concluding the meal with an ice cream sundae topped in whipped cream, strawberries, and almonds.
A very nice meal which helped me quickly fall asleep for the next six hours.
Midflight Snack
This is a 14-hour, 50-minute flight and typically I can sleep for 10 hours on these longhauls. This time, I awoke roughly halfway through the flight and unable to fall back asleep, ordered a snack: potato leek soup and a wrap with with hummus, olive tapenade, cheese, and lettuce. I also had a bag of potato chips and a piece of fruit cobbler left over from the dinner service. It hit the spot.
A self-serve buffet was set up in the cabin: leftover items from the main meal service, chocolate, cookies, chips, and whole fruit.
Breakfast
The biggest surprise, though, was for breakfast prior to landing in Newark. I ordered the halal grilled beef tenderloin, which was served with scrambled eggs, truffle Hollandaise sauce, grilled tomatoes and rösti potatoes with onions.
You always take a risk in ordering airline steak, but this was a very decent cut of beef and cooked medium well (still too much, but better than well-done). It really hit the spot and the truffle Hollandaise sauce was excellent.
I also loved the full-sized croissant and especially the generous bowl of fruit with ripe and sweet watermelon, raspberries, and blueberries. A great breakfast indeed. Even the yogurt did not have too much sugar (something I often complain about when airlines serve yogurt).
I noticed a lot of people were sleeping through breakfast, so I asked the flight attendant if I could also try the halal buttermilk pancakes, served with cinnamon butter, apple compote, and maple syrup. Wow. The pancakes (I guess the cinnamon butter was key) were so delicious!
Thank You Emirates
Why was the food so good? Emirates and United have specifically consulted on the catering on this route. Yes indeed, I’d say this route offers the best catering in the system right now. Every meal on this flight was excellent and it shows me very clearly that serving excellent food onboard is 100% possible on United.
Amenities
Pajamas are available on fights over 12 hours. I asked for a pair and the flight attendant looked very annoyed, but discreetly brought me a pair and whispered that I should not let others see this because United did not load enough for everyone.
That’s fair enough on the part of the flight attendant – United should load enough for everyone and I understand that it disincentizes proactively offering any at all.
I change into pajamas on flights that are longer than 10 hours and changed immediately after takeoff on this one.
The “Away” hard-shelled amenity kit included Sunday Reily skin products (the current amenity kits contain Therabody skin products), a dental kit, eye shade, ear plugs, socks, tissues, and a pen.
Slippers were also offered (already placed on each seat).
IFE + Wi-Fi
A Wi-Fi pass was $21.99 (unlimited time and data) and since I only slept for about six hours, I ended up using it, though I also ended up watching two movies on the flight. Wi-Fi speeds were acceptable…though not “high speed” (hopefully something that will dramatically change with the introduction of Starlink).
United consistently offers an excellent library of movies and TV shows (games and audio are lacking) and I watched a couple of movies during the flight (which I will not bother to opine on, but both would earn mixed reviews in my book).
United’s noise-canceling headphones are not as good as what Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, or American Airlines offer, but I so greatly appreciate that they are not collected before landing…
Lavatories
I used the lavatory to change into my pajamas and then change back out and it was quite clean, even in the last hour of the flight.
The 777-200ER business class cabin has one lavatory in the front of the forward business class cabin and two next to the galley between cabins.
Service
I’d rate the service as unmemorable. Flight attendants were efficient, but not overly friendly and I was not addressed by surname (often the mark of a good crew). But I did appreciate the junior flight attendant working the breakfast service was more than happy to give me a second breakfast (and even offered me a third…).
CONCLUSION
Yes, an Emirates review on this route would have been more interesting for regular readers, but I was happy to try this route on United and very happy about the catering in Dubai (and I hear it is just as good out of Newark on this route).
I’m glad to see United fly to so many parts of the world and was thankful to use my PlusPoints to move from premium economy to business class (I’ll miss 1K status next year).
United may not win “best of” anything (although I think you can make an argument for the bedding), but I find it a very consistent product and I (almost) always end up enjoying my flights.
