At an event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard this past Tuesday, May 13, United Airlines announced a new version of their Polaris business class cabin for their Boeing 787s that they are calling “Elevated”. The new Elevated 787-9s will feature 64 business class suites with doors, 35 premium economy seats, and 123 economy seats. The old configuration of the 787-9 is 48 business class seats, 21 premium economy seats, and 188 economy seats. Eight of the new configuration’s business class seats, the bulkhead row in the front and rear business class cabins, will be dubbed “Polaris Studio” and feature more space, an ottoman for a guest to join you in the suite, champagne (Cuvee Rose) and a caviar service, and a special amenity kit, including a hooded sweatshirt pajama set. We don’t know what the exact upcharge will be for the Polaris Studio but in a survey that United sent out to frequent flyers in 2024 it was suggested that a surcharge of $300 to $650 on a $2500 business class ticket could be expected.
A few things stand out to me, the first being the sheer number of business class seats on these planes. 64 is a lot of premium seats and United will take possession of 100 787s with this configuration over the next few years. Sure, some of those will replace 777s and 767s but it’s still a lot of airplanes with a lot of expensive seats. The first routes announced for these planes will be San Francisco-Singapore and San Francisco-London. The Singapore route definitely has demand for business class but I am intrigued by London. I’m sure there is some demand but I am surprised there is enough premium demand to justify this new configuration on the route. I wouldn’t be surprised if, as United took delivery of more of these planes, we saw new longhaul routes open up or return, like Los Angeles-Singapore.
Another thing I noticed was that a lavatory was removed from the economy cabin and one was added to the business class cabins. I doubt premium economy customers will be allowed to use the business class lavatories so that will leave three lavatories for 158 passengers. On ultra long haul routes, like those to Singapore, that reduction in lavatories could lead to really unpleasant waits to use the restroom.
One thing I didn’t mention about the Polaris Studio is that it comes with Global Services status for the day. A Polaris Studio passenger will be able to use the Global Services check-in desk, security, and pre-boarding, all nice perks when at busy airports. It’s also an area where I could see United falling short. The carrier has long struggled with soft product implementations and I don’t believe this product will be any different. Previously simple things like the sundae cart service would be completely inconsistent. The same is true for the offering of pajamas on ultra long hauls, sometimes flight attendants offer them, other times they can’t be bothered to find them when asked. The caviar service, the pajamas, etc. all take a bit more work for Polaris Studio. Done correctly, it could be a great feature. Done poorly and customers walk away disappointed or underwhelmed and unlikely to pay the premium for it again.
Conclusion
Elevated Polaris looks like a great update to United’s business class product. The number of business class seats that they are installing on these planes is astonishing, especially when you consider they will have 100 of these planes by 2027. It’s a huge bet on the premium traffic market growing, or at least staying the same. Future markets I would expect to see these planes on: Houston-Sydney, Newark-Johannesburg, Newark-Cape Town, and Los Angeles-Sydney.
The implementation of the service for the eight Polaris Studio seats will be key in making the upsell successful. If United can’t get consistency in the service for those seats, I don’t see the concept being something that travelers will pay a premium for. United also hasn’t mentioned whether frequent flyers will be able to use PlusPoints, their currency for upgrades, for the Polaris Studio and what the premium would be. My guess is that United will debut the Polaris Studio with only a cash surcharge and see what the reception is like, then they will open it up to PlusPoints later.
Service flow and customer flow for things like lavatories are also open questions. 64 business class seats along with two extra rows of premium economy with a reduction in overall galley space means that service could be really slow. As you can see in the seatmaps above, the old configuration had two full galleys for 48 business class customers and 21 premium economy customers, the new configuration has 30 more people across both of those cabins being served by a smaller mid-cabin galley and the forward galley. The reduction in economy lavatories is also a little bit worrisome for passenger wait times.
Overall it’s neat to see United innovating and trying some new things. They are heavily invested in premium travel staying strong for at least the new few years and we’ll just have to wait and see if they made the right call.