#68 out of 94 Airlines A minimum of 10 flight-reports within the past two years is required to appear in the rankings.
448 reviews
It's been a while since I've done a flight report, so here's one of a vacation I took mid last year. Work's been keeping me quite busy, so I haven't had many chances of traveling much.
This was originally a much more straight-forward trip, involving just two flight segments: IAD-BRU on SN and AMS-IAD on UA, both booked with United Miles. Unfortunately, the summer chaos in Europe led to multiple cancellations of each direction and we ended up with my eventual routing. I do have to shout out the various United help desk folks who were patient and persistent in finding me the best alternatives throughout this experience.
Originally I was flying IAD-BRU on SN and was looking forward to trying them long-haul (as well as snagging a throne seat out of it). My plan was to arrive very early morning in Brussels and take a day trip to Luxembourg to check it out. Unfortunately, the day before my flight, the SN flight cancelled and I was left scrambling for alternatives. For whatever reason, SN rebooked me on IAD-LHR-BRU. Even more interestingly, LHR-BRU was to be on British Airways (which isn't Star Alliance). There were a few problems: I didn't really trust the transit process at LHR and wasn't sure how long it would take (and I've had enough bad experiences at LHR in the past that I try to avoid it). More importantly, the IAD-LHR segment didn't ticket, so I just had a random LHR-BRU ticket. I rang up United and asked them to rebook me (very thankful for 1Ks getting to skip the phone wait line here). The agent was able to find my a flight direct to Luxembourg through Zurich. My seat assignment wasn't ideal as I ended up on one of the more exposed window seats, but that turned out to be not so bad (see below).
I had a few calls to make so I arrived at Dulles plenty early to 1) dodge all the mess I've heard about and 2) eat a late lunch at the Polaris Lounge. To my surprise, it was very quiet mid-day on a Thursday and not at all the mess I had seen on social media.
This is my second time through the IAD Polaris Lounge, which remains my favorite in the system. The lounge can be found directly across the United Club in Terminal C.
A small check-in area before a short staircase up to the lounge proper. I was courteously checked in and thanked for my 1K status.
I've reviewed this lounge before and the layout hasn't change–plenty of seating of different varieties throughout the lounge.
Down a hallway you can find individual bathrooms (shower rooms are elsewhere).
I made a beeline to dining room. Despite a sign asking you to wait to be seated, the staff tells you to just seat yourself. I imagine that changes during the afternoon rush of departures.
Here is the menu, I don't think it's changed much since I was here after it first opened.
The lounge was still serving Lanson's black label at the time, which is a perfectly fine business-class champagne.
I had the autumn squash soup to start.
My main was the seared salmon, pretty good and in a small enough portion to save room for an onboard flight or trying out other items.
I had a chocolate chip skillet cookie–I get this every single time I'm at a Polaris lounge.
Afterwards, I moved
I lost my notes for what this drink was, but I asked the bartender to surprise me and she did with her own take on a classic.
Pictures from the buffet area if you were in more of a rush and didn't have time to sit down in the dining room.
I moved over to one of the booths to work privately, with an appropriate beverage of course.
I got quite a bit done working here for several hours before it was time to head to the gate.
My flight departed from C7, so unfortunately there were no views of the plane before boarding. Our ride to Zurich was N667UA, a 23-years old 767-300. Boarding began at 4:50pm ET with all the usual preboarding groups.
Boarding was crowded, so I couldn't get a very clear cabin shot. UA's 767s Polaris seats are arranged in a 1-1-1 configuration and the cabin is huge: 46 total J seats.
I was seated in 2A, which was the last window seat available when I rebooked. An Away amenity kit atop your bedding are waiting for you at your seat.
The Polaris seats are Zodiac Optima seats with large footwells, easy to navigate controls, and a fairly crisp IFE screen.
Surprisingly, because of the 1-1-1 layout, 2A was decently private despite it not being a "true" window seat.
As always, if I'm in a window seat, you'll see me post a picture of the amenity kit with a glass of pre-departure champagne.
Fairly standard kit here, United has been using the Sunday Riley lotions for a while now.
On this flight, we had a printed menu, but it was just on a sheet of paper rather than menu cardstock. At least it had pictures! Jeff, the purser, stopped by before takeoff to introduce himself and thank me for being a 1K. He was a very nice and cheery fellow.
We pushed back on time at 5:40pm and took off 16 minutes later.
1A was used as a crew rest on this flight.
Before dinner service began, I checked out the lavatory, which was fairly narrow–as expected on a Boeing. There was a bottle of Sunday Riley hand cream and fabric refresher, but the usual facial mist was missing.
Service began at 30 minutes after takeoff with a beverage and warmed nuts. On this flight we had Gosset Grande Reserve Brut, a fairly solid mid-tier champagne.
I almost always opt for the short rib on Polaris flights because it's fairly consistent and decently tasty. This flight was no different. The pretzel bread and salad were good as well. Not pictured below, but I had a glass of red to go with the beef. On this flight, we had the option of a tempranillo, pinot noir, or cabernet sauvignon.
Ice cream sundaes were available, but it was still fairly frozen when I got it. The other dessert choices were cheese and crackers or a lemon tart.
I wrapped up everything around 90 minutes after takeoff. No turndown service, but I asked for a mattress pad shortly after takeoff. Overall, I still think United has probably the best bedding in business class. It's certainly the best bedding among transatlantic business class.
To my surprise, I passed out fairly quickly–I usually struggle to sleep on transatlantic flights regardless of comfort. I slept nearly 5 hours before waking up with less than 80 minutes to go.
Breakfast was served a few minutes later; it was okay.
The Captain announced our initial descent around 7:11am CET. He told the cabin he'll try to keep the seatbelt sign off for as long as possible.
We landed at 7:34am and arrived at the gate a few minutes later.
On the way out, I managed to snag a picture of our ride. Unfortunately, there was only one agent at passport control, so it was slow going there.
Lounge: I still Polaris lounges are some of the business class lounges anywhere and the IAD Polaris Lounge is my favorite in the system. It is large, with plenty of seats, and features both a beautiful bar and dining room.
Cabin & Seat: This time I had to sit in one of the exposed window seats, but it wasn't so bad because of the 1-1-1 layout on the 767. Because all the middle seats in this configuration are angled towards the right side of the plane, all the seats on the left are fairly private as a result.
Service: Both FAs serving my aisle were kind and responsive, but Jeff was an especially good purser. He was very active and efficient, several times offering refills and checking in.
Meal & Catering: United's meal service has been one of the slowest to recover. The meal was decently tasty, but combined with service cuts, it is still behind pre-pandemic levels.
Bottom Line: I don't believe Swiss flies to the DC area, so this is the only flight to Zurich. United easily has the best 767 configuration among any airlines and I wouldn't hesitate to fly this again.
4 Comments
Skillet cookie? Wow. Never heard of that. You gave me a new idea... precisely when I'm starting my diet!
This was an enjoyable report. Hope you'll find the time to write more frequently!!
Thanks for sharing!
The skillet cookie is definitely my favorite dessert at the Polaris lounges (probably at any lounge), I don't know that I'd go to the effort at home--you'll need a lot of skillets.
Wow, the experience feels very premium mostly because of the Polaris lounge. Champagne and table service feels very First class, rather than Business. And the overall design, especially in the dining room, reminds me of CX F lounges in HKG. I know I've said it before, but it's crazy to think that a UA lounge would even compare with a CX F lounge! Good for United for really offering a luxurious experience there. Polaris lounges are undoubtedly the best of the US3's premium lounges.
On board it's a little less fancy, with the catering still mostly unimpressive, but the Polaris config on the 767 looks fantastic with 1-1-1 seating! Probably not very practical when travelling with others, but world away from pre-Polaris J cabins, especially the PMUA cabins.
Thanks for sharing!
It's always a good time in the Polaris lounges. I'm honestly hard pressed to think of business class lounges anywhere that I'd prefer to them. Maybe Qatar's in Doha or the Virgin Clubhouse in LHR?
I think the Zodiac Optima seats gets the job done, especially given the limitations of a 767. My usual thoughts if traveling with others are that you're going to spend the whole trip together, so you can probably take some time apart on the flight. It's different with a kid, of course.
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