United Airlines is completely overhauling its long-haul business class experience.
This review will first focus on ‘soft products’, i.e. all amenities that are not physically attached to the aircraft, such as seats and TV screens.
In the coming weeks, the Chicago-based airline plans to introduce a number of new amenities to its premium cabins. This includes new bedding, pajamas, amenity kits, and more.
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This project has been several months in the making, and some elements of the overhauled experience are already complete. In an internal memo shared this week seen by TPG (and confirmed by an airline spokesperson), the airline wrote:
“Starting September 20, we will be launching new United Polaris, Premium Transcontinental Hawaii, and International United Premium Plus (UPP) bedding … This change is a sustained effort to reduce single-use plastic on board our aircraft. It’s part of our commitment to what’s possible: After this change, our Premium Cabin guests will not have single-use plastic in their bedding.”
The company did not provide details about these changes, but did confirm that it is planning a large event in New York City on October 3 to unveil the new products. (Of course, TPG will be there to provide you with the latest information on changes to United Airlines’ premium cabin.)
In recent weeks, the company has launched an all-new amenity kit for its premium cabins. The company ended its partnership with Away, opting for new partnerships with brands such as Astra and Ua Body.
United Airlines first launched the new kit in domestic premium cabins on Hawaii and transcontinental routes. It then quietly debuted new kits for its long-haul Polaris Business Class and Premium Plus cabins.
These long-haul kits were designed in partnership with wellness company Therabody and began rolling out late last month, and I had the chance to pick one up on my recent flight between Tel Aviv and Newark.
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The new Therabody amenity kit doubles up as a crossbody bag. To me, this isn’t as appealing as the little away-branded hardshell cases that United used to hand out.
New amenity kits are already available, but expect more updates to the premium cabin experience.
United Airlines, for example, is running out of its existing pajama inventory. We’ve heard complaints from readers about missing pajamas on recent eligible flights (usually flights longer than about 12 hours). There were also no pajamas on my flight from Tel Aviv to Newark earlier this week.
Rumor has it that the airline is developing a new style of pajamas with pockets in the pants. This is an important feature not found in United Airlines’ existing pajamas. However, the airline has not yet revealed what is planned.
Although details are unclear, it appears the company is also coming up with a new bedding experience for Polaris. For years, the airline has partnered with Saks Fifth Avenue to offer one of the best overall sleep amenities in the sky. This includes fleece-lined slippers, supportive gel pillows, plush mattress pads, and more.
While United Airlines may be planning to discontinue Saks-branded bedding, I strongly hope that the airline maintains the quality of its existing bedding products no matter what steps it takes. After all, sleep is one of the most important factors when choosing a business class product, and United Airlines’ current version excels in that regard.
What we do know, based on internal memos, is that airlines will no longer wrap blankets, mattress pads and pillows in single-use plastic. This is a move recently popularized in the US by Delta Air Lines and JetBlue.
Finally, United may be teasing a (long-awaited and expired) in-flight meal upgrade, but what happens on October 3 remains to be seen.
All of these upgrades follow United’s recent major milestone with its Polaris deployment, seven years after its introduction, and all long-haul flights operated with wide-body aircraft will include It has “real” Polaris business class seats.
Nearly a decade after the Polaris rollout, rumors are swirling about what Polaris 2.0 might look like. At least for soft products, you’ll know how good it is within four weeks. It probably won’t be long until we see upgraded seats as well.
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