United Gives Us a Tour of Polaris on the Very First 777-300ER
It's been just over six months since United unveiled its new Polaris business class, and the airline's first aircraft with the new product — a 777-300ER (or 77W) — is just about ready to take off. While UA rolled out some Polaris amenities on December 1, including a fantastic new lounge and updated service in business and first class, we've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the airline's 77W, given that it'll be the first plane to offer the new Polaris seat.
Officially, the 777-300ER launches with Newark-San Francisco p.s. service on February 16, followed by San Francisco-Hong Kong on March 25, but United should be taking delivery of its first plane any day now, at which point it'll perform FAA tests followed by "surprise and delight" service on TBD domestic routes.
With the delivery now just around the corner, it looks like United employees managed to get an early look at the new plane, which they've shared with us on Instagram. You can catch the tour in full on United's Instagram page via your smartphone app, but we're also including the images below.
Here's our first look at the new business-class cabin. The 777-300ER has a whopping 60 Polaris seats in a modified 1-2-1 configuration, divided between two cabins. There's no first class on this plane.
The finishes look fantastic — there's far more attention to detail here than we've seen on any other US-based carrier, down to the wall panels and ceiling lights.
These new biz seats are by far the most private in United's fleet — they're the first to offer a Do Not Disturb light, sure, but even more exciting is the mechanical divider that adds privacy between center seats.
We'll be on the inaugural flight in February, so stay tuned for a full aircraft tour. In the meantime, if you happen to catch the 777-300ER on an unscheduled domestic flight, please send along some pictures to tpgtips@thepointsguy.com.
What do you think of United's first 777-300ER?
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Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month