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United now offers Polaris seats on 100 wide-body planes

Zach Honig
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Zach Honig is Editor-at-Large at TPG, with contributions ranging from articles digging deep on loyalty programs and credit cards to delivery flight coverage to drone photography and much more.
Feb. 06, 2020
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2 min read
United 767-300 High-J Polaris Review ZH
United now offers Polaris seats on 100 wide-body planes
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Believe it or not, this summer will mark the four-year anniversary of United's Polaris business class, which CEO Oscar Munoz introduced in Jun. 2016. And while the carrier continues to fly a significant number of planes with the old 2-2-2 (or even the dreaded 2-4-2) biz seats, United just reached a major milestone, with a total of 100 Polaris-equipped wide-bodies in service.

The carrier's Polaris cabin includes either 1-2-1 or 1-1-1 seating, which means all passengers have direct access to the aisle. It's far more private, too, with privacy dividers and a staggered layout.

United Polaris on a retrofitted 767.

The new seats are now flying on a variety of wide-body aircraft — that includes a mix of retrofitted jets, such as the Boeing 767-300ER and 787-8 Dreamliner, along with brand-new planes, including the Boeing 777-300ER and 787-10.

United's handy Polaris tracker website (above) paints a fairly complete picture, but it's typically a bit delayed. The airline's current Polaris-equipped fleet actually breaks down as:

  • Boeing 777-300ER: 21 of 21 (new)
  • Boeing 777-200ER: 38 of 51 (retrofitted)
  • Boeing 787-10: 11 of 11 (new)
  • Boeing 787-9: 1 of 25 (retrofitted)
  • Boeing 787-8: 1 of 12 (retrofitted)
  • Boeing 767-300ER: 28 of 38 (retrofitted)

As you can see above, if you're traveling on a Boeing 777-300ER or 787-10, you're guaranteed to have the new cabin, while flyers booked on a 777-200ER or 767-300ER have a very good shot. Note that United operates a domestic version of the 777, though, which will not be getting the new seats.

Finally, 787-8 and 787-9 flights will almost certainly have the older seats, for now, but the airline is actively working to retrofit its Dreamliner fleet, with most aircraft offering new interiors before 2020 is through.

For more on scoring a Polaris-equipped flight, see our detailed guide, Using ExpertFlyer to make sure you’re flying the real United Polaris.

Featured image by (Photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy)