United just revealed the reopening timeline for its Polaris Lounges
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United‘s most exclusive airport lounge network is finally re-opening.
Beginning later this month, the first Polaris Lounge will officially welcome business-class travelers once again.
The first outpost to reopen will actually be a new Polaris lounge location for the carrier in its Washington Dulles hub. The lounge will be officially unveiled at a media event in the coming days, so stay tuned to TPG for a first-look tour.
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After the IAD outpost, Polaris Lounge locations in Newark, Chicago and Houston will reopen by the end of the year, a carrier spokesperson confirmed to TPG.
The spokesperson added that the remaining locations in Los Angeles and San Francisco will all reopen by early 2022.
Polaris Lounges are United’s exclusive airport hideaways reserved for business-class flyers traveling on long-haul flights.
They feature a la carte dining, a premium liquor selection, marble-clad shower suites and additional bespoke amenities, like nap rooms and phone booths.
The airline shuttered its business-class-only Polaris Lounge network when the pandemic first came stateside and nearly brought United’s global operation to a screeching halt.
Since then, demand for long-haul travel has slowly returned, as countries have eased entry restrictions and vaccine distribution has accelerated globally.
Related: Which domestic airline lounges have reopened?
In May, Alex Dorow, United’s managing director of lounges and premium services, told TPG that the airline didn’t yet have a firm reopening plan for the Polaris Lounge network. He said that the reopening would be tied to relaxed international travel regulations, and clearly United has decided that now’s the time to start that process.
United isn’t the only U.S. airline to operate an exclusive business-class lounge network. American Airlines has Flagship Lounges, which operate similarly to United’s Polaris Lounges.
American beat United to the punch with its reopening plans, having started to welcome premium passengers once again in New York-JFK and Miami last month.
Either way, it’s great to see United formalize its Polaris Lounge reopening plans.
Featured photo by Zach Honig/The Points Guy
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