UNITED AIRLINES 787-9 Polaris Class【4K Trip Report】Tokyo to Los Angeles
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2024
- Today's trip report takes us from Tokyo Narita to Los Angeles LAX on board United Airlines 787-9 in their old configuration. That's right, six years after they announced their 'new' Polaris seat, there are still some long haul aircraft flight around with Continental Airlines BusinessFirst seats from 2006. I was lucky enough today to get one of the old configuration aircrafts! Join me on this full trip report for all of the details you've come to expect from trip reports as well as our flight stats, routing and a guide to choosing the best seats and avoiding the worst.
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This is the second video of a new 'season' for the channel. Going forward, all videos will be published in the order in which they were filmed. This flight to Los Angeles is the second in a series of forty flight and hotel reviews covering a true round the world itinerary. Make sure to subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss the next leg!
ANA Business Class SGN-NRT Trip Report: bit.ly/tfft_nh834
--Video Chapters--
0:00 Intro
00:35 Starting at Narita
01:00 Booking my Ticket
01:25 The ANA Lounge
02:25 Our Aircraft Swap
02:55 The Best & Worst Seats
04:30 Seat Details & Amenities
05:10 Why the Bulkheads Are Best
05:26 IFE Monitor & Air Vents
05:45 Amenity Kit
06:00 Pushback & Taxi
07:00 Routing & Takeoff
08:45 Flight Stats
09:00 Mt. Fuji Sunset
10:10 IFE System
10:37 Service & Menu Dramatic Reenactment
11:10 Disappointing Meal Service
11:46 2014 Service Comparison
12:00 Bathroom Amenities
12:15 Sunrise & Service Rant
13:00 Breakfast Service
13:25 Flying over San Francisco & South to LA
14:16 Approach & Fluffy Clouds
14:52 Landing & Taxi
15:40 The Flip Flop Score
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#unitedairlines #businessclass #lax
The 'pink fields' could be the Chrysanthemums flowers because there are a number of farms around Narita.
The pink could really be more purple as you go closer.
Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Will be on this flight in June. Thanks for the detailed review!
Thanks very much for watching 🙏🏻
Epic music Sir. Thanks for the review 👌🏾
Thanks for watching 🩴
The pink buildings that you asked about are greenhouses. If you ever fly just east of Detroit on the Canadian side or over central Georgia, you will see the same thing. The explanation is that plants absorb red and blue light better and when mixed, apparently it appears pink.
Very interesting. We have similar dragon fruit greenhouses as far as the eye can see south of Saigon- but they’re generally white or a soft pink- have never seen such a florescent one before. Thanks for the explanation and for watching 🙏🏻
Thanks
Thanks for great video.
Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Nice report
Thanks very much 🙏🏻
You were generous with your rating (70). All it takes is for just One crew member to sour the entire experience (imagine 3 or 4 of them!). Good report as always. Thanks!
Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Agreed, I would give them 55-60/100 for this flight. The F&B is just sad..
Fun video!
Thanks very much for watching 🙏🏻
I flew LAX-HND in April and food was seriously bad! Everything from quality to selection to the way it's served (one tray). The lettuce in my salad was frozen. The dessert was a cheap packaged sweet. I used to fly business class more and think it was much better in the past. I was so shocked to experience how bad the food was. Perhaps food is better on TYO to LAX. Major improvement needed... I wish I could share a better experience.
United’s food program really is a joke- on a level that honestly makes American and Delta look genuinely appealing for the first time in my life lol. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
I did true Polaris 3 years ago from ewr to nrt on a 777-300er the seat was much better than what you have. Polaris lounge in ewr is probably the best lounge in the nyc area
I've heard great things, but my money stays on the Virgin Clubhouse at JFK :) Thanks for watching 🙏
I flew UA33 on Jan 2020, and on that flight, there're even some criminals being escorted back to the US. They even sat behind my seat :) It was a full flight and the food was poor too. Speaking of this flight, the food was nowhere near to the business class standard. And those 3 FAs were just unacceptable.
Yeah, conair flights are actually quite common. Usually you’d never even know it unless you were sitting just and acted to them. Thanks for watching 🩴
I'm about to fly united 787-9 to Paris. I chose them to use up some miles I had, this report makes me regret that decision a bit but too late now. I would really love to see service come back in style. These flights are expensive, being nice will truly pay off for them. I enjoyed your report and I subscribed 🙂
Thanks very much for the kind words. It’s my understanding that as of June all 787-9s will at least have the new Polaris seats… so you might not be wowed by the service or the food, but at least you’ll be comfortable in the process! Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
@@tfft thank you :) like my son says...mom your going to paris....enjoy!!!! Lol. I also realized it was my flight home from munich that had the 787-9. 🤷🏼♀️
@@tfft i'm flying from cape town to ewr tomorrow night and i'm on the old style plane, with the 2 seat configuration. on my flight from ewr to cpt, i had the newer plane with the 1-2-1 configuration. i'm annoyed.
Service on UA is still lackluster. Miss the good old days of Continental.
Yes! Growing up, EWR was my home base. When I was writing the script for this review I was trying to imagine what CO’s newest generation BusinessFirst seats and meal service would have looked like! Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Also the reason why United did not open the United club at narita is the load factors. A lot of flights going to narita have load factors In the 50’s. Compared that to heathrow where United reopened it lounge in December has load factors between 80-90% for flights going to heathrow.
Having flown with both United and ANA, I gotta say that while communicating with ANA's flight attendants is a bit more challenging, I would fly with them any day of the week. From my experience so far, their services are amazing and the only other airlines that could rival that in my opinion would be Singapore airlines.
Always a big fan of your reviews, your choice of music is excellent and really fits the video.
Thanks very much 🙏🏻
Speak for yourself. Much prefer United.
Thanks for the awesome report! I wonder if all 787-9 airplanes have the 2006 old configurations.
My understanding is that during the time of my flight there were 3-4 with the old seats remaining and they’re supposed to be complete by July of this year. But, it’s United… so don’t hold your breath ☺️ Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Loved this review- I’ve just “experienced” Polaris full fare SYD LAX booked as a return fare over $9K - it was without embellishment the absolute worst flight Ive ever taken in business class- the rudeness of the crew, the inedible fast food they served and their appearance like they were at a day out at home in a Walmart was abysmal, I cancelled the return and had it refunded and flew back on QF - thankfully - never ever again - no pj’s no bed mattress no menus and drink given to me in a can and literally dropped at my seat !!!! 😮
Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
I took the same route last year, unhappy crew and they ran out of snacks for a 14hr flight! I am happy that you flown QF back!
I loved these former Continental BUSINESSFIRST Seats back in the day but the new Polaris is so nice. I have great status with United as a Global Service member. I will continue to say that food quality has gone down a lot. That is the biggest complaint for me. But the Polaris lounge is the best lounge in the USA.
I am TEAM UNITED:)
Great review!
Thanks very much. I do need to say though, of all carriers in the developed world, United really does have the poorest food offerings. My home base for nearly 30 years was EWR so I've flown CO/UA a lot in the past- but what they have on offer these days is just embarrassing. AA and DL certainly don't serve amazing food, but even they I think, blow UA out of the water in this regard. Thanks for watching 🩴
Nice review. A particular highlight was your backlit-Mount Fuji-between-wingtip-and-engine nacelle shot, which comfortably topped your competitors' hey-another-wingtip shots.
Disappointing that the service was below standard. A friendly way costs nothing and the plane wasn't full. Indeed tells me that the average salary for FAs at United is $45K. And those in the front probably earn more. A unionised cabin-crew?
Well your choice to get back isn't restricted to ANA - always very good, it seems. Vietnam Airlines now cross the Pacific. When will you be reviewing that service?
VNA is still trying to command a premium that I think just isn’t worth it for the SGN-SFO flights. I already have all of my travel for 2022 booked- but I wouldn’t go out of my way to fly them until the pricing is competitive… hopefully when Bamboo enters the market. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Sorry you didn't get the new Polaris experience . It's outstanding!
Thanks for watching 🙏
There must be some sort of ground regulation for airlines to serve pre dep drink in Japan?
Ana/Jal are also using plastic disposable cups to serve their pre dep bev in biz but not in first.
Have this question for a long time , but everyone got a different answer.
If United does in fact use real glasses everywhere else for pre departure drinks then perhaps that makes sense. My confusion was more, why not use plastic disposable cups? To make the clean up faster (I don’t like) but I can understand using disposable plastic cups. I just don’t understand why they’d have two types of reusable cups- but perhaps you’re correct. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
UA serves pre-departure drinks using plastic disposable glasses everywhere as far as i can remember
Yes, that’s why these plastic reusable cups were odd ☺️
I've gotta be real... I don't think that pre-Covid Polaris food is ever coming back
I gotta be real... I don't think there was anything all that special about pre-Covid Polaris food anyway haha. UA food has been disgusting since the merger.
I guessed correctly then!!
Haha yes for sure you did.
To be fair, only 5 787-9s remain with the old interior, and of these 5 years, Covid was a factor of 2 of these years. Add to that, PW's shenanigans was a factor for one of the 5 years as aircraft have to substitute for planes affected by Pratt and Shitney's flawed inspections
Yes, I admit it seems like a small insignificant number, until you’re one of the lucky chosen ones 🤣. Of course Covid is/was a factor but the rollout- especially the first year or two- was horrendous. Should have all been done before Covid. Either way, happy they’ll all be retrofitted by the summer. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
@@tfft Now the count for 787s with the old seats is down to 4. Meanwhile, are British Airways and Qatar Airways actively retrofitting their widebodies or is that on pause for those two airlines?
@@tfft the reason why the rollout was slow pre-Covid was because of supply chain issues coming from seatmaker Safran's end. Safran had a hard time making seats fast enough, it's very similar to how Boeing cannot make planes fast enough nowadays. Would you blame Boeing's customers for how Boeing can't make planes fast enough?
I flew United Polaris 787 from Narita to Newark last week. It was a sad horrible experience. The hard product is great. 8/10. The soft product is terrible. Food disgusting, they ran out of my choice (beef) remind you I was in row 4L (yes no window) I agree ANA lounge was possibly average. No great food choices. The flight attendants on United were terrible, with the exception of Kevin- the purser. He was phenomenal. But going back to the food. Terrible choices, all given at once. No plating here, just a tray with Saran Wrap on it. Then….remember they used to have snacks like grilled cheese and tomato soup? Nope! Not anymore. They have prewrapped ham sandwiches, that looked exactly like they came off of a continental flight- you know, the ones that Larry Kelleher famously announced “were the only airline that offers feee meals at mealtime?” Yes, those. That was business class snack. With some chips and gluten free yuk brownies.
I January I flew Newark to San Jose del Cabo. 5.5 hour international flight. THERE WAS NO OPTION to purchase food, other than shit snack boxes. Cmon United! Pandemic is over, and so are your excuses
To be fair I very much miss the CO days haha. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Wow. What a disappointing food selection. I often wonder how much of this is due to pandemic shortcuts and how much is outright cost cutting. Unfortunately it will take another year to really know.
United’s cost cutting started well before the pandemic (from the reports I’ve read over the years). Remember those wine flights they rolled out with Polaris? Long gone before the pandemic. I’m not saying I need/want wine flights, but it’s just one of many things they’ve cut prior to COVID. I’m hoping of course they do step up their game, but my expectations aren’t that high. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Flew United AMS to SEA December 2023. Purser reeled off menu options before takeoff, and refused my request to remove mushrooms from my plate before serving because “the meals are already plated”, then vanished. Huh? This is what passes for international business class service? Paying the full fare out of my own pocket really made me question what better use those thousands of extra dollars could’ve been put to - looking at you designer purses:) Didn’t bother opening the emaciated looking “amenities” kit.
If you gave me a list of 300 airlines and asked me which I'd shell out full fare business class in voluntarially, United would be way way way wayyyy close to the bottom of the list lol.
Why do Airlines from the US are always disappointing???
Because they’re the most profitable airlines on earth and they have absolutely zero (financial) motivation to even attempt to be better. I’m not saying it’s a valid excuse, but it’s certainly the reason.
I am based in SFO so flew UA polaris often... their services are probably the worst among all airlines that I have been on. A lot of them are rude... they also spill a whole glass of champagne on my body on a flight and then she vanished to come back with some paper towels not for me but for the seat lol smh
Gotta protect those Polaris seats! They're a rare commodity 🙂 Thanks for watching 🙏
omg i would be pissed with this downgrade of a plane swap
Being pissed would not have changed the plane back 😂 When you travel this much during Covid you’ve just gotta be prepared to roll with the punches. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
Overly familiar flight attendants? That’s any US airline! I hate it! We’re not friends, I’m not interested. You’re job is to make my flight as comfortable as possible. Just do it!
I’m not quite so direct ☺️, but yes I understand and thank you for watching 🙏🏻
Lots of empty seats on board.
Quite a heavy load from Japan these days considering it’s almost entirely connecting traffic. Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
I appreciate Flight Attendants work hard but frankly. so do plumbers or computer programmers or whatever and.....we all sign up for our jobs, knowing the duties, and knowing the pay. I don't expect the Flight Attendant to give me a massage or a bath. I don't expect them to stand there and talk about my life's history and my opinion on Reaganomics. But why would it be hard for them to smile, say hi, or at least listen for simple requests. Foodwise....how hard is it to serve something that's a few steps above a Hungry-Man dinner. I dont' feel I'm asking for something unrealistic. Christ just sublet the food to Outback Steakhouse catering.
Thanks for sharing ✈️
I will never fly business class on any American owned airlines. Not the kind of money I spend on business class!
Thanks for watching 🙏🏻
United is easily the least favourite US major. Avoid at all cost
No basis to disagree with you in this one. Crazy what they can get away with.
@@tfft consistency of services is important, but more so, delivering a sold product. Having that in mind, it seems there is never an upside with United… I never had any, anyway. If there is a surprise, it’s always downwards
Yes, agreed. My hometown airline years ago was CO which then turned to UA… for most of the time I was still living in the US the flight crews and equipment post merger were I believed still separated- so for all I know this might have been my first ever “real” United flight… if that makes sense. And so now I know what everyone had been complaining about for years and years haha
Not the case at all, particularly if you want to get to your destination on time and/or without a cancellation. I've had fantastic flights on UAL the past 2 years and I have had some disappointing ones. What I haven't had is any cancelled flights or extended delays. American is clearly at the bottom these days when you factor in reliability.