Flying United’s retrofitted Boeing 767-400 with ‘real’ Polaris business class

When the planes reentered service, they brought with them the legacy United cabins — an aging 2-1-2 configuration in business class that many frequent flyers avoided.

But now, as the carrier plans to keep these jets in its fleet for the foreseeable future, it is finally breathing new life into its 767-400s and the Polaris project. All of these planes will receive new cabins over the coming months — internally referred to as the “76U” configuration — marking the final international fleet to be reconfigured with the “real” Polaris business-class seats.

The stars haven’t always been shining so brightly on United’s Polaris rollout. The product was first announced back in 2016, and the ensuing months were nothing short of chaotic for the carrier’s business-class experience. Multiple Polaris Lounges suffered years-long delays, the retrofit strategy wasn’t clear and the onboard service kept getting tweaked.

While there’s still work to do on that latter part (particularly the food), United is nearly at 100% completion for its fleetwide Polaris retrofit project. Two of the airline’s 16 Boeing 767-400s now feature all-new Polaris, Premium Plus and economy cabins, and the entire fleet will feature these new cabins by the end of the summer.

With two retrofitted jets flying around (registered N67052 and N68061), I’ve been trying to catch a ride on one of these birds. That opportunity came on Monday night when I flew from Newark to Barcelona on one of the first retrofitted planes.

Here’s what the Polaris experience is like, and stay tuned for another story on the Premium Plus and economy cabins that’ll be published shortly!

United Polaris on the retrofitted Boeing 767-400

Seats are arranged in a 1-1-1 configuration, meaning that everyone has direct aisle access. That’s a massive improvement in and of itself, considering that the previous layout was in a unique 2-1-2 arrangement.

The single 34-seat Polaris cabin spans rows 1 through 12, and it occupies the entire footprint between the first and second exit doors on this aircraft.

If there’s one group of passengers that may be disappointed with this retrofit, it’s those who frequently upgrade their United flights and non-revenue employees. That’s because the new cabin has five fewer business-class seats than the previous configuration.

The cabin and seats themselves will likely be pretty familiar to anyone who has flown in Polaris before. (The white United-branded headrest covers were just a special treat left by the cleaning team who knew that I would be flying on this plane.)

All Polaris seats alternate between different arrangements. Pods that are located along the sides of the plane are either adjacent to the window (odd-numbered seats) or facing toward the aisle (even-numbered seats).

The center seats are either separated from the aisle by a table partition (odd-numbered seats) or directly facing toward the aisle (even-numbered seats). I’ll go through the details of where to sit when flying this plane at the bottom of this post.

Though the highlight of this plane is the fact that it has new cabins, the “bones” of the Polaris seat haven’t changed since it was unveiled in 2016. (A bigger hard product update is expected from United in the coming years.)

All seats convert into lie-flat beds, which measure 78 inches long on the 767-400. The supportive seat padding, 24-inch wide seats and plush Saks Fifth Avenue bedding combine to deliver one of the best business-class sleeping experiences in the sky.

That said, the footwells on the 767-400 definitely felt narrower than those you’d find on United’s wider jets, such as the Boeing 777. Those with long feet might feel claustrophobic when sleeping in most of these pods, except for the bulkhead — more on that below.

It’s also worth noting that the wider United jets have a small side storage shelf that’s a good place to keep some loose items. On the 767-400, that shelf is pretty narrow, measuring no more than three inches, and not really wide enough for anything other than a wallet.

The Polaris seats are supremely comfortable as recliners, and you can easily change positions using the wheel slider in the seat-control panel.

Each seat features a 15.4-inch touchscreen TV that can also be controlled using the retractable remote that’s attached to each seat.

Unfortunately, United didn’t update the entertainment software when retrofitting these jets. Newer United TVs have a relaxation mode and other improvements that are missing on this plane. (For what it’s worth, no United Polaris pods feature Bluetooth connectivity.)

United didn’t upgrade the power outlets at these seats to the newer USB-C standards. Instead, you’ll find a universal power outlet and USB-A charging port located next to the remote, along with a single USB-A port underneath the TV next to a small storage shelf.

Each Boeing 767-400 is equipped with Panasonic satellite Wi-Fi access. Though United rolled out $8 internet passes for all domestic flights, the airline is still charging dynamic rates for international connectivity.

Perhaps a coincidence, but a full-flight Wi-Fi package on the 7.5-hour flight to Barcelona cost just $8. Download and upload speeds measured 10.15 Mbps and 0.26 Mbps, respectively — not bad for a transatlantic crossing.

Each Polaris pod has a side table covered in faux marble and accented by a dimmable lamp. This is a great place to keep your laptop and other larger electronics during the meal service and when napping.

The mirrored side storage cubby is large enough for a bottle of water and some other small items, like a wallet, AirPods case and glasses.

The bi-fold tray table pops out from underneath the TV monitor. When fully extended, it measures 18 inches wide and 15 inches long, and it even has a built-in tablet stand if you aren’t flying with one of Apple’s Magic Keyboard cases.

You won’t find any privacy doors in Polaris, but each seat — especially those adjacent to the window — really feels like a personal throne. You shouldn’t have to worry about interacting with your neighbor in this new configuration, which is great news compared to the legacy 767-400, where you were essentially on top of your seatmate.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that United installed larger overhead bins on the retrofitted 767-400. In other unfortunate news, these planes still don’t feature personal air nozzles, so the cabin temperature will be at the discretion of the flight attendants.

That said, United did add new LED lighting throughout the plane, which features brighter whites than before. You still won’t get any mood lighting on this plane — that’s reserved for the 787 Dreamliners and the Boeing 777-300ERs.

My biggest gripe with the Boeing 767-400 is the layout of the two Polaris lavatories. Both are located behind the cabin in the galley near the second set of exit doors.

Neither restroom is oversized, and I found that the lines got quite long as people woke up during the initial descent. My 10-minute wait for a bathroom was compounded by the fact that some of the 24 Premium Plus passengers were also queuing for these two lavatories.

At least United refreshed the bathrooms with blue mood lighting and updated finishes during the retrofit.

The soft product is getting better

While the new seats shine, United’s onboard experience, namely the food and beverage offerings, hasn’t been up to par in recent months.

Monday’s flight featured one of the better inflight experiences I’ve had with United since the pandemic began. Printed menus were distributed during boarding, and I was curious to see if anything had changed since my last Polaris flight in early January.

Service began with thick hot towels, followed by a selection of pre-dinner drinks, which were served alongside some warm mixed nuts. Hot towels have been back for a few months now, but that’s definitely a pandemic-era cut that I’m glad to see back in the sky.

The appetizer quinoa salad was then served on a single tray with my entree (seared turbot fish filet) and a warm pretzel roll. The quinoa salad was surprisingly tasty, and I especially appreciated the pickled dragon fruit topping, even though I counted just about six small pieces of it.

The fish itself was somewhat bland — a bit overcooked and drowned in a buttery sauce, but it wasn’t nearly as tasteless or as visually unappealing as some of the entrees I’ve had with United in recent months.

Aside from the pretzel roll, the highlight of the meal was the return of the dessert trolley, which came rolling down the aisle about 90 minutes after takeoff. United officially brought this part of its business-class dining experience back to the sky as of Feb. 1, and I was excited to experience it during week one.

The two-tiered trolley featured a selection of desserts, including egg custard tarts, fruit and cheese plates and, my personal favorite, a create-your-own ice cream sundae bar.

Scoops of Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream could be topped with as many of the following toppings as you’d like: M&Ms, hot fudge, caramel sauce, slivered almonds, whipped cream and maraschino cherries. The sundae bar brought back memories of my final pre-pandemic United flight, a premium transcontinental hop on March 3, 2020, which was the last time I saw such decadence in the sky on United.

Suffice it to say, I’m thrilled that the full dessert service has returned on United, though my waistline may not necessarily agree.

While there’s still work to do, the meal service was notably better than what I’ve experienced during the pandemic. I didn’t bother waking up early for pre-arrival breakfast, which is usually one of the most underwhelming airplane meals. I figured I’d wait to enjoy a real meal on the ground.

Aside from the culinary offerings, United’s Polaris product is still the best of the U.S. airlines in terms of the bedding that you receive. Waiting at each seat was a Saks Fifth Avenue duvet and plush pillow, along with a gel pillow and light day blanket.

On longer flights, you can request a mattress pad, pajamas and slippers, which together underscore United’s claim that Polaris offers “the best sleep in the sky.” My route to Barcelona featured all of the aforementioned amenities, except for pajamas.

Also waiting at my seat were United’s new Away-branded amenity kits, which continue to be a hit with flyers. You’ll find all the usual goodies inside, along with Sunday Riley lip balm, hand cream and face cream.

I personally have way too many of these hard shells piled up at home, but I know they’ll make a great gift for coworkers when I get back to the TPG office.

As for the service itself, I was especially impressed with all eight flight attendants and three pilots. Everyone was friendly, and the captain did a great job keeping passengers informed throughout our short departure delay and aborted takeoff due to a last-minute mechanical issue. (The issue was solved within 30 minutes, and we arrived just under an hour later than originally planned.)

In order to capture better cabin pictures, I informed the crew and ground staff about my presence, but I noticed that all the flight attendants, and in particular purser Stacy, went above and beyond for all passengers throughout the flight.

Many Polaris passengers wanted express meals and faster service, and the flight attendants were happy to comply with these requests. For everyone else, the traditional meal service was completed in 90 minutes, not bad for a short transatlantic hop.

Two-thirds of the cabin was served from the forward galley, while the remaining passengers were served from the rear galley. That said, I could envision the service taking longer on daytime flights, especially since there are no mid-cabin galleys that divide the cabin into smaller sections.

Where to sit when flying on United Polaris on the retrofitted Boeing 767-400

With additional retrofitted Boeing 767-400s entering the United fleet in the coming months, odds are that you might be wondering where to sit when flying this plane.

For one, you’ll likely want to avoid the last two rows of the Polaris cabin (11 and 12). The two window seats in row 11 are missing two windows, and you’ll likely have a harder time falling asleep in these seats due to the galley noise and the foot traffic at the back of the cabin near the lavatories.

Row 1 isn’t much better, either. The proximity to the galley will likely be bothersome, especially since you can’t control when the flight attendants turn off and on the lights. Though you don’t have to worry about foot traffic for the lavatories, you will hear lots of dishes clattering around during the meal service.

The one (perhaps major) redeeming feature about the bulkhead is that the footwell area is way oversized. If you’re a taller passenger with big feet, this is the seat for you.

Note that seat 1A is reserved as a pilot rest seat on long-haul flights, so unless you’re flying this plane on a short domestic route, you’ll need to choose between seats 1F and 1L.

Otherwise, the remaining Polaris pods are pretty much identical. I’d recommend flying in the middle of the cabin to minimize the light and noise pollution from the forward and rear galleys.

If you’re a solo flyer, I’d say that the window-adjacent odd-numbered A and L seats are the way to go, followed by the even-numbered aisle-facing A and L seats.

There are no perfect seats for couples in this configuration, and if you both want to maximize your sleep, I’d recommend selecting window-adjacent seats on the sides of the plane and then catching up with each other once you’ve landed.

Personally, I was thrilled with my choice of seat 9L and managed to get nearly five hours of sleep — not bad for such a short redeye.

But, for everyone else, these quibbles likely aren’t all that big of a deal, especially when compared to what the business-class cabin looked like on these jets just a few months ago.

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