How United Airlines threw away a 10/10 review.
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
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United Polaris was AMAZING - such a different airline to my first viral video slating their Premium Service product. And that's great. United were so close to getting full marks on this review so it was so FRUSTRATING to see the tail end of deep cost-cutting and product laziness in the food. This was the worst business class food I've had across the Atlantic for some time and definitely below what their competitors were offering. So while the rest of the experience (including their good management of a delay) was superb....sorry but you can't have a 10 on this one guys! Good news though, the food is being fixed as a priority and I was very impressed with everything else. The Polaris Lounge is great at SFO, super crew, good delay management, a fine seat, excellent bedding, cracking IFE and speedy WiFi mean there isn't much more to ask of the airline...other than to hurry up and fix the darned food. ;-D
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0:00 Introduction
1:10 SFO Airport
2:00 Polaris Lounge @ SFO and private dining (excellent)
4:00 Terrace, integrated sponsor message, United provides great delay experience
5:51 Our aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER
6:24 Boarding United 777-300ER Polaris
7:57 Taxi and takeoff
9:14 Bay Area views
9:42 Seat details
11:03 The food problem
12:15 Evening time...sleep time...
13:17 Flat bed
13:42 Breakfast, entertainment and approach into FRA
15:00 Conclusions, fare paid, thanks.
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Date of Travel: 5 APRIL 2022
Airline: United
Livery: United standard old gold globe livery
Route: SFO-FRA
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Flight Number: UA 58
Miles: 5,685
Airborne time: 10h36m
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Until recently I was a Mechanic for United. What the Mechanic was doing is a part of the ETOPS pre departure check. This part is called a strut wipe where you use 5606 and a rag to remove any contaminants on the strut that could damage the seals when the strut moves. Every airliner gets this check most get it every couple of days but aircraft performing an ETOPS flight get it before every flight.
We're doing this on every ramp check no matter if ETOPS or not.
Being former military, the ground crew regularly wipes the landing gear struts to remove dirt and debris. Look at the strut as being a huge shock absorber. When the plane touches down, the silver part is a piston that is pushed up into the landing gear housing. The housing is full of oil to absorb the force of the touch down and dampen it. Like the shocks on a car. Cleaning the piston, or silver part, keeps dirt and debris from damaging the oil seal.
@and321now Nitrogen and Oil!
The man at the nose gear is cleaning it to check for leaks. Also for pilot inspection. Looks like that was why you were late.
Thank you!
Actually the man at the nose oleo leg is checking the hydraulic stem for cracks using an Ardox spray or similar. Since this leg generally has more travel extensions and retractions than the main legs it is often checked as part of turnaround servicing. The purpose of this is to ensure that catastrophic failure of the leg is avoided.
Nonsense!
I do like it when reviewers are honest. There is none of this paid shill vibe from Paul.
That meal I'd expect to see in economy.
I can't remember which youtuber said it if any, I've always heard aim for a curry or something similar on a flight as the sauce stops meat getting Dry. But looking at the offerings from the likes of Qatar and Emirates with their business food offerings. The United one just looks an awful lot like United and American cost savings.
You think so? It's obvious there's a hidden hand driving the editorial content!
Please do say who or what you think the hidden hand is, I’m interested!
@@Paul_Lucas I'd also like to query how this user knows more about you and your videos than you do.
Polaris Business from Seoul to SFO (September 2022). Absolutely abysmal experience. It started with the boarding in Seoul which was chaotic. No separate boarding for business class passengers who paid over $5,000 for their ticket- only priority boarding for military personnel. I had requested a vegetarian meal and United completely ignored it. It was „Chicken or beef ?“ So during the entire 14 hour flight they served me 1 can of beer and 1 portion of nuts (approximately 10). When I asked for some extra nuts, it was „Sorry, there is only 1 portion of nuts per customer“. This was the last flight on United for me.
Another great review Paul. I'm always happy when you release new content. Keep it up! 👍🏻
Possibly my favourite bit was to hear you describe the plane as beautiful. The kind of appreciative honesty I'll show up for every time. 🥰
love the content as usual, i know youre working with some editors at the minute. the blue and red transition cards are very windows 95 word art. youre content is slick and youre flying a premium flight, maybe something that elevates to that level? i appreciate the sub titled info cards though they are a nice addition
2:44 I liked the way you said dinning room it sounded like you said dinning rum!
Mount Ren-yay? This is America, buddy, we take our letters very literally. "Ray-neer." 😂
I don't think the plastic cutlery has anything to do with security... more like everything to do with money. The single use plastic/plateware in US lounges and hotels etc is just eye opening.
United Polaris LHR - DEN last Sunday (5/29/2022) had metal cutlery. YMMV.
@@davidjohnston4240 You poor sod. I had to endure AA "Flagship" business last Sunday!
@@VisualApproach I'm so sorry.
Also makes me wonder how much unnecessary TRASH they're producing every day. I've been to one country that charges almost 25 Euros for each extra bag of trash they have to pickup per week. They should do this to hotels and airport lounges here. They'd stop wasting plastic OVERNIGHT.
I've got metal cutlery with Korean air on cattle class so definitely not security!
What a great flight and flight review.
Great content as always.
Keep it up.
Great review as always, Paul. Polaris is definitely a product I really want to try, something about it really appeals to me. Thankyou for your unbiased review and staying away from clickbait titles, it's refreshing!
I've flown United/ Lufthansa to/ from Chicago & Frankfurt. I'm partial to Lufthansa though I recall having a decent flight on United. I was impressed when the Business lounge at O'Hare got its upgrade to the Polaris Lounge. We hope to get back to Europe soon.
Quite enjoyed this video. I'm flying Polaris for the first time in 2 weeks IAH-SFO-TPE so been checking out reviews. It's been several years since I've flown first/business so really looking forward to it. Plan to show up at IAH first thing to fully enjoy the lounge as well as visit the lounge in SFO. From everything I've been seeing, even after the changes in June, I should take advantage of the dining rooms before my flights.
I have my first Polaris flight in August (cross fingers) - Thanks for the review - hoping the food gets a bit better by then. I have flown business class to Europe before (mainly Lufthansa but that was over 5 years ago)...looking forward to how things are with UA......
Don't know if its perhaps just an older video that youve just uploaded, but im glad you're leaving that new intro out. It was just quite long winded and probably better suited as a channel intro or something.
Perfect timing on this video, as I'll be on this route next week! When is the food being fixed, lol???
Looking at the ANA 787 taxiing to the runway, I was wondering when you plan to review a Japanese Carrier. Great video once again!
ANA wonderful airline. As soon as you step on board you are in Japan, very calming experience.
Absolutely fantastic trip report Paul!😸
I flew United Glasgow Dulles Business Class years ago and the inflight catering was by 1 Devinish Gardens a 5* hotel in Glasgow it was superb
Amazed at the price! Just under 1100 pounds from sfo to Dubai! Unbelievable!
This channel is absolutely awesome and keeps delivering awesome wonderful content thank you very much ❤️🔥
Thanks Rocky! Glad you love it. June is going to be a bumper month for content… enjoy!
@@Paul_Lucas can’t wait ❤️🙏
Excellent video! You always do a great job. What flight tracking apps do you use? Free or premium variety? Just wondering?
Also I'm convinced that the jet bridges at Frankfurt are just for show. I see them all the time, but I've never used one.
I used a jet bridge in Frankfurt last week. Of course, it was a madhouse in the USA departures area. I would take a remote stand if it alleviated the crowded madhouse of B44.
Excellent as always, thank you! Really silly question regarding lounges, in general. When you have a "free" restaurant experience like this one in SFO, are you expected to tip, or does that depend on what country you are in?
It’s country dependent!
I remember the day's when the bongo drums would play and you never talked to the camera. The quality of the videos and standard of the content is superb these days!
Loving your videos Paul all the way from Australia. Making me think of starting my own channel like this. What camera do you use for your filming?
Epic video Paul! Love swing United’s gorgeous Polaris Business Class cabin especially on their 777-300ER My favorite aircraft!
At 6:06 that worker was cleaning and inspecting the hydraulic strut to make sure that it had enough nitrogen in it to absorb any wheel impacts on lading and to make sure there was no residue left on it which could impede the struts spring-ability! Which is absolutely critical for a wheel strut!
Hope you enjoyed the trip, I know Polaris is your favorite and I can’t wait to fly it someday!
Cheers 🥂
-Caleb
I was going to say he was wiping off any excess hydraulic fluid!
cool!
@@wannabedal-adx458 Yes the residue I was talking about being that of hydraulic fluid or grease leaking out…
'Plane juice'. Love that!
just want to say that as someone who is at best tangentially interested in this flight/travel stuff after a brief phase of high interest, I've slowly pared down all my related subscriptions to just Paul due to how much I trust his honesty and integrity. so please Paul, don't ever change!
The meal service is not up to business class standards in my opinion. Everything on one tray is more like economy service.
The delay was handled nicely.
The fare paid was too high.
The seat looked comfy.
Thanks Paul for posting this.😀💚
basically fly econ and then spend the extra on a bigger hotel room, a nice steak dinner, and drinks: that lasts longer than a flight and u don't have to be worried abt being let down like when u fly as so often happens
@@quasarsavage I agree. Thanx for your input
The fare paid was too high? You don't pay $1380 to go from California to Dubai in business everyday.
@@redademe Oh I agree!! Way too high a price for business class!! Thanks for your input
That’s an insanely low price for business class. That’s about 10,000 miles for under 1400 USD, it’s one of the best value fares I’ve found!
Great insights and top reporting Paul. Thanks for sharing. Hello from London ; - )
Poor food again especially for business class
Thanks for flying with us!! We'll work on the food lol
Spot on. I flew United Polaris EWR-BOM early this year on a work trip. It was a 787, the seat/flat bed was comfortable, good privacy, loved the cooling pillow and Saks bedding. The crew was excellent, so friendly, professional, and attentive; very impressed. However, the boarding was chaotic, very crowded at the gate. And, just as you pointed out, the food was simply awful. I got the fish entrée, small portion size, the salad did not taste fresh. The dessert was just a wrapped cookie! There were no nuts available to snack on with my drink, only Cheez Its and pretzels. I only opted for a fruit bowl for breakfast, because the rest of the breakfast did not look appetizing at all. I was starving by the time I got to my hotel. United really needs to do something about their catering. But, excluding the food, the flight was very pleasant, safe, and comfortable, so I am very grateful for that. I do miss traveling First class. I wish United had not entirely removed First class from these planes, but that seems to be the trend with all airlines.
SFO, my hometown airport, at least for International travel. Cool to see it in one of your videos!
Thank you for the video! Lovely views!
Excellent video as always Paul....dirty legs (nosegear) allows grit in the seals so they leak.....
I'm curious where people see plastic cutlery in the airport. I've always had metal at sit down restaurants, including a real steak knife at Longhorn.
The rest of the food is pretty disappointing for international business, and having no choice is awful.
Middle seat in business would do me just fine.
Thanks for the video Mate
Hi Paul, great review once again, do you ever get to met up with other aviation vloggers?
the first volcano looks a bit more like the sisters in Oregon, or hood. Adam's has a slightly more squat appearance at the top. the second one appears to be Adam's. if you can spot the crater of st Helen's to the west of Adam's that helps you sort out all of them.
Would love to go back to America only been the once back in 2019, hopefully one day soon
I must admit hope did spring eternal when you said that United is bringing back the pre-pandemic service. Do you have any date for this? I am flying Polaris in a couple of months and it would be wonderful if the great service had been restored.
Really nice video man.
Just a random note, if you get the chance San Francisco has a great Centurion lounge as well in the international terminal area. I don't know if you can get in but it might be worth checking out. I especially love that each lounge has food and drinks created in partnership with a local celebrity chef.
As to the rest, well its disappointing that United failed on the food front. Admittedly I'm transitioning from AA to United not just because of service but because AA stopped flying really to San Diego. Still this appears to be a bad off when you have made a ton of very good united reviews of the past year or so.
great video paul
I've flown United Polaris 4 times in the last 6 weeks, from LHR to SFO and back again. The food was disappointing each time and also the same options each time - the "beef Wellington" cheeseburger being a particular lowlight! Definitely not what I would expect for a ticket costing over 5k (and closer to 9k the second time). Hoping when I fly back next time I'll get the full service experience. Polaris Lounges are great though and the crews have been brilliant on my flights.
Indeed. I had the beef wellington cheeseburger. It wasn't like any beef wellington I've had before.
Interesting video and thanks again. Service is an issue of late I think due to staffing.
How far is from Polaris lounge to the gate? Thank you
Hey. Love your reviews. Flying LAX to NYC Going to be an overnighter. Can you advise whether you would choose Polaris BC 777200 (United) or AA A321 Sharklets, Business Class or First Class product. Mostly, we need to SLEEP. We usually fly Air NZ, Emirates to give you an eg. I have watched so many videos. I know its only a 5 hours flight but your feedback would be awesome.
“Frankfurt’s gonna ‘Frankfurt’” I haven’t transferred at Frankfurt in many years, so I’d hoped things would have improved by now. Apparently not. If you have to transfer in Europe, Schipol is the best choice; if you need to transfer in Germany, Munich is far better. I’m flying United in a few weeks EWR-MXP, but in Economy. However, it’s an older 767, which is fairly comfortable even in Economy. Nice video!
Recently it’s even worse in Germany since there aren’t enough workers because of the pandemic
Nice one Paul 👍
From SFO to Europe, I'd fly with Swiss on their 777 that has a very nice 1st class, and you can be sure you'll be getting off your flight on an airbridge into Zurich's awesome new terminal.
Sadly with SWISS’ new service in Business you also get everything severed on one tray when traveling from the US to Europe. They don’t even offer nuts anymore. One of the worst and biggest downgrades! I used to be a huge fan of SWISS, but since the two service changes in August 2021 and Mai 2022 they have become a joke…
@@Boeingdude2 The food still beats the garbage UA serves. Anyway, the reason for taking Swiss is 1st class...
@@tigersharkzh Inbound to Zürich (flying from the US) the meal quality is not as good anymore, but probably better than UA. Yeah but Swiss First is very expensive and I actually prefer LH First over LX
Thanks Paul.
It seems already better than what AA provided for trans-Atlantic flight!
How does the boarding pass work? You just stand in front of that machine?
I tend to go for a seat in the center as there is less jet engine noise away from the window seats
See you in the skys Paul!
That is weird.. when I flew United Polaris back to Europe from Chicago in Jan I was given options and could pick from a menu.. the food was quite good then
Great video. 👍
I generally hope that Paul will review more airlines that are outside the US. All 3 major big airlines in the US receive so much attention among trip report reviewers. Would really love to see other airlines outside the US to get more attention too.
Agreed. Most reviewers focus on US, European and Middle Eastern airlines. Would love to see more Asian airlines featured, but the pandemic didn't help. With entry restrictions easing, hoping to see more interests in Asian airlines.
The good news is I have two ANA reviews coming this way soon!
@@Paul_Lucas YESSSSSSSS
I understand that the food was not what you expect it if I was on a long-haul flight I check the menu to see which food is good
Another excellent review - that food looked very meh though!
Wow at about 8:05 look at the size of that Lufthansa 747-8i! And they're probably going the same place as this United flight!
I love this lounge. I was there 4/1
I agree shabby service re the meal. It is worth pointing out the meal in the lounge is not 'free', it is included in the hefty ticket price!
I’d choose middle seat in business over a window seat in economy. (Just answering Paul’s question from when he boards)
Always!
My good friend is a senior 777 pilot based out of SFO but she lives in the Phoenix area
I‘ll never understand Frankfurts gate policy. If you’re flying on a Lufthansa A320 within Europe you’re more likely than not to board through a Jet bridge, yet I too had multiple widebody flights from remote stands. Is it jus the design of the terminal that can’t accommodate large planes?
It's coming back gradually. Sundae cart is on long hauls again and multiple courses as well. They're getting there.
@Paul I’ll be flying SQ business out of SFO next week. Where is this terrace in relation to the Polaris lounge. I’ll be traveling with my 3yr old son and will want to do some plane spotting with him. Thank you!
It’s at the far end of the terminal, as far away as you can get from the Polaris lounge!
Nice video 📹
Flew FRA- DEN in Polaris. Liked everything but the food. Went with chicken option and gosh it was so distasteful - had to put left over salad dressing on it to make it edible.
It seems strange to me to change into pajamas on an airplane. It might be nice, but then the ship lands and whoops where are my blue jeans‽
Paul I'm new to your channel but can I just say that this video right here has reinvigorated me to take up United again. As you mentioned, it's so easy to dunk on U.S. airlines (to be fair though they're not the best out there) but United has always been my go to airline. Here lately though I've been wavering a little on their product, but this video definitely gave me hope. Thanks, and please take this sub as a gesture of appreciation for the content!
Fingers cross they have restore the Polaris service to pre-pandemic im flying Polaris next Friday
Do those with mobility issues have to use the stairs? Not good!!!
No, they use a scissor lift at one of the other aircraft doors.
cheers mate.
United sure doesn't handle delays well for Economy passengers.
The announcements were made to everyone, not just first class customers.
EU passenger rights exceed Canadian standards. All EU travellers are eligible regardless of nationality.There is a formula based on time and distance. I collected once for a business seat BA flight 24 hrs delay, 7,200 km. It was worth the effort. Luckily we had a float day for lag built into the leisure itinerary. Archive your flight app records of the delay as an independent record to avoid he said, she said.
I'm amazed the bathroom is that big. Seems like more and more airlines are shrinking the bathrooms
The food looked both sad and a day or so old. Rather nasty like that fruit salad!!??? They Really need to up this ante!! Great report as usual. Thanks!
From my understanding, United just barely rolled out June 1st to all long haul Polaris flights a three-course meal. Did you fly this at the end of May?
Flown in April according to the description
@@MrGreatplum which is kind of stupid because why do you post something 4 days ago when you don't even have the facts in front of you. Everything changed so I don't really care about if your flight didn't have something if all the future flights have it lol.
window seat in economy for me I love looking out of the window during take off and landing
Freaking Frankfurt. Easily the worst preboarding experience I ever had was in Frankfurt. 🤦🏼♀️
My father told me the same a couple months ago. For me it's Los Cabos.
Middle seat in business!
I like your videos
That's a very good video
I'd pick middle seat in Business
I would choose middle seat in Business compared to window seat in economy 😃
That Polaris dining experience is appalling. Not a patch on Qantas First lounge dining.
I take it Premium Plus is the United version of Premium Economy.
What is your fascination with seat 1A?
As explained in the video, bulkhead seats offer greater legroom and in this case a larger footrest = bigger bed space.
@@Paul_Lucas No, it's more than that. You don't exude about the other seats in row 1, just seat 1A. Does it have some special cachet for you?
United’s Polaris food has always been awful even before the pandemic. On one flight to Amsterdam breakfast trays had jars of ketchup instead of jam for the awful croissant. Everything on the 10 hour flight was inedible.
My opinion is that United is just slow to react to changes. Also in regards to best airport lounges, I heard Delta's Seattle and JFK lounges are on par or better than what you showed in the Polaris at SFO. I would check them out personally or look at some online video reviews. Thanks for a great review!
The guy at 1:50 totally stalking you
@6:55 window seat in economy. At least then I'd have something to look at.
It’s sad. I remember when UA rolled out Polaris and was impressed with its service, however, I knew it wasn’t going to last and I was right.
UA needs to bring back 80% of the old Polaris service now.