Imagine world where you can get a full night’s sleep, eat a delicious hot meal, and enjoy a glass of champagne all while traveling halfway across the world. Sounds amazing right?! This is the experience awaiting you when flying 12.5 hours from Rome to San Francisco in the United Polaris cabin. This flight has convinced me that I need to become a points & miles wizard so I can fly business class on any flight over 8 hours.
From lie flat seats, private spaces, and delicious food, United Polaris really is a top notch product. Not sure if it’s worth your travel budget (dollars or points)? Read on to get a detailed review of United’s FCO-SFO flight in Polaris.
Lounge Experience at Rome Fiumicino International Airport
Unfortunately there is no United lounge in the Rome airport, but you are able to use any Priority Pass lounge when flying business class. I spent a few hours in the Terminal 1 Plaza Premium Lounge which is about 10 minutes from where the United flights board. This lounge is located in the Schengen Area after security.
There are a few lounge choices in Terminal 1, so you can chose whichever looks quieter. This lounge was almost empty when I went. I found a comfortable area to sit and charge my devices. This lounge also has a wide variety of hot food (pasta!), fruits, and dessert options. There is also a bar where you can order a variety of wines and cocktails as well as specialty coffee drinks.
Overall, I would say this was a great lounge experience. Many lounges in the US have been overcrowded lately, so this quiet spacious lounge was a good change of pace. It does not have the perks of showers and sleep rooms that some of the higher end lounges do, but for a 2-3 hours stay, it does have everything you need.
Boarding & Pre flight Experience
In United Polaris you are able to board in group 1. I was sat down quickly, had a whole overhead bin to myself, and was promptly brought a glass of champagne upon being seated.
My seat, 9A, is the bulkhead seat, so there was no one sitting in front of me. In these cabins the odd numbered seat have the seat next to the window and your table area on the aisle side, which offers the most privacy.
The Polaris cabin seats come complete with Saks 5th Ave bedding (two blankets, full size pillow, and memory foam pillow) as well as an AWAY amenity kit. To note, United is now partnering with Astura. The amenity kits typically include a sleep mask, toothbrush & toothpaste, lip balm, hand lotion, and socks!
As I arrived at my seat, I was welcomed with a glass of champagne and given a menu for the flight. I was also given a small dish of warm nuts. This was my first business class experience and food looked so much better than in economy!
Meal Service
As this was a long flight, we were offered 2 meals and a mid light snack. The main meal was served about 2 hours after takeoff. It included a salad, appetizer, entrée, and dessert. I did have the option to select a meal before the flight as well.
I chose the sweet potato tikki masala for my main meal, which was delicious! It paired very well with the Pinot Noir I had with dinner. After dinner I chose the chocolate torte for dessert with a hot coffee. Also absolutely delicious! No complaints about this meal service.
About half way through the flight I woke up and got hungry, so I ordered the grilled cheese toastie. It was a sufficient snack, but the bread was a little hard to chew. If I had to chose again, I might have the potato leek soup instead.
About 1.5 hours before arrival, the second meal service commenced. It was about 5:30pm in San Francisco as this time, so the options were more geared towards a dinner meal. I chose the spiced tomato rigatoni pasta. It was probably a 6/10 for me, and the burger looked slightly more appetizing. Wine or coffee is also available to order at this time (and any time during the flight).
Lie Flat Seat & United Polaris Cabin
Most of United’s long haul flights have a United Polaris business cabin with lie flat seats. The seat was definitely the best part of the flight for me! On all international flights slippers & mattress pads are available, and on flights over 11.5 hours you can request pajamas. I was pretty comfortable, so opted out of the pajamas this time around.
The seats in United’s cabin can be reclined or in a fully flat bed position. I sat reclined with my pillows and blankets while watching movies for a good 6-7 hours of the flights. When it was time to go to sleep, I was able to dim in the window to darken my seat area (no shades on the Dreamliners) and just used the reading light to get situated.
United provides a couple very comfortable blankets and pillows, so I was able to sleep warm and comfortably for about 4-5 hours of the flight. The Polaris cabin is also dimmed and lit with some cool blue lights to provide a relaxing environment. The foot rest area in these seats is also very wide, so I was to comfortably stretch out.
Entertainment
The Polaris cabin has 16 in screens with a remote so you can control the screen in a reclined position. As on most United flights there is a wide variety of movies & shows available to watch. I was actually able to watch 4 movies and still get sleep as this was such a long flight. Each seat is also equipped with noise cancelling headphones so you can hear your entertainment well while in flight.
Is United Polaris worth it?!
This ticket often cost about $4600 for a one way fare. Which is insane. I don’t know if I would pay that much cash for a flight anywhere. Luckily, it is possible to pay for this ticket with points, which is what I did. United is a transfer partner with Chase, so if you have a Sapphire Reserve card, business class is always a good thing to save up for!
You can also book United flights with points on Aeroplan, which is transfer partners with Amex, Chase, and Capital One Venture. Aeroplan sometimes has cheaper (points) fares for United and if you have any of the big travel cards, you can transfer points to this frequent flyer program.
Bottom line: If you have the points, United Polaris is definitely worth it on a super long flight!
