Review: United 777-300 Polaris (Business Class) Tokyo (NRT)-San Francisco
- Konrad Tillman
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
Intro
After spending a lovely day in Tokyo and arriving in the morning on board Malaysia Airlines Business Class, it was finally time to embark back to the United States of America. After flying Polaris plenty of times, I was excited to see how the 777-300 was holding up, as I rarely get to review this aircraft.
Well, it was once again another nice flight onboard United Polaris. Considering there is plenty of competition between the two cities, I think United might actually win out. Allow me to explain why…
Route- Tokyo (NRT)-San Francisco (SFO)
Flight Number- UA838
Seat- 9L
Aircraft- Boeing 777-300ER
Date- August 25th, 2024
Flight Time- 9 Hours and 12 Minutes
Price Paid- 2250$ (5 flights)
How I Booked
Back in early last summer (around this time), there was an excellent fare that United Airlines offered from Kuala Lumpur to the US. With the need to head back again in December, I booked the following for a total of 2250 USD:
United 777-300 Polaris Tokyo-San Francisco
United 737 Max 8 Domestic First San Francisco-Los Angeles
United 787-9 Polaris Los Angeles-Hong Kong
Cathay Pacific A330-300 Business Class Hong Kong-Kuala Lumpur
This fare was truly one of the best fares I had come across, and it even worked for a couple of hundred more to New York. Unfortunately, this isn’t around anymore, but I wish it were 😅. What do you think? Good deal?
Check-In
Arriving back at Narita around 2 pm for a scheduled 5:05 departure time, I made my way over to check-in counter F, which United happened to be using. Thankfully, there was no line for Polaris/1K passengers, and a friendly agent printed out my boarding pass and recommended I head off to the ANA Lounge, which he much preferred. Loving the kindness shown here!
I quickly made my way through the “Gold Track” for business class passengers and Star Alliance Gold (unlike Cairo, this is really for those that are eligible 🥴) and was off to the ANA Business Class Lounge.
Boarding
For a scheduled boarding time of 4:15 pm, I made my way over to Gate 33 from the ANA Lounge. Interestingly, just as I arrived, it seemed that a whopping 25 passengers cleared into Polaris from standby, no wonder they downgraded this route to a 777-200 now.
Boarding happened to be a little bit behind schedule, so about 20 minutes later, the whopping 100 passengers in group 1 (come on United (usually I say this the other way around screaming at the tele when United are down 4-0 to Brentford smh)) waltzed down the jetbridge.
Stepping onboard, I was warmly greeted by a lovely Japanese flight attendant.
The Seat/Cabin
At this moment, the United Polaris cabin on the 777-300ER has the largest business class footprint that any other US carrier offers on a single aircraft. Laid out across two cabins, there are 60 Polaris seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. In the forward cabin are 24 seats, and the rear has a whopping 36 seats! Those looking for the utmost privacy, select off-numbered rows, windows if you are a solo traveler, and middle seats if you are a couple.
Naturally, I chose seat 9L, which is my favorite seat in almost all aircraft (minus the 787-8) due to the larger footwell, as well as the fact you can laugh at those going back to economy (I am joking… I prefer 9L as I have been bumped from 1L.
Each seat features a pop-out storage compartment, a marble counter to store stuff during the flight, a power port (USB), a little cubby underneath the IFE screen, and the best part: a little place for your laptop by the window. A lot of people overlook this small spot, but it is perfect!
Look, the Polaris seat is exceptional in its own way. Honestly, it is soft, spacious (on the 777), but most of all, it is consistent (for the time being). Personally, this seat is better than JAL (minus the A350) and ANA (minus the Room).
Departure
Settling in onboard, the lovely FA came around to offer me a pre-departure beverage consisting of water or sparkling wine (can we please not call it champers). Naturally, I went with the sparkling wine 😅. Almost too bad to drink, but a staple piece of a Polaris experience. Note: since this review, United now serves PDBs in real glassware (you can find that review here).
With about 30 minutes to kill until pushback, I headed up to the cockpit because, why not? I got into a deep conversation with all 3 on the flight deck. 2 used to fly Learjets, one flew 727s, and one flew Chinook helis. Really, really lovely people. Talked with FO Michael and told me his story about flying HNL-SFO at FL400 on the 77W, which he said was the highest he has flown it.
They also gave me some info regarding the flight: We are going to start at FL310 and slowly step climb up to FL370. Eventually, it was 5 pm and I apologied for taking up their time and headed back to my seat. What a way to start the flight. The United flight decks are always the friendliest, so make sure to visit them if you can!
A couple of minutes late (don’t blame me here, please), we pushed back from our gate and headed off on the short taxi to runway 16R for departure.
It was a beautiful day to fly, as we were wheels up to SFO about 12 minutes after departure with some jawdropping views of outer Tokyo. Ahh, Japan, yes!
Amenities
Once airborne, I decided to check out the mountain of UA amenities on offer. Polaris amenities might be some of the best in the world, and if you don’t know what you are in for, you are going to be so happy.
Waiting at each seat are two blankets, a large pillow, a memory gel pillow, a pair of slippers, an amenity kit (with really good hydrating mist), and a pair of headphones (which are the only downside to Polaris).
However, keep in mind that you can request a mattress pad on any long-haul Polaris flight from the cabin crew. Or you can grab it yourself: they are in the overhead bins by seat 8L lol.
No Polaris pajamas on flights under 13 hours (14 is not the cutoff, it really varies at the moment), but I did bring my own.
IFE
Getting ready for my dinner (breakfast, I don’t know even know anymore), I checked out the IFE that United offers onboard. Once again, United really shines here with high definition screens, a great selection of entertainment, and good responsiveness. Top marks here, if only you could improve the headphones.
In terms of WIFI, I didn’t purchase it on today's flight, but a full flight pass was around 26$, while cheaper rates could be found for shorter periods of time. Certainly expensive, and I cannot wait until they roll out free Starlink fleet-wide.
Dinner
Prior to departure, the cabin crew confirmed with me my pre-order, which was the beef short rib. If you choose anything else, you should be banished from Polaris (I’m joking, it’s just the only half-decent thing in Polaris to eat, minus the grilled cheese). However, for those wondering, this is what the menu looked like (note: there are now new booklets in Polaris):
40 minutes after takeoff, the cabin crew came around and distributed my meal on one tray. Usually Polaris dinner service is multiple courses, but I didn’t want to play Hokey Pokey and dance around the fire so I asked for an express meal. Short ribs: delicious and tender. Wine: delicious and delicious. More wine dlecuisos (get it, maybe not, bad joke, moving on)
About 30 minutes later, the ice cream cart came around and I opted for a… wait for it… a cheese plate! I know, I should be admitted to a psych ward for my decision.
Bed
“Seat width: 21 inches. Seat length: 76 inches. But after a few drinks, who’s really measuring, if you know what I mean? 😉” (okay, I’ll see myself out on that one). Perhaps my calculations are off anyway, as they vary from aircraft to aircraft and seat to seat.
Making up my bed with the infamous Polaris mattress pad, I crawled into it and decided to head off to bed for the next 6 hours. The Polaris bed, in my opinion, is the best bed in the world. Hate me all you want, but I sleep better in Polaris than at a Four Seasons or SQ First… It’s a cocoon, which, if you get used to, will take all of your money.
I slept so well that I ended up arising from the dead at 9:00 am San Francisco time, about an hour before landing. This is why I love this flight, as it puts you into the West Coast with almost a full day to kill.
Lavatories
If there is one upside to the 777 versus the 787, it is the fact that there is a large bathroom located by door 2. Throughout the flight, I found them to be kept clean and stocked with the Therabody amenities. The ratio of seats to lavatories is 1:15 passengers, so not too shabby.
Service
Waking up from my sleeping beauty nap, the lovely female FA working my aisle came over to offer me breakfast and a choice of beverages. Naturally, I chose a champoffee (my horrific invention, which works), but it goes to show the service.
Overall, I have found the cabin crew on my flights from the West Coast to Asia and vice versa to be very good. Upon boarding, I was greeted by name, and throughout the flight, the service was efficient and friendly. It wasn’t quite up there with some of the amazing LAX crews I’ve had, but it was good overall.
Arrival
Just shy of a quarter to ten, the flight deck came on to announce that we would be descending into San Fran shortly, and if we needed to use the (yeah yeah you get it).
It was a beautiful descent through the west coast, and we ended up touching down ahead of schedule at 10:10 am with a smooth landing. Something about the 777- 300ER, honestly.
From there, it was a 10-minute taxi to G gates (international), and it was off the plane to clear immigration. Due to what time this flight gets in, as well as being in seat 9L, it works out perfectly for immigration since I was the first one through.
However, straight back to the Polaris Lounge it was!
Final Thoughts
Flying United Polaris from Tokyo to San Francisco on the 777-300ER was an absolute treat. Being back on my most flown aircraft ever (4x), a good short rib, a lovely flight deck, extensive IFE, and friendly service all made it feel like being at home. Just improve your headphones now, UA…
People have their preferred carriers when flying to Japan, but to me, I would either pick Singapore (when flying out of LAX) or United as a whole. This is primarily due to the lackluster hard product on most flights that JAL and ANA operate, but I guess that is somewhat set to change with JL adding more A350s to US gateways.
If you can get a good deal on cash or miles, United isn’t a bad way for a TPAC. See you in SFO 😉
