United’s Second Longest Flight: Polaris Business Class on the 787 from Johannesburg to Newark
by Krish Patel
At 16 hours and 15 minutes, the route from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Newark, New Jersey, is United’s second longest flight. This flight sees the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which features Polaris Business Class, Premium Plus, and Economy. Polaris is United’s luxurious flagship Business Class product that offers its passengers a relaxing, premium experience. After 10 wonderful nights in South Africa, I headed back to the states from JNB, which was my most convenient flight option.
The JNB Ground Experience and Lounge
United operates out of Terminal A at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and the airline’s check-in counter can be found on level three. You’ll find one Premier Access check-in counter for Polaris passengers, which is shared by Premier 1K status holders. The staff who checked me in were friendly and made for a seamless check-in experience.
The security queues at JNB are quite long given the number of evening departures. After clearing the checkpoint came immigration, where I was required to show my documents. I recommend arriving at the airport at least three hours early to efficiently clear check-in, security, and immigration so that you don’t find yourself in a long line.
United doesn’t have its own lounge in Johannesburg. Instead, Polaris Business Class customers can access the South African Airways International Premium Lounge because the airline has a partnership with United through the Star Alliance. The lounge is located straight ahead from immigration on the mezzanine level near gate A7. It’s accessible to SAA Business Class passengers, Star Alliance Gold members, and Star Alliance premium cabin passengers.
The South African Airways Lounge is stunning. It’s split into dedicated First and Business Class sections, with the Business section being to the right. I found the lounge to be incredibly modern, with light fixtures and plenty of comfortable seats.
There are several seating options to choose from in this lounge, ranging from private nooks to spacious armchairs. A large portion of the seating overlooks the tarmac, where I was able to have a good look at our United 787.
I love the cozy ambiance of this lounge. The wooden flooring and elegant finishes make this one of the most relaxing Business Class lounges in South Africa. In addition to seating, the space also offers several amenities, including shower suites and conference rooms. I figured that I’d have a long day of travel ahead, so I decided to take a shower.
Unfortunately, there’s no restaurant facility in this premium lounge, however, you’ll find a buffet with various choices. There’s a cheese and dessert section, as well as one for salads and cold appetizers and a hot entree station. I didn’t eat much in the lounge and only grabbed some fruit from the buffet.
The lounge’s bar is gorgeous, hanging above which is an oval-shaped light fixture. There’s a display of some alcoholic beverages and you can also order coffee or tea.
Most of the gates in Terminal A are an eight minute walk from the lounge, including ours, A11. Boarding commenced 50 minutes before our scheduled departure and secondary bag checks were held. Seating near the gate was very scarce and much of it was taken, with many being forced to stand. After the pre-borders, Polaris customers board the aircraft in group 1 of 5.
Polaris Business Class Cabin and Seat
United’s 787-9 Dreamliner features two Polaris Business Class cabins with staggered seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. The seats alternate by row and face closer to the window or to the aisle. For solo travelers, the best seats in this cabin are the odd-numbered window seats because they’re the ones that are positioned against the window. Row five is missing one, so I’d avoid selecting seats 5A or 5L.
United’s Polaris Business Class seats are very consistent across their international fleet. These seats look very luxurious with gray paneling, touches of black, and calming blue trims. The seat fabric is some of the most comfortable seat material I’ve sat on. During boarding, the cabin feels very relaxing because of the Dreamliner’s overhead mood lighting system.
In front of each Polaris pod is a 16-inch touchscreen entertainment display. United’s IFE system offers several choices of movies and TV shows, including newly released films and live sports and news. In addition, there are tabs for kids movies and TV and information about United Airlines. The inflight map is very intuitive and is powered by FlightPath 3D.
In addition, you’ll also find multiple music playlists across several genres and audio podcasts. The Relax Mode feature on United is one of my favorites as well, allowing you to watch scenic city or nature-inspired videos and listen to calming music or white noise. With accessibility features for travelers with visual and hearing needs, United’s IFE system is the best on any U.S. carrier.
Situated right beneath the screen is a storage compartment for a laptop, next to which is a USB port. The tray table can be accessed by pushing on it and folds out for additional space. Inserted into the table is a device holder for an iPad or phone.
The seats in bulkhead rows 1 and 9 offer a slightly larger footrest than the other Polaris pods. You’ll find space to store a small carry-on underneath the footrest.
Found next to the entertainment screen is a coat hook. I never saw anyone use it inflight and don’t understand why United chose to include it as a part of the seat.
Right below the windows are the seat controls. They’re conveniently situated and very easy to use. You’ll find a dial that can be pushed forward to recline the seat into bed mode.
At the inner end of the seat is the side table, which features a fake white marble surface. Above the table is a storage locker that houses a vanity mirror, as well as a sconce-lamp and reading light. You’ll also notice the IFE remote, headphone jack, and power outlet built into the seat wall. All of the seat features are very easy to locate and don’t require you to reach to access them.
Adjacent to the side console is an adjustable armrest that can be lowered to allow for more space when sleeping. The armrest contains a thin pocket for inflight literature.
Overhead air nozzles are found above each seat.
There are three lavatories on the 787-9 in Polaris, which are shared by each of the 48 passengers. The bathrooms are spacious and come stocked with Therabody skincare amenities. I wish there was more counter space by the sink, but other than that, it’s a good lavatory. You’ll find a contactless flush, which is standard on the 787.
After the dinner service, I decided to go to sleep. In bed mode, the Polaris seat offers plenty of room at the footwell to stretch out, as well as a spacious amount of width. Paired with United’s signature Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, I enjoyed a solid 7 and a half hours of undisturbed slumber.
Polaris Business Class Food and Drink
On this 16-hour flight from Johannesburg to Newark, United serves two meals in Polaris, as well as a mid-flight snack. Dinner was served after takeoff and the pre-landing meal was listed as breakfast. Waiting at the seat upon boarding was a menu that listed the food and drink items.
I was offered a pre-departure beverage before departure and opted for a glass of water. This is no different from the pre-takeoff service offered in United First on domestic flights, since the beverages were offered in plastic cups.
In the air, service began with a hot towel and I was offered some warm nuts and a beverage of choice. I ordered myself an AHA pineapple and passion fruit sparkling water.
I was then offered an appetizer, with the choices being either grilled prawns or buffalo mozzarella. I had the mozzarella, which was just decent. The appetizer was served alongside a roasted corn salad, bread roll, and butter and balsamic vinaigrette. It’s very cute how the salt and pepper shakers are shaped like the United Airlines globe logo.
Before taking this flight, I received a meal request from United for my entree and ordered the vegetarian ratatouille. It tasted a lot better than it looked, but still wasn’t the best meal I’ve had in Business Class. United is really getting a lot better when it comes to inflight catering, but they’re still not up to par with their U.S. competitors American and Delta.
For the dessert service, flight attendants rolled a dessert trolley through the cabin offering ice cream sundaes, fruit and cheese, or a mini apple pie. I opted for the ice cream sundae, which came with a variety of toppings. However, I didn’t end up finishing the entire thing to try the fruit and cheese. The dessert paired nicely with a cup of chamomile tea.
Mid-flight, a snack bar was set up in the galley. The selection included chips, fruit, and the leftover dessert items. A mid-flight meal was also available, with the choices being a soup or sandwich. I opted to skip out on this meal service because I figured it would be too much food.
Hot towels were offered for a second time on this flight to commence breakfast. There were two choices, and I opted to have the waffles. They came with vanilla sauce and blueberry compote and were served on a single tray alongside a bowl of fruit and a croissant. Although the croissant looked flat and unappealing, it tasted just fine, especially with the provided butter and jam. This was certainly the best breakfast I had on a United flight and the waffles weren’t overly sweet. For drinks, I ordered a decaf illy coffee and blueberry and pomegranate-flavored AHA sparkling water.
Polaris Business Class Amenities
Waiting at the Business Class seat was a large mountain of amenities, which included the Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, pair of slippers, and Therabody amenity kit. United’s Saks Fifth Avenue bedding includes a day blanket, duvet, and two pillows, one of which is a memory foam cooling gel pillow. The provided slippers are very comfortable and of good quality.
The Therabody amenity kit pouch is shaped like that for the Theragun mini. Its contents include each of the following:
Soft tissues
A pair of socks
An eye mask
Refreshing towelettes
Dental kit (toothbrush and toothpaste)
United-branded pen
Arrived Revived Bag- this consists of eye serum, lip balm, hand cream, and face mist
In the seat storage locker, you’ll notice a provided bottle of water and noise-cancelling headphones. The headphones are very flimsy and don’t function as well as other noise-cancelling headphones.
As far as inflight literature, the seat pocket includes a safety card, credit card advertisement, air sickness bag, and a card explaining United’s Bistro on Board program (this is available for purchase in Economy Class on certain domestic and short international routes).
Both pajamas and mattress pads are available upon request, but take note that United only offers pajamas on flights longer than 14 hours. They’re branded with the Polaris logo and are very comfortable to sleep in. The mattress pads are plush and a key item I recommend asking for to enjoy the best sleep possible.
Wi-Fi was available for purchase on this flight, but it wasn’t worth it because most of the time in the air would be spent over the Atlantic.
Service in United Polaris Business Class
On this flight, the crew were pretty friendly, but there were certain points during the flight when it seemed like they had better things to do. Most of our Newark-based flight attendants preferred to stay in the galley mid-flight, while a few others were pretty social and seemed more engaging.
Booking United Polaris Business Class
One-way flights in United Polaris Business Class from Johannesburg to Newark start at around $4,600 per person. Note that flights bound for the U.S. are more expensive than those going out of the U.S.
For this one-way route in Polaris, United charges about 395,000 MilagePlus miles. United uses a dynamic pricing method for its awards, so the rates tend to vary. It’s also worth considering booking through a Star Alliance partner program, such as Air Canada Aeroplan. Air Canada has increased awards on partner airlines, including those in United Polaris. While the airline uses a dynamic pricing model just like United MileagePlus, it’s still cheaper to book Polaris using Aeroplan points than MileagePlus miles. Plus, there are several credit card points that transfer to Air Canada, while only Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer to United.
Overall Thoughts
United Polaris is a great way to cross the Atlantic, especially on an overnight flight when you’re desperate to get some sleep. The airline’s sleep and skincare items curated by Therabody and Saks Fifth Avenue are some of the most luxurious inflight amenities offered by a U.S. airline. I find the Polaris seats to be very consistent and comfortable across the wide body fleet. They offer plenty of space and good privacy. However, the dining experience was only above average on my flight and not anything special. The South African Airways Lounge in Johannesburg also isn’t as exciting or exclusive as the Polaris Lounge in Newark. At the end of the day, you’re going to have a relaxing flight if you find yourself at the pointy end of a United 787.