Nearly a decade after United Airlines first launched its Polaris business-class product, the carrier is back with version 2.0. It’s all part of United’s efforts to upgrade the in-flight experience across every cabin, with a nose‑to‑tail makeover for incoming Boeing 787‑9 Dreamliner planes.
“We focus on customer needs from the front of the aircraft to the back of the aircraft in every way, and I would describe [it] as a premium-for-everybody type of strategy,” Andrew Nocella, chief commercial officer at United, said at a media briefing earlier this week.
Despite the recent spike in fuel prices, United executives say demand remains strong, with premium travel leading the way. Each new Dreamliner plane, one of which Afar previewed on Tuesday, is packing 99 seats across business class and premium economy (64 Polaris suites and 35 Premium Plus seats). That means nearly half of the plane (45 percent of the total 222 seats) will be premium configured.
The first international passenger flights with these new “Elevated” interiors—what United is calling this new generation of aircraft—are taking off on April 22, with service from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). That will then be quickly followed by service to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR), according to Nocella.
United is getting new Dreamliner aircraft at a quick pace: 33 deliveries are expected within the next two years.
New United Polaris Studio suites
United is undertaking the most ambitious overhaul of its Polaris business-class cabin to date. At a media event in Los Angeles, I had the chance to board a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with the elegant new interiors.
Perhaps the most exciting part of the revamp is what’s being called the United Polaris Studio suite: eight extra‑large berths at the front of each business‐class cabin. In addition to sliding privacy doors, these “business class plus” pods will have an ottoman where a companion of the ticket holder can visit with them during the flight. Each of the eight suites boasts a large, 27‑inch touch screen, Bluetooth audio connectivity, and wireless charging.
The upgrade runs $499 above standard Polaris and comes with Perricone MD skincare, an Ossetra caviar amuse-bouche, and some Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé Champagne. On the ground, Studio passengers have access to the exclusive Global Reception check-in area, typically reserved for United’s highest-tier elites.
United’s new Polaris Studios consist of eight extra‑large berths at the front of the business‐class cabin, with sliding doors and ottomans, among other bells and whistles.
Courtesy of United
“Elevated” upgrades for a competitive premium market
On the new Boeing 787‑9s, standard Polaris business-class suites aren’t being left behind. Each of the 56 regular Polaris seats will gain sliding doors and a 19‑inch screen (three inches larger than existing Polaris screens). United will also offer center suites that allow couples and traveling companions to sit closer together when the divider is lowered to bed height; currently, center seats don’t let the divider lower to bed height, and there’s a greater distance between the adjoining head areas.
In the 35-seat Premium Plus cabin, United’s premium-economy class, passengers will have 16-inch screens (versus 13 inches) and a privacy divider with a built-in reading light (versus no divider now). Even travelers in economy get 13-inch monitors (versus 9 inches)—the largest economy-class screens in the world.
These days, discerning premium travelers expect more than lie‑flat seats and a glass of bubbly. Even among the major U.S. carriers, long-haul international passengers are spoiled for choice when it comes to business-class options. Last year, American Airlines debuted its Flagship Suite on 787-9s, with privacy doors, more personal storage space, and chaise-lounge seating with an adjustable headrest pillow.
Notably for United, its upcoming Dreamliners with the “Elevated” interior will be among the first wide-body planes in North America to have free, ultrafast Starlink connectivity, which will be installed later in 2026. The carrier is promising reliable internet access around the world, including over oceans, polar regions, and other remote locations.
New Coastliner planes will bring Polaris seats to select domestic flights.
Courtesy of United
New Coastliner planes bring Polaris to domestic flights
United also announced that two new narrow-body aircraft are launching later this summer. The A321neo “Coastliner” will fly exclusively between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and United’s West Coast hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, bringing lie-flat Polaris business class (and Polaris lounge access) to domestic transcontinental routes for the first time. The A321XLR, meanwhile, replaces the carrier’s aging Boeing 757s on secondary international routes to Europe and South America, with 32 premium seats on board—double what the 757 carried.
Let’s just say the bar is high for premium travel, and United is raising it.
This story originally published in May 2025 and was updated on May 27, 2026, to include current information.
