After a long night trying to stay awake at HKG, I was very excited to get on the plane, get through the meal and fall asleep. I was simultaneously very excited to check out United's new Polaris hard product on their new 77W's.
Our plane was towed into the gate and I headed over to the gate from the United lounge.
Boarding was quick and easy. The new cabin looked really sleek! The 1-2-1 layout is great and the way United arranged their cabin is one of the better and increasingly common Business Class layouts.
The seats themselves looked great and generally private with some being more private than others. I was lucky to score a private window seat which turned out to be overall a really awesome product.
For even numbered rows, the aisle seats weren't as private, but still way better than any other United J products.
For the center seats they altered between the seats being far away or close (honeymoon seats as they say). The good thing is no matter what, you can raise a partition in the middle for privacy if you're seated there but not flying with anyone.
The seat itself is well designed with easy to use controls. Per the new Polaris service, pre-departure drinks and chocolates were passed out. I also made sure to snag PJ's and the Saks bedding including the mattress pad and gel cooling pillow for later.
I had a great view of the gigantic GE90 engine, just check out the ground crew next to it for scale!
The menu for today was fine, nothing terribly exciting, but not bad either. The wine list was totally uninspiring :(
Soon enough it was time for push-back, the cabin lights dimmed and the cabin had a great ambiance.
Nice views as we taxied out for take-off.
Smooth climbout and more great views with the GE90 taking center stage.
Meal service began and the flight attendant assigned to my row was less than enthusiastic about her job. With that being said, it wasn't so bad and I tried really hard to get her to laugh and enjoy herself a bit.
Given the less than impressive wine selection, I decided to try a little bit of everything to start with the warm mixed nuts.
That was followed by a salad and a shrimp appetizer, both of which were decent.
I couldn't decide on my main and went with the filet. I don't like filet's on the ground let alone the air typically, but figured it'd be a safe bet. As it turned out it was excellent, both tender and cooked medium rare+. Way to go United.
I followed the filet up with the cheese course and port (woohoo as a big port fan).
And of course the signature United sundae, albeit in a paper cup due to their original glass Polaris bowls chipping.
I had the seat turned down as I changed in pajamas and slept decently well for several hours. I must say that while I was exhausted, I passed the point of being able to get solid sleep and tossed and turned. Note to self, it's not worth trying to stay awake all night to sleep on the flight, I'd have been tired anyway with reduced sleep.
An hour or so out of SFO, I woke up and had the new grilled cheese and tomato bisque which was super tasty, however I did have to send the grilled cheese back to be warmed up since it arrived being lukewarm.
We began our descent into SFO on a clear morning and had great views.
Back on the ground!
The Chairman was very excited for me to be back in the office after being in China for almost two weeks.
Trip links:
- Shanghai
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