United Polaris on the 787 and 777 day to day: the service flow, the crew positions and what business class long haul is actually like at a US carrier

United SFO, international to Asia, and the Polaris threads describe the training. This is what working the Polaris cabin actually is, hour by hour, for the crew who are about to get their first international trip and are nervous about the front cabin.

The cabin

Polaris on the 787-9 is around 48 suites, on the 777-300 around 60, all lie flat with direct aisle access. Two to three crew in the cabin plus a purser who oversees the whole aircraft. The galley is at the front and the service is choreographed from it.

Boarding

Welcome at the door, pre departure drinks in the suite (the sparkling wine or the water), the menu and the amenity kit and the pyjamas on the longer routes, the coat hanging, the special meal confirmation. The purser does the announcements; the Polaris crew do the suites. The pre departure phase is where the passengers form their opinion.

The first service

The main meal, restaurant style: a cart or a tray service depending on the route and the cabin, with the starter, the main from the choices, the dessert cart (the ice cream sundae cart on many routes is the thing passengers remember), and the wine service with the pairing. On a 12 hour sector to Tokyo this takes two to two and a half hours for 48 suites. Crew work in pairs, one aisle each, with a third managing the galley on the 777.

The middle

Lights down, the suites converted to beds by the passengers with help on request, the snack basket set up in the galley, the water runs, the requests. Crew rest in rotation. The purser does the paperwork. A medical or a difficult passenger is handled here, quietly, because the cabin is asleep.

The second service

Breakfast or a light meal, 90 minutes out, quicker, with the suites to reset and the landing preparation. The Polaris crew are the last to sit.

What the passengers are like

Business travellers who know the product and want it done right and fast. Leisure passengers on the trip of the year. Upgrades who are delighted. The Asia routes have a lot of tech passengers from the Bay Area who work the whole flight and want coffee. The difficult passengers are the ones who compare Polaris unfavourably with the Asian carriers, out loud, which happens and which you learn to hear.

How it compares to the Asian and Gulf business cabins

Less formal, less choreographed, more conversational. The service standard is good and the product is good; the delivery is American. Crew who have flown for the Asian carriers find it relaxed. Crew who have only flown domestic find it a lot.

For new international crew

Learn the sequence before your first trip from the manual, ask the purser for the galley position on your first Polaris flight so you learn the flow before you face the suites, and remember that the passengers want it done right more than they want it done charmingly. Both is the goal. Right is the floor.