Review:Newark To Dublin In United Polaris Business Class

United Polaris Business Class Review: POP-EWR-DUB

There was plenty of drama on my trip from Puerto Plata to Dublin, via Newark.

Last minute upgrade, missed meals, bad information, two planes to Dublin, a miserable crew, a happy one and sneaky tricks to get a seat. This review has it all!

Booking the Flight

I booked an award flight in coach for 35k United miles. The day before my flight, Point.me alerted me that a business class seat had just opened up and I jumped on it. I had a choice of two flights from Newark to Dublin, and this becomes important later in the story

1. UA23 on a Boeing 777-200
2. UA 317 on a Boeing 757-200

This was a no brainer. I chose UA23 because the 777 is a wide body with an updated business class. While the jaded 757s business class has not been updated and is significantly inferior product.

UA1837 Puerto Plata to Newark

Boeing 737-800
Flight Time: 3:33hr
Business Class: Seat 1A

The POP-EWR flight was a standard 737 business class flight. Check in was very quick, there's no priority security lane in POP nor lounge access, but the flight was on time.

The start of the day's disappointments began at the meal service. I preordered my meal but it wasn't load. I nibbled at the onboard options which I didn't like.

Things were about to get worse though.

Luggage Misinformation in Newark

I wasn't sure if I needed to pick up my checked bag in Newark, clear customs and drop them off for my Dublin flight.

I asked United via Messenger and again at check-in. Both said not to collect bags.

In EWR, as I walked past the luggage carousel, I had flashbacks to waiting there last year after the same flight. So I waited and sure enough my bags came out. My bags could still be circling around the squeaky carousel today if I had listened to United. Twice.

Newark Polaris Lounge

I like the Polaris lounge in Newark because they have table service in the dining room. It's more civilized than a buffet. The Maitre'D told me it would be a 15 minute wait. It turned out to be just 10.

I started with the United Polaris Star Cocktail, a purple concoction with a cute gold airplane on the rim. I had the grilled asparagus burrata salad to start, followed by the roasted Atlantic cod as an entree. The cod was cooked well & I wanted to drink the broth. I had a few glasses of wine as well. It's decent restaurant quality food & drink. Very enjoyable and I try to build in a long enough layover when connecting in Newark to spend some time here.

The server insisted that I eat dessert. I was trying to keep room for my dinner on the plane. As it turns out, good thing I fueled up with a brownie ahead of my next adventure with United.

UA 23 Newark to Dublin

Boeing 777-200
Scheduled Departure: 7:40pm. Actual: Cancelled
Polaris Business Class Seat 1A

7pm
I got to the gate 45 minutes before departure and the very enthusiastic gate agents explained that hey used facial recognition to board.

7:25pm
Buisiness class passengers had a separate jetway which is nice. The flight attendant at the plane didn't say anything or even a smile. Maybe it was a mannequin, that'll be Scott Kirby's next money saving idea.

Selecting my seat
This 777 had 52 business class seats. 32 in the front section and 20 in the rear mini cabin. I had originally picked a seat in the rear cabin because that cabin is always quieter, darker and better for sleeping.

But I changed last minute and changed to seat 1A. It's actually not a great seat for an overnight flight because it's close to the galley and there can be noise and light, but for such a short flight, I actually wanted to stay awake and yes, I do like having a boarding pass with 1A on it.

As it turns out, this was a very important decision.

My Seat
1A actually felt quite tight with the bulkhead right in front of you and the high walls of the seat around you. But it was comfortable and I've flown it many times without issue.

United excel with their beddings by Sachs Fifth Avenue which includes a thick pillow, a cooling gel pillow, a duvet, a blanket, and a mattress pad if you ask.

The amenity kit is top quality too with eye serum, face sprays, hand cream and other tiny plastic tubes that will roll around in my drawer unused for a few years.

The Crew
When I sat in my seat, I spotted the purser, he spotted me and he looked away. Strange crew tonight. There was no welcome drink even though we were in United's hub airport and there was a light load of about 40 pax.

7:45pm
Scheduled Departure Time. No pushback, no champagne. The cockpit door was open and I could hear the pilots talking when I heard something about a door not closing.

7:55pm
The captain came on the PA and said there would be a delay because the cargo door wouldn't close and they needed 30 mins to work on it.

8pm
The purser came by and said four words, “You ordered the chicken?” And walked away. Still no offer of other drinks. Some people paid thousand of dollars for this service. This was the worst crew I've had in a long time. I'm always extremely friendly to cabin crew but this crew just did not want to be there.

8:15pm
Captain came on the PA and said the cargo door won’t close properly. They need more time.

8:40pm
Captain told us the door still not closing. I started to suspect things weren't going to end well, so I opened the United app and checked the later Dublin flight. I saw there were 3 open business class seats. I didn't do anything just yet.

8:50pm
90 minutes after boarding the plane, purser of the year finally offered sparkling wine. I opened the app again and clicked the Change Flight button and selected a seat in business on the later flight. But didn't press confirm yet.

9pm. From my seat, I overheard the word 'cancel' from the cockpit. 30 seconds later I heard the ping of an announcement and I immediately pressed Confirm Change on the app just ahead of the captain telling everyone else that the flight was canceled.

Cue panic in the cabin as everyone was fumbling for phones to change flights. I savored the last of my sparkling wine secure with my seat already confirmed.

I went back to the lounge for a cocktail. I saw some of my fellow passengers come into the lounge and look exasperated as the agents told them the good news that there was a seat on the later flight but bad news, it was in coach.

My friends laugh at me for my OCD level of detail when it comes to flying, but it paid off tonight! There were 37 other business class passengers who unexpectedly sat in the back of the plane on their flight home tonight.

United's Updates

I will give United credit here. I was able to change my flight from the app. Good luck doing that on Aer Lingus' archaic website.

By the time I had got back to the lounge, I had notifications with $20 credit to use in the airport and a link to book a hotel room for the night. Thankfully I didn't need it.

This is a long review, but a lot happened! Now for flight #3

UA317 Newark to Dublin

Boeing 757-200
Scheduled Dep:11:10pm Actual Dep: 11:46pm
Flight Time: 6h00
Seat: Polaris Business Class 4E

First let's notice the clever flight number, 317, 3/17, St Patrick's Day. Nice touch United. A recent flight to Amsterdam was flight number 420, ahem.

Boarding & The Seat

I wouldn't normally be excited about boarding a 757, but I just about skipped onto the plane.

What an amazing difference in crew on this flight. They were a credit to themselves and the airline. It began at the boarding gate, when the captain himself came out, and acknowledged that a lot of us had a long & stressful day. Good leadership Captain

Boarding was quick. There were only 16 business class seats, I was in the last row in the aisle seat. Because the seats are so tight on this 80s vintage plane, I got chatting the guy next to me.

It's good to say hello on the 757, because on an overnight flight, you are sleeping shoulder to shoulder with a stranger. You're crawling over each to get to the bathroom. Yes, it's better than coach, and it's a first world problem, but these seats are very expensive. Ok, end of rant.

Dinner & Service

Well if the purser was awful on UA23, Leigh on UA317 was the complete opposite, the happiest FA I've seen in years. He insisted we all have some champagne before take off after "everything we've been through". His words.

He said he would serve all the courses on one tray to speed up service and leave more time to sleep. It was nearly midnight when we took off.

Service was quick & excellent. Leigh moved around with energy and kept all wine glasses filled, and even recommended you try different wines. More work for him in an already busy flight.

More meal disappointment for me though. I was in the last row and my first choice of Spicy Chicken was already gone, so I had to settle for fish, just like the fish I had in the lounge earlier!

But Leigh made up for it by adding extra topping on my ice cream sundae.

Bed & Breakfast

Everyone went to sleep after that. We had similar Sachs Fifth bedding on this plane too. But it's an angle flat bed, so it feels like you're about to slip off. Not the most restful sleep of my life, but it was fine. I was heading home.

Leigh kept the coffee coming during breakfast service and my heart soared as I saw the green of Ireland out of the tiny bit of the window that my neighbor wasn't blocking.

We landed in Dublin ahead of scheduled despite the late departure. I think the captain stepped on the gas for us.

Arrival at Dublin Airport

Landing in Dublin Airport after a redeye is always a joy. You land in the modern Terminal 2, home to all the US flights. I love the "welcome home" you always get from the immigration officers.

My US visitors consistently tell me that they get through immigration quickly too. My bags were out quickly and within 40 minutes of landing I was walking out of the airport. I finally got some luck where there no queue for a taxi.

Speaking of taxis, there's a shortage in Dublin Airport, book your private transfer

Final Verdict

It was not United's finest hour, from the meal mix up, to the unfriendly cabin crew, to the cancelled flight and then the old plane we finally flew on.

But things happen, I go home safely. Aviation is very complex and these things happen on every airline at some point. I've flown enough with United to know this isn't always the way. Leigh was incredible, their excellent app is perfect for this fussy flier and I'm looking forward to being back on good old UA23 again soon.

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