A year ago in August 2023, we made the big move from Perth, Australia to Houston, USA.
It was quite the journey of taking three medium to long flights and crossing multiple time zones to get to the literal opposite side of the world.
Around 21 hours of flight time and 5.5 hours of airport layovers.
We were leaving cold and rainy wintery Perth and landing in hot and humid Texas. Apparently it was Houston’s “worse summer”. I couldn’t have agreed more, with 38 to 42 degrees celcius temperatures for a couple of months.
We were lucky to fly in business class for the all segments of the flight.
The United Airline Polaris Business class was the international segment and the longest of the three flights. Naturally that was also the flight that had the most to experience and share.
So lets dive into how it went.
Related Post: Reflections on 12 Months in the USA: The Highs and Lows as an Aussie Expat Living and Travelling Around the USA
Check-in and Baggage
We had already checked in for all three legs of our ticket to Houston.
But as we arrives at the Sydney domestic terminal, we shuffled onto a bus which took us to the international terminal to complete the immigration process.
Fortunately, Perth airport was also able to check through our four giant check in luggage from Perth through to house on, but we did need to collect and re-check in our luggage at Los Angeles Airport.
We headed over to the gate once it was time to board.
There was no gate specific security besides scanning your tickets prior to getting on the flight.
There was a moment of panic trying to board the flight as there was some sort of visa linking issues with my passport. They could see I had all the necessary visas and documentation, but there was an issue on their system. The counter staff were making a few calls to the US embassy or immigration (Can’t say I know for sure who they were trying to contact) to try to sort out the issue.
I could tell the counter staff were also getting a bit stressed as the flight crew called them a few times to ask about the hold up for the “last passenger” (that was me) and how long it was going to take.
The issue was sorted out eventually and we hastily boarded our flight. The took off a couple of minutes later.
Since we we so delayed with getting onto our flight, we didn’t quite get to relax into our flight or enjoy a pre-flight drink. Thankfully there wasn’t much of a delay to the flight taking off.
Airline Lounge Options
United Airlines is part of Star Alliance and it doesn’t have it’s own lounge footprint at Sydney Airport. Instead, United Polaris business class passenger can access two of the Star Alliance network lounges at Sydney Airport:
- Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge
- Air New Zealand International Lounge.
As we only had 3.5 hours layover at Sydney airport, so we had a bit of time to spend at both lounges.
Singapore Airlines SilverKris Business Class Lounge
We arrived in Sydney at 6am in the morning and the first lounge we decided to check out the the SilverKris Lounge.
The lounge was relatively small, but comfortable with plenty of seating. They had a mix of lounge chair and dining table seating.
At that time of the day when we visited, it was pretty quiet.
The elegant and regal design of the lounge is quite typical of Singapore Airlines.
Singapore is known as a food mecca.
And the lounge really put on a great breakfast spread. From your classic continental breakfast items, pastries, cereal and so forth. To more classic Singaporean/Asian dishes like congee, dimsum and Nasi Lemak. It was so good!
Food was buffet style, which is typical of a business class lounge.
The food service area was fairly small but they packed a lot of choices in that small space.
They also had a little barista corner where you could order a coffee or take it to go.
I was surprised to see spirits available for self pour at 6am in the morning though!
Air New Zealand International Lounge.
Next up, Air New Zealand’s lounge.
After checking in with the lounge counter, as you walk into the lounge you’re greeted with a long modern bar. I thought that was quite impressive.
This lounge was significantly busier and bigger compared to the SilverKris. According to my husband who’s flow this route for work before, most people use this lounge instead of the SilverKris.
While it was a busy lounge, we could still easily find seats. There were different types of lounge seats, seats at the bar and bar table working areas.
The light fixture around the long bar and self-serve drinks area was really impressive.
I like the modern and airy vibe that Air New Zealand went with for their lounge.
The dining area was also larger than the SilverKris, as you would expect. Loads of buffet style breakfast food options, from breakfast mueslis and juice concoctions, to baked goods and hot food.
Like most good airport lounges in Australia, they also had a barista corner to get your fix of Australia coffee. From my previous experience of travelling the USA, I knew that good coffee like this will be hard to come by! So getting my last “Australian coffee” fix before we boarded.
Boarding and Cabin
This flight’s Polaris Business class had a 1-2-1 layout. The great thing about this layout is that every passenger had access to the aisle.
The Boeing 787 is one of the newer planes offered by United Airlines, and you can tell.
As we were flying in a pair, we opted for the middle two seats for this flight.
After the stress of trying to board the flight, it was nice to finally get comfortable and ease into the long 13.5 hour journey across the pacific ocean.
Some highlights of the seat:
- A fully-adjustable lie-flat seat (This is by far the best feature of flying in business)
- Side bench surface space for drinkware etc.
- Night lamp that you can adjust brightness settings
- A storage cabinet with a mirror and hook to store your airline provided over-ear headphones.
- Conveniently-located power outlet
- Convenient jacket hook
- Pillow and blankets for added comfort
- A mattress cover for the seat to turn it into a more comfortable bed in the air
The seats didn’t had a sliding door for privacy and you can easier see the screens of the passenger on the other side of the aisle to you. However, each seat is designed in such a way that you’re relatively well hidden from other passengers.
For the middle two seats, there was sliding panel that you could slide down if you were flying with someone you know to make it easier to chat.
The cabin had a pretty classy, sleek and modern design. The colour scheme also suited that style —Black, blue, marble white and brown wood tones.
Once we were up in the air at cruising altitudes and the seat belt sign turned off, we promptly changed into our pajamas to get more comfortable.
The fully adjustable lie flat seats made flying and sleeping in the air extremely comfortable.
Service and Entertainment
It’s the first time I was flying an American based carrier.
I’ve heard plenty of negative things about the American based carriers and their service. Sure, it didn’t feel as refined, professional or high quality as what you’ll find on airlines like Emirates and Singapore Airlines. But I thought the Polaris Business Class crew were friendly, responsive and got-things-done.
I think a noticeable difference is that you don’t tend to see the crew around outside of service times. You’ll need to press the bell to get their attention. Not a particular problem, just something noticeably different compared to when I’ve flown in Emirates Business or First class.
Both the in flight entertainment screen and the selection of movies, shows and so forth were excellent.
The screens were large and modern. The touch screen was responsive. The entertainment menu was very intuitive and user friendly.
I tried the United headphones and they were fine, if you didn’t have your own Sony or Bose noise cancelling head phones.
Food and Beverage
Like most business class cabins, you’ll get a three course meal for the main meal time of your flight. Often with a few options to pick from for your starter, main and dessert.
United gives it’s business class passengers the option to pre-order our mains in their United App. So we opted to pre-order our meal a few days before our flight.
Tip: If you ever fly United, definitely download and use the United App. It’s one of the best airline apps I’ve ever used, very feature packed.
The printed menus were distributed early on in the flight. Giving us plenty of time to think about what you want to eat before the crew come around to ask for your order.
I ordered the salmon as my dinner entree (that’s what Americans call their main dish) however just before meal service the crew popped by to say there was a bit of a smell to the fish which he wasn’t comfortable serving to me.
As compensation he provided me with $100 United credit! This credit can be used for anything, including booking United flights.
With fish off the menu I chose to Chicken stuffed with macadamia and ricotta, served with broccolini, sweet potatoes and carrots. Along with some salad, bread salad and a chilled crab salad appetizer. I got some white wine to go with the meal.
For dessert, I chose the Mango cheesecake and my husband opted for the ice cream sundae.
In between dinner and breakfast, the crew came around to offer some snacks. I was interested to try the grilled cheese toastie and creamy tomato soup.
A nice TV snack to go with watching some movies.
We were offered a light breakfast just before we landing in Las Angeles.
I ordered a hot breakfast: The spinach, feta and rosemary frittata. The croissant was a bit squished and average. The mixed fruit and oranges juice was nice and refreshing.
Overall the dishes were tasty and kept us full for the whole 13.5 hours of flying.
Amenities
We each got a cute little amenity kit which was a collaboration between United and AWAY luggage.
While I don’t own any AWAY luggages, I’ve always found their brand attractive, albeit pricey.
It came in two colour ways. A purple and a blue. My husband and I each got a different colour.
As far as business class amenity kits go, it’s on the smaller and more functional side.
The kit contained:
- Eye mask
- Ear plugs
- Socks
- Tooth brush
- Lip balm
- Hand cream
I do really like the vibrant colours of the kit though. The zippered bag also feels sturdy. Once you’re done with the items in the kit, you can re-used it to store other items.
The other amenity you get that you can take away with you is the United pajamas and slippers.
You do need to ask the crew for the pajamas. Unlike some airlines who offer it to passengers automatically.
Both of which were very comfortable to wear. I’ve worn and wash it many times over the last year, and it’s still going strong.
Making Time to Travel (Free Travel Template in Notion)
One of our goals of moving to the US from Australia is to take the opportunity to travel and explore more of the US. That means being organised and intentional about locking in travel dates ahead of time so the trips actually happens.
There is a lot to juggling when travel planning—itinerary, accommodation, flight options, things to do, recommended food and drink places etc.
It’s just not possible to track all of that in my head!
I’m a big Notion fan and I use that to plan and track all our trips. I also use it for other things like meal planning, tracking my tasks and projects, and keeping track of my camera gear etc.
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If you want to get started planning your travels in Notion, you can download my free Travel Hub Template System in Notion that’s been downloaded more than 824+ times below:
Final Thoughts on United Polaris business class
If you have Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer points to use, this Sydney to LA trip is something you can book. You can also earn Velocity points and status flying United Airline flights due to their partnership.
It’s my first time flying United Airlines, and first time in their Polaris business class.
Overall, the flight was enjoyable and comfortable. For me, any flight where I have the luxurious option to lie flat always makes the journey 10x more enjoyable.
The seat was comfortable, the flight had excellent entertainment options to keep occupied when I wasn’t sleeping and the service was friendly and professional.
Until next time, happy travelling!
Janice.
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