United Reboots Its Polaris Business Class With a Focus on Consistency
Photo Credit: United Airlines has opened only two Polaris lounges. Shown here is the Chicago lounge. The company has not managed customer expectations well. United Airlines
Skift Take
United Airlines overpromised with its Polaris business class. Instead of rethinking business class, it should have focused on providing a simple and consistent product.
What was United Airlines thinking with its Polaris business class?
It's a question I asked in a story, United CEO Munoz’s Polaris Promise Never Matched Reality. This summer, you may notice United is making tweaks to its onboard product, including retiring its Bloody Mary cart, and ending the special wine tasting program. This comes after United made other reductions last year, like removing one pillow from each seat.
It's easy to criticize United for altering what made Polaris special, and perhaps call it out for cost-cutting. But with its Polaris promise, United misjudged what its employees could handle. Flight attendants could never deliver what the marketing team promised.
This was a big error. The best European and U.S. airline companies in business class — Delta Air Lines, Air Canada, and Lufthansa Group — seek to not deliver the world's best premium experience, but the world's most consistent experience. They know what's possible, and they try to deliver it.
