My journey from Los Angeles to London on United Airlines was pleasant and restful onboard the 787-10 in Polaris business class. United’s consistent seat and excellent bedding make overnight flights to Europe a reliable choice, even if other parts of the soft product fall short.

United Airlines 787-10 Business Class Review (LAX-LHR)

As I mentioned in the introduction to this trip report, I booked into Premium Plus, United’s premium economy cabin, in order to maximize my upgrade chances. In retrospect, it seems that was not necessary, as I noticed a couple of employee standbys cleared into business class at the gate.

It was a quiet afternoon in LAX Terminal 7 and I encountered no line when I dropped my checked bag off a the Premier 1K counter. My only real annoyance of the entire journey happened here: the agent forced me to use the check-in kiosk even though I knew it would not let me check in (because my final destination was Ethiopia and the TIMATIC system flags the visa required). So after going through the process, of course, the machine started flashing red and an agent had to check me in anyway.

I detest being directed to use a kiosk…let people check in with an agent, if they want!

Wih Touchless ID, clearing security is a breeze at LAX.

Before the flight, I stopped at the Polaris Lounge, but I had had a big Easter lunch with my family, so I just had a glass of green juice before heading over to the gate.

Boarding commenced a bit late a 4:29 pm, just 21 minutes ahead of scheduled departure. However, folks boarded efficiently and by 4:55pm, the jetbridge had been removed and we began our taxi for takeoff.

United Airlines 923
Los Angeles (LAX) – London (LHR)
Sunday, March 31
Depart: 4:50 PM
Arrive: 11:25 AM+1
Duration: 10hr, 35min
Aircraft: B787-10
Distance: 5,456 miles
Seat: 11A (“Polaris” Business Class)

I love UA923, a flight I’ve taken regularly now for almost half of my life as the only transatlantic flight from United’s LAX hub.

Seat

Onboard, I had chosen 11A, which is a “real” window seat (console on he aisle side) in the last row of the cabin. 

The 787-10 business class cabin, called “Polaris” by United, features 44 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. Rows 1-11, all between door 1 and 2, constitute business class. Seats are 20.5 inches (52 cm) wide and recline into a fully-flat 6’6″ (198 cm) bed. All Polaris seats include direct aisle access.

Cabin bedding includes a day blanket, duvet, large pillow, and cooling gel foam pillow…together, wih a matress pad (available on request), I find United’s bedding to be the best in business clas and with teh air vent turned on and the cabin cool, I slept for 6.5 hours, which is very good for me these days (and also solid considering that we had a srong tailwind and the flight itself ending up being only nine hours.

As always on United, the cabins could have been much cleaner…my seat had what appeared to be Japanese cough drops left in a small side storage pocket.

There was also trash and grime under the windows and around the electronically dimmable window (EDW) control…

Our Takeoff From Runway 7R

LAX is my home airport and it is very rare to depart from runway 74 (departing toward the east rather than toward the West over the Pacific Ocean). But wind conditions made it an unusual takeoff, which meant flying over So Fi Satidrum and downtown Los Angeles moments after takeoff.

Later on as the sun set:

Amenties

A fanny pack-style Therabody amenity kit contained:

• eyeshade
• earplugs
• dental kit
• soft tissue
• pen
• lip balm
• facial spray
• skin creme

Slippers were also placed at each seat–no request necessary.

Food + Beverage

Dinner was served ater takeoff, mid-flight snacks were available, and breakfast was served before landing. United has improved its Polaris offerings and the food was acceptable on this flight (United has more recently updated its tableware).

Dinner

Service began with a hot towel and warm mixed nuts and a choice of beverage (I had San Pellegrino with a lime).

For my appetizer, I chose burrata. I also asked if I could have a bowl of tomato soup from the mid-flight snack menu: I’d just as soon prefer soup to most appetizers, and was obliged. Garlic bread and brown dinner rolls were also offered along with a green salad and balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

For my main course, I had halibut with couscous and found it perfectly acceptable (that is to say, not bad, but also not the quality I would have at home). 

For dessert, I had a Tillamook ice cream sundae with chocolate sauce, shaved almonds, and whipped cream and a few bites of cheesecake with raspberries.

A good meal overall.

Mid-Flight Snack

I slept through it, but mid-flight snacks included a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup, whole fruit, and packaged sweet and salty snacks, plus leftover cheesecake and cheese trays from the dinner service.

Breakfast

90 minutes prior to landing, breakfast was served, with a choice of a full English Breakfast or banana bread pudding. The English breakfast was good, including buttery scrambled eggs, a cooked tomato, mushrooms, sausage, bacon, and baked beans. It was served with Chobani Greek yogurt, a croissant with preserves, and a fruit bowl.

The food may not be top quality, but you will not go hungry when flying United.

As an aside, I did not drink alcohol on this flight, but United has upped its wine game with a respectable selection of white and red wines plus Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Champagne.

Service

Service was efficient (the entire meal was served on a single tray, when I believe it should have been served in courses) and friendly. I ate quickly, fell asleep, and ate again so my interactions with the crew were limited, but I did appreciate that they were happy to bring me the bowl of tomato soup with dinner.

I give United flight attendants a lot of credit for coming to work each day with a smile when a new contract is years overdue.

IFE + Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi was available for $29.99. I did not connect…I never take Wi-Fi for granted and had Monday’s work already completed before we took off.

The IFE library includes a generous selection of movies and TV programming with limited audio files (mostly podcasts with some music) and games.

Noise-canceling headphones are functional, but American and JetBlue outdo United on headphones.

Lavatories

The 787-10 has two lavatories in the front and two lavatories in the rear of the cabin.

Approach to LHR

We flew over central London, though I was seated on the worn side of the plane. Had I been paying closer attention, I probably would have noticed that we flew directly over Windsor Castle.

While T2 at LHR is mostly Star Alliance, there are additional carriers like Icelandair, Loganair, and Aer Lingus that use it.

CONCLUSION

My flight on United was fine…sort of exactly as expected. The cabin was kept cool and the bedding comfortable, such that I was able to sleep. The service was good and the food was fine…nothing bad, but also nothing great. I’m thankful for UA923, my only nonstop link to the Atlantic from LAX on United.

Next up: a long day at LHR.