The way that airline cabins are named all seems rather silly to me. After all, what years ago was First, Business, and Economy has now become Business, Premium Economy, and Economy. It’s not all that different. But as premium continues to grow in popularity, the airlines are looking for that next premium opportunity, and that means the return of a more exclusive First Class-style offering. Last week American rolled out its newest premium-heavy B787-9 configuration, and this week United announced its plans for what it is calling the United Elevated interior. What both of these have in common is that the front row of each cabin is more of a First Class-style experience but not quite First Class in name.
Yes, there have been several global airlines that have long had a premium First Class offering, but this is part of a different trend. This follows JetBlue, Lufthansa, and others who have found that the geometry of the aircraft cabin means that the airlines can use some dead space in the very first row to create an improved and more exclusive experience.
Really, this trend goes back to when Etihad installed the Residence on its A380s. I was a huge fan of that plan since it used previously-dead space on the sides of the stairs on the upper deck. They weren’t going to be able to add extra seats in that area, but they sure could make some of those seats worth paying a lot more money for.
This has now stretched into other premium cabins. This image from JetBlue of what it calls its Mint Studio on the A321LR shows what I mean:
If there was a seat in front of that row, it would cut into the front left area here. But since there isn’t a seat there, this is just extra space which can be used for a guest seat and more room.
On the surface, both American and United are doing something similar with their B787-9s. For American, it’s a new sub-fleet that is meant to rectify the mistake of putting too few premium seats on its B787s originally. For United, this is about trying to create a sub-fleet to serve the most premium markets — Singapore is first from San Francisco, and London will follow in the not-too-distant future — while also setting up for an eventual replacement of those “high-J” B767s with a ton of Polaris seating.
As the airline prepares to phase out First Class, American has been somewhat less clear about its plans for these front seats. When it first announced its new aircraft interior over a year ago, it said that the front row would be the Flagship Suite Preferred seat on both the new B787-9s and the soon-to-be retrofitted B777-300ERs.
This would include more space and storage, of course, but also some onboard goodies that match what Flagship First passengers get today on the few flights that still have it:
- a Nest Bedding pajamas and mattress pad
- a throw blanket
- a memory foam lumbar pillow
- an exclusive amenity kit
Now that the airline has taken delivery, however, it didn’t mention the Preferred seat in the recent press release. I’m told that seat still exists as planned as do the amenities, but it is also not being sold at a premium today. So if you’re flying on American on this airplane, take row 1. But in the future, I have to assume the airline will try to get some extra money for this.
United, for its part, has grander plans where it is really thinking differently about the entire experience, including how it uses that extra space. It is a much more premium experience throughout the trip.
It apparently likes JetBlue’s nomenclature, and it is calling this Polaris Studio. Beyond extra space and storage, it will include:
- access to Global Reception check-in areas usually reserved for Global Services
- preferred boarding alongside Global Services customers
- car-to-plane tarmac transfer service on a connection
- a guest seat/ottoman
- a 27″ screen (bigger than the 19″ in regular Polaris)
- additional main course choices than regular Polaris plus an Ossetra caviar amuse-bouche served with Champagne Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé
- a post-dessert snack box delivered to the seat with a variety of treats
- exclusive hoodie-pajamas and slippers
- new noise-canceling headphones
- new amenity kits with luxury skincare offerings
- a plush velvet throw pillow
- Sakes Fifth Avenue duvet, day blanket, large pillow, and cooling gel pillow
- United-branded playing cards
Is it weird that I’m most excited about the playing cards? Yeah, I know. But I love that touch. To me it’s a nostalgic symbol that also displays just how much thought and effort has gone into this.
This sure sounds like First Class, doesn’t it? At least, the United version of it does. So what’s the difference? Why is it not just First Class?
Well, it is the same seat as regular Polaris, for one. But the biggest difference is that you can’t buy this as if it is a separate class of service. With United, you would buy a Polaris business class ticket and then just pay the extra fee to assign the fancy seat up front. It’s like paying for Economy Plus. On American, as mentioned, it’s not clear what’s happening because right now there is no extra cost.
To me, they are really blurring the lines here. Having a different meal service at United means that even flight attendants have to treat these seats differently in their service provision. So really, this is First Class but just under a different name. And how much more will it cost? We don’t know yet, but we’ll have to wait until it goes on sale.
A couple more notes on this new United Elevated interior beyond Polaris Studio…
- In addition to the 8 Studio seats, there will be 56 regular Polaris seats filling the first two cabins onboard. This is a big premium cabin.
- United is giving an odd twist here in that one cabin will be reverse herringbone (facing the window or in the middle section, the center) while the other cabin will be regular herringbone (facing the aisle). This is meant to give travelers a choice of more privacy (the former) or a better travel experience with others (the latter).
- There will also be 35 Premium Plus (premium economy) seats in 5 rows. These will now have little privacy dividers.
- After accounting for the 33 Economy Plus seats, that leaves a mere 90 regular coach seats.
Interested in more discussion about this? This will be the topic of this week’s The Air Show, out today at some point.
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