Avis du vol entre Washington et Tokyo en classe Affaires avec United

Preface

I was so excited to review this flight because even though I've flown United in Polaris many times- this was my first time flying in Polaris to a destination other than Europe! It's also my first time in Japan! This also means that this is my first "Ultra Long Haul Flight". So, I was pumped!

Check In and Security

I arrived at Dulles at 8:30 a.m., which was about 4 hours prior to my scheduled departure time of 12:20 p.m. The weather in Washington was horrible with a massive snowstorm that hit over the weekend and below freezing temperatures since then. So, I planned to leave home early to ensure that I had enough time to get to the airport in case anything went wrong. Luckily, te roads were relatively clear!

The Polaris and 1K check in area is now located in the front of the terminal! Right near the door. fI was surprised to find that it was blocked with an agent there who would wait to open the line for you to enter. I asked her, “Is this where I go for 1K and Polaris?” and she replied with “Yes! It’s now invitation only. Do you have your 1K card or your boarding pass to show you are eligible?” Just when I started to fumble in my pocket for my phone, she said, “Oh, I see your 1K bag tag, I trust you!” and opened the queue.
 
There were three self service check in kiosks, which in my opinion isn’t really enough? United has a lot of transatlantic flights out of IAD and with that many Polaris passengers and also the 1Ks, three kiosks seems like too few to me. There was nobody there this morning, and so I printed my boarding pass and my bag tag. I then dropped my bag off and was finished in about 5 minutes.

Having both Clear and Precheck, I proceeded to the Clear and Precheck security checkpoint. There were 3-4 people ahead of me in the Clear lane, and the lady looked at my boarding pass and noticed that apparently I was eligible for touchless ID. She said “You have touchless ID. It’s faster!” She opened the lane to let me through there, and I was off. She was right. Touchless ID took less than a minute from the moment I had my face scanned to the moment when I was through the checkpoint and walking away. The Clear and Precheck lanes are combined, and it would’ve been busier.

The Lounge: Polaris Lounge IAD

I think proceeded to the Polaris Lounge located near gate C17. 

I’ve reviewed the Polaris Lounge at Dulles a few times before, so I wasn’t going to do a full review again. You can see my full walkthrough here: https://flight-report.com/en/report/66522/united-ua2440-washington-iad-chicago-ord/
 
Instead, I will just highlight my experience in the Lounge today.

I hadn’t had breakfast this morning, so my first stop was the dining room for some breakfast. Apparently, the Dining Room isn’t “wait to be seated.” Anymore and is now “seat yourself.” So, I sat down in an open table. At this time of the morning, it wasn’t busy.

The server came by to offer me some water and my choice of drink. I went with a black coffee and still water. She handed me the menu and I was surprised to see that it was different and had fewer options than the one at ORD, which I visited a few weeks ago.

I went with the Roasted Vegetable, Potato, Asiago, Cheese Fritatta and also the Sweet Potato Pancakes.

The food came out a few minutes later, and honestly, the Frittata wasn’t so much of a Frittata as it seemed like an omlette with the items described on top. But, it’s more or less the same thing- other than presentation. The Frittata didn’t taste amazing and didn’t have the tomato chutney on it. So, it was kind of dry and bland. It lacked flavor. I wouldn’t recommend it. 

The Sweet Potato Pancakes were good. The maple syrup that was served with it wasn’t overly served, which is good. They were what you’d expect from sweet potato pancakes.

As is typical for me at the IAD Polaris Lounge, the server never came back when I finished. She never came back during my meal at all to see if I was liking it or if she could get me anything else. And, to me, this is what should set the dining room apart. Yes, it’s nice to have an a la carte restaurant-like experience, but if there’s no service, why would it even be necessary?

I left the dining room and found a seat near the windows, which offered nice views of the ramp outside and the new concourse being built! Every time I visit the IAD Polaris Lounge, I’m always impressed with the progress on this new concourse and can’t wait for it to open!

I also went to the bar to get a mimosa! Hey, it’s 5 O’Clock somewhere right? The Champagne United serves in the Polaris Lounge is Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut, which is a very nice champagne. I’m not a connoisseur of wine or champagne by any means, but I’ve heard that it’s a nice Champagne. 

Boarding, the Cabin and Seat

Boarding today was out of gate D3, which was a 5 minute walk from the Polaris Lounge. When I got to the gate, there was hardly anyone at the gate.

Boarding began right on time at 11:30 a.m., and there were a few active duty military members, but no global services members, which meant that I was the first one to board in the Polaris Cabin today.

The Polaris cabin on the 777-200ER has 50 total seats arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. The forward cabin contains 8 rows, totaling 32 seats. The second cabin is smaller, with 4 full rows (rows 9-12) of 16 seats, with row 15 consisting of 2 seats, for a total of 18 seats in the second cabin.

My seat today was 15A, a window seat in the last row of the Polaris Cabin. The Odd-numbered window seats are what you’d want in Polaris if you’re a solo traveler. This is because they are flush against the wall, whereas the even numbered window seats are angled towards the aisle and offer significantly less privacy.

At the seat, I found my bedding, with the gel pillow and the day blanket, as well as the duvet, and the amenity kit.

The seat controls are located next to the left armrest, with a wheel that allows you to adjust between fully-flat bed mode, and the fully-upright taxi, takeoff, and landing mode. You can also adjust your footrest, your lumbar support, and your recline with a lot of different combinations.

There is a faux marble countertop on the right side where you can set things on top of, this is where the headsets and the printed menu were located.

Just above the countertop is the IFE remote control, the universal power outlet, a USB-A charging port, the headphone jack, and a small vanity closet where you can store a few things during the flight. In there was a water bottle for use during the flight. I find this spot perfect for storing my toiletries and chargers.

The seat is well padded, comfortable, and extremely private. You can’t see another passenger in the cabin unless you really start looking for them, and nobody else can see you. Which is what I love about the Polaris seats.

The seat does not feature individual air vents. Note that some of the 777-200ERs in United’s fleet do not have individual air vents. Pro tip: If you look up the tail number of the aircraft on AirFleets, and it was delivered to Continental… it won't have individual air vents. 

The seat features 3 windows with views of the wing and the engine.

Pre-Departure, Taxi, and Takeoff

At 11:52, a PDB of sparkling wine was offered. It was served on a tray and no water or anything else was offered. It was weird. I didn’t really want it but I took it anyways, you know, for the photo!

I flipped through the menu, and found that the menu was in both Japanese and English. It had several pages, and this flight featured lunch, a mid-flight snack, and a pre-arrival service.

At 12:08, the purser, Rhonda, came by to welcome me aboard by name, and to confirm meal orders. You can preorder your meals beginning 5 days prior to departure, and ending 24 hours prior to departure. I had pre-ordered the Gnudi. I thought about the Japanese selection, but I decided to wait as I'm sure the Japanese selection is better when departing Japan.

At 12:10, the captain came on to announce our flight time of 13 hours and 37 minutes. He said that we’d have some bumps on the climbout so he was asking the flight attendants to remain seated and wait to begin the meal service.

At 12:17, the boarding door was closed and the safety video began to play with Japanese and English subtitles.

At 12:20, the captain came on to let us know that we had to sit at the gate for another 25-30 minutes because they had to do some sort of fuel test to see if the temperature was within tolerance? He said he was turning off the fasten seatbelt sign so we could move about the cabin or use the lavatory if needed.

At 12:44, the captain came on to say that the fuel test was completed and we were good to go. He turned on the fasten seatbelt sign and told us to return to our seats. Though, we had to wait because there was a lot of traffic in the alleyway behind us.

At 1:01, we began our pushback.

At 1:18, we were rolling down runway 1C for departure.

The climbout was a little slow. We kinda climbed and then leveled off, then climbed, then leveled off again.

Cruise Part 1: Lunch

At 1:22, we reached 10,000 feet and were on our way to Tokyo.

At 1:45, service began with the distribution of a hot towel, about a minute later, a tablecloth was brought out.

At 1:53, the captain came on to announce that we’d reached our initial cruising altitude of 32,000 feet and that we’d have 13 hours and 5,900 miles remaining in flight.

At 2:07, drinks were offered. I went with a gin and tonic. It was served with a ramekin of warm nuts and my choice of still or sparkling water.

At 2:32, the salad was brought puts I was asked if I wanted the mint Labneh starter. I'd had this on previous flights and really didn't like it- so I declined.

The salad is ok. The leaves on United' salads are generally pretty dry and the "red wine vinegar" that's used for dressing is just awful.

At 2:40, my Gnudi was brought out. It was good, but a little bit salty. When my meal was brought out, another gin and tonic was brought to me proactively!

At 3:17, I was offered dessert. I went with the Chocolate Cheesecake. It was delicious.

By 3:24, I was finished and my dessert plate was cleared. I was asked if I wanted anything else, and I declined.

At this time, I switched my clock to Japanese Standard Time, making it 5:33 am in Tokyo.

At 5:41, I was asked if I needed anything else. So I decided to ask for some pajamas and a mattress topper. United provides pajamas, upon request, to Polaris passengers traveling anywhere except for Europe and South America. So, this was my first time being able to obtain those I found the PJs to be comfortable. A "Large" was a little bit big on me, so next time, I'll go with a medium. 

The PJs came in a drawstring bag where you can put your regular clothes in as well.

A flight attendant came by to ask my to close my window shade, but she did it so politely and didn't force me. She said, "Whenver you decide to go to sleep, can you please close your window shade? You don't have to do it now, just when you go to sleep, so that way we don't have to reach over you to close it!" I liked this because she recognized that I was still awake and may have wanted to look out the window. Good news was, I was wanting to get some sleep soon at that point.

At 6:00, I decided to get some sleep.

Cruise Part 2: Mid-Flight

At 10:00, I woke up to find that we were over Alaska, with 6 hours and 52 minutes remaining in flight. I went to the lavatory and found that it had been cleaned!

Just after I woke up, at 10:24, another friendly male flight attendant came by to say "Can I get you anything? Something to drink? Are you hungry?"

I went with the stir fried chicken and the black bean empanadas. I also ordered a gin and tonic and a bottle of water.

At 10:29, my drink was brought and he said that my meal would be coming out in about 10 minutes.

At 10:38, my meal was brought out.

The chicken was cold even though the plate was hot, and it didn’t taste great. The empanadas were nice!

When I finished, my tray was taken and I was asked if I wanted anything else. I declined.

Cruise Part 3: The Home Stretch and the Pre-Arrival Service

I fell asleep again and woke up at 2:00 pm Tokyo time with about 2 and half hours remaining in flight. The cabin was quiet and dark and meant that people were definitely sleeping at this point.

I decided to go to the lavatory and change back into my regular clothes. I noticed that the lavatory had been cleaned again while most people were sleeping!

I returned to my seat at 2:30, and used the call bell. Within 15 seconds someone came and asked me what I needed. She did so with such a smile! When I said I wanted some water, she said “did you want a glass of ice with that?” I said no, and she goes “are you hungry at all? I can get you a snack! Or another mid flight hot meal?” I said “no, no I’m fine! Thank you! I’m not hungry just yet!” Such excellent service! They served us with such proactivity and kindness. And even after 12.5 hours on this plane, still have smiles on their faces. This is not what is standard in Polaris in my experience and I really like it.

She came back with a full bottle of water a moment later. I asked to speak with Rhonda who is the purser. Because I wanted to let her know of my good feedback about this crew!

A few moments later, Rhonda came by. I told her not to worry, I had no complaints. I just wanted to let her know that in all the Polaris flights I’ve taken (which as my readers would know is A LOT), that this, by far, was the best crew I’ve ever had. She said thank you and said that the service level should be consistent and that she’d give United and all of the crew her feedback!

I settled in to watch a movie for the rest of the flight. I decided to watch “Nobody,” and action movie starring Bob Odenkirk.

At 3:18 pm, with 1 hour and 25 minutes remaining in flight, the lights came on in the cabin, indicating that the pre arrival service would begin shortly.

At 3:22, a hot towel was distributed.

At 3:37, my order was taken for the pre arrival meal. I went with the French toast. I find it strange that United offers breakfast on a flight that is arriving in a 5:00 pm local time!

The French toast was on the harder side and overly sweet. It was served with Chobani yogurt, a croissant, and some fruit.

Descent and Arrival into HND

At 4:07, the captain came on to announce that we were beginning our descent into Tokyo Haneda and would be touching down at 4:45 pm local time.

At 4:10, the flight deck instructed the flight attendants to prepare the cabin for arrival and be seated, which is odd because we had just begun our initial descent.

We had some nice views on approach and again on final approach.

We touched down on runway 34L at 4:49 pm.

We parked at gate 107 at 4:54 pm, which is really good considering the delay! We only arrived 4 minutes behind schedule! Which I consider to be on time! 

Immigration and Customs took no time at all! I think it was because I used the Visit Japan Web system and had the QR code that was generated. There are separate lines for that, and if you join them, it doesn't take long at all.