As Seen Abroad: Eriko's First Time in Business Class
We’re on vacation! For the first time since we started this blog, we’re traveling abroad. As we journey across Asia, Europe, and America, we’ll update with some of the fun places we visit. Yay! This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read our affiliate disclosure.
Today Eriko will review the United Airlines Polaris Lounge at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and flight UA881 from ORD to HND in United Polaris Business Class, a 13-hour trip on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to Tokyo Haneda. I will be popping in to add commentary along the way as well. Take it away, Eriko!
Hello! This is Eriko!
We have been on a long trip around the world.
Before we got married, Gregg had flown business class, but this was Eriko's first time flying business.
In a word: awesome! Especially for a long flight!
Especially for the last flight of a trip when you are tired after a long journey!
One nice thing about business class? You get to use the airport lounge!
The United Polaris Lounge at Chicago O’Hare
There were many kinds of seats. If you wanted privacy, you could choose a big, comfy seat that looks like a box. We chose a two-person table not too far from the buffet and the bar.
The bathrooms were very nice too! The restrooms were not separated by gender. Each room had a light on the door to let you know if the bathroom was in use. Very nice!
The breakfast buffet
The breakfast was good - bacon and eggs, fruit, granola, overnight oats, and even some prosciutto.
Gregg sez: there was coffee and juice, but also the bar had an espresso machine. The bartender was nice and made a good latte, and didn’t mind that I had to tip him in Euro because the currency exchange place was closed. This phenomenon wasn’t just limited to O’Hare - the airports in Venice, Paris, and Osaka also had no way to change money, so Eriko had to convert our remaining won, Euro, and dollars at a bank in Kobe. Yay for the current exchange rate! Okay, back to you, Eriko.
Near noon, the buffet changed and offered lunch selections like sandwiches, but we were full, so we just relaxed until boarding time.
United Polaris Business Class
In Polaris class, the seats are angled and have walls so you are all by yourself. But we wanted to sit together, so we sat in the middle of the first row, which has two seats next to each other. If you are traveling with your spouse, you can choose these seats to sit close to one another!
It is a good seat for two people because we could hold hands and talk!
If you get tired of chatting, you can push a button to create a wall between you two (we left it open, of course!).
We didn't have a wall, so Gregg could steal his neighbor's (Eriko's) treat!
(Good children should not imitate. Hee hee!)
The flight attendants were very nice!
They called me "Mrs. Parker," and I realized I'm Mrs. Parker!
Japanese people don’t call me that, so I liked it! Tee Hee!
Polaris Amenity Kits
The amenity box had everything I needed for the flight: eye mask, ear plugs, toothbrush set, socks, pen, a pack of tissues, lip balm, face cream, hand cream, and a facial cleansing cloth.
They had comfy slippers too!
There were two pillows: a soft poofy one from Saks Fifth Avenue and a harder back pillow. I liked the poofy pillow!
There were also two types of blankets. Eriko used the fluffy one because she loves comfy blankets.
The seats
The seats could recline to fully flat, so I could watch movies at a good angle and sleep well.
The movie entertainment was okay! There were so many movies, but most of them did not offer Japanese subtitles. Gregg watched many movies, but I watched only Nebraska and Uncharted.
Gregg sez: I watched four movies: Licorice Pizza, The Outsiders, Bandidas (with the sound off while I listened to a book and tried to sleep), and The Batman. I can confirm that they are all movies. Except for Bandidas. I’m not sure what that was.
Music entertainment options were okay too! There were all kinds of playlists: 90s, cafe, chill, city, etc.
Gregg sez: I listened to music during our descent, and “The Final Countdown” was playing right as we touched down in Japan after 51 days away. Nice touch.
I was very sleepy but wanted to enjoy business class, so I decided to lie back in the near-flat seat while listening to music. And with comfy blanket!
In-flight meals in United Polaris
Food was good! I chose salmon and Gregg chose beef for the first meal.
My dish was salmon with red curry sauce, quinoa, veggies, salad and bread. White and gray balls were salt and pepper!
Gregg sez: in a few years, I’ll have some white and gray balls. Heyooooooo!
Gregg's dish was beef in a rich sauce, veggies, salad, and bread.
It was too much for my tummy so I left some of it, sorry.
Gregg sez: yes, the thing about this flight was that it was at 1:30 in the afternoon, which for our bodies was 2:30 since we’d been in New York. That’s right after lunch, and we’d just eaten in the lounge, so this meal came at around 3:30-4:00, meaning we were hungry, but not hungry enough for a meal. The result was that I only picked at the food, ate all the dessert, and woke up in the middle of the “night” super hungry and wanting a snack. Alas, the snacks offered weren’t great. Thankfully, I always come prepared, so I gobbled up granola bars and candy like a good boy.
We got ice cream too! A little hard, but oishii!
For breakfast, we both choose oatmeal. Now I thought, I should have chosen another one, because then I could show you more. Too late!
At that time, I had just woken up and had no ability to think. All I could say was, "Same one please." But I loved it! Orange juice always makes me feel good! I always want 100% orange juice. (In Japan, there are many not 100% juice so you should watch out.)
I was in a deep sleep and missed it, but Gregg had a sandwich as well.
Zzzzzzzz
It was the last long flight of our long trip and we were very comfortable in business class.
Gregg Sez: Chicago to Tokyo is a long flight, and even longer if you have legs before and after it like we did. If you’ve got the miles, I highly recommend using them to fly Polaris class, because after 7 weeks of travel, 9 flights, and getting COVID, I think I would have lost my mind being crammed in coach for that long while still a little sick. All in all, United was very good to us with the repeated changes we had to make, including when our flight was delayed 5+ hours in DC and they gave us a free hotel room and dinner, and when we had to rearrange our flights due to Coronavirus. I will definitely be more loyal to United after this experience.
Thank you, Polaris Class!
And see you again soon!
Traveling to Japan?
If you’re here because you’re taking this flight to Tokyo, you should know about train passes in Japan. Anyone visiting more than one city might want to consider purchasing a JR Pass, which will allow you to take unlimited train rides. You can buy a national pass for 7, 14, or 21 days, or a pass that’s limited to a specific region so you’re only paying for the places you plan to visit. JR Pass also offers pocket Wi-Fi, which allows you to connect your phone to the Internet anywhere in the country without purchasing a pricey international data plan, and lots of other services as well. Check them out!
