Airline Review: United Airlines, Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, business class, Melbourne to San Francisco

United Airlines' Polaris business class seat.

THE ROUTE

Flight UA61, Melbourne to San Francisco direct. This first, June 5 flight, comes with festivities such as a commemorative biscuit at check in and a team taking Polaroids of passengers in front of a huge photo of the Golden Gate Bridge just before clearing security.

THE AIRCRAFT

Dining in Polaris business class.

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

THE LOYALTY SCHEME

United MileagePlus and the Star Alliance network.

CLASS

Business class

DURATION

Flight time is initially over 14 hours but is revised down to 13 hours 25 minutes.

CARBON EMISSIONS

Drink coasters on the flight proudly announce that United is going green by 2050 by reducing greenhouse gas emission by 100 per cent. They are working on a two-pronged approach of changing over to sustainable fuel and direct air capture, in which they are investing millions, it is designed to capture and store CO2. United has also partnered with global charity Conservation International so passengers can offset their flights, see united.conservation.org

FREQUENCY

Three times a week with plans to become daily at the end of October.

HEALTH

Passengers are required to be fully vaccinated with an international vaccination certificate; they are also required to have a negative PCR test 24 hours before the flight (at the time of writing). Masks are mandatory on board except for meal times and are discretionary once you land at San Francisco.

CHECKING IN

Fast and friendly with plenty of patience as I rummage around for a missing vaccination certificate. Accurate gate information, and a perfect description of where to find the share Air New Zealand lounge; a great start all round. You can also use the United app.

THE SEAT

This seat at 9L is like having the corner suite. Having no passenger in front leaves a large flat space for unpacking, and it being an odd numbered seat means the marble tabletop and storage cupboard with mirror face the the aisle, cocooning me against two windows and affording plenty of privacy. The even numbered seats are slightly more open as the table is located window side. I'm close enough to the toilet to make it feel like an ensuite but not so close that it's unpleasant.

There's a pile of pillows and blankets from Saks of Fifth Avenue and the space is well-designed, from the spacious storage space to the tray table that moves sideways as well as in and out to make working on a laptop a dream. The cabin is arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration. In the paired seats, acouples or friends can drop the partition and chat to each other. Seats have a 78-inch (198cm) pitch and are 22 inches (55cm) wide and go fully flat. The amenities are so extensive, you can rely on them alone for the flight.

BAGGAGE

Two pieces of checked luggage up to 32 kg and one carry on plus a personal item.

ENTERTAINMENT

The sheer number of movies on the inflight entertainment would make a streaming service blush; releases still in cinemas and entire franchises because nothing is more annoying than having random entries in a movies series with 14 hours to kill. Mini concerts in the Amsterdam series like Counting Crows make for a handy take off-sized chunk of content before the movie marathon. There is great TV including HBO Max and useful additions like having the IMDB rating for movies and allowing you to favourite a move for later. WiFi is available at a cost.

SERVICE

American diner-level-service-with-a-smile. Despite not yet having a printed menu we are offered pictures of the meals and attended to constantly, but subtly throughout the flight. Even the cabin announcements have a pep in their step.

FOOD

A beautifully pink salmon with Hollandaise sauce comes with a cous cous salad and a glass of French bubbles while lunch is a plump vegetable frittata with fresh fruit.

ONE MORE THING

When it's time to lay flat you can ask for a mattress to help with your slumber; it is not always offered but well worth putting your hand up for.

THE VERDICT

This business class seat never seems cramped with all the storage and flat space (even without my great seat) and there are thoughtful design touches throughout, right down to the individual salt and pepper shakers designed like the United globe logo. A truly golden way to get to San Fran.

OUR RATING OUT OF FIVE

4.5 stars

Paul Chai was a guest of United Airlines.