United Opens New Polaris Lounge In Newark Airport

United’s roll out of their Polaris product has been a little ‘relaxed’ shall we say, with the original premise being launched back in 2016. However, the airline will open the doors to its latest lounge in Newark on Monday June 4th, featuring daybeds, shower suites, private dining and more.

On offer exclusively to the airline’s international premium cabin travel experience ‘Polaris’ the carrier hopes to attract more premium passengers with an elevated experience on the ground and in the air.

Each lounge has tried to inject local flavour and inspiration into each of its new lounges. In Newark’s incarnation, when visitors first enter they will be greeted with a vibrant lighting fixture created by Brooklyn-based art and design laboratory Richard Clarkson Studio that is meant to mimic the constellations of the 12 zodiac signs.

Cocktail lovers can celebrate, the impressively-long bar inspired by the Big Apple is a key element of this United Polaris lounge, offering an array of cocktails including the United Polaris Old Fashioned.

For passengers wanting to fill up before a night flight, there is a full-service dining area featuring a custom-designed a la carte dining menu that offers internationally inspired cuisine, such as Moroccan-spiced braised lamb or the United Polaris Burger, available in all United Polaris lounges.

Measuring over 27,000 square feet, the lounge is impressively large and can cater for up to 455 passengers. With over 500 power outlets and 450 USB charging stations, there will be no shortage of power for business travellers wanting to charge up their devices before their flight.

Supporting the a la carte dining area, there is also a self service buffet area, which will feature a do-it-yourself bagel bar plus sandwiches and wraps such as a curried salmon salad with cucumber raita and baby spinach on a pumpernickel roll as well as a charcuterie board and chicken parmesan.

Although most will probably opt for one of the 48 seats in the a la carte restaurant while trialling New York Chef John Glowacki’s menu which includes other options such as potato latkes, polenta fries, wild mushroom risotto with a balsamic reduction, and the “Brookie,” a playful combination of a brownie and cookie served with milk.

Although it’s not just all food and drink here, there are also 10 private daybeds outfitted with Saks Fifth Avenue bedding, 10 luxurious shower suites, featuring rainfall showers and Soho House & Co’s Cowshed Spa products and personal valet services, including the steaming garments before getting onboard.

“More United customers begin their journey in the New York/New Jersey region than in any other of our hub cities. From here, our route network reaches across the globe, and we are thrilled to now offer our customers traveling in United Polaris business class a best-in-class lounge experience,” said Jill Kaplan, President, New York/New Jersey for United Airlines. “We continue to add new international destinations from Newark, including Porto, Portugal and Reykjavik, Iceland, which we launched this month. The addition of the United Polaris lounge for our customers traveling on long-haul flights strengthens our service offering in Newark for the most enjoyable experience.”

The opening of the United Polaris lounge at New York/Newark closely follows the debut of the United Polaris lounge at San Francisco International Airport in April. The United Polaris lounge at George Bush Intercontinental in Houston will open this summer, followed by the lounge at Los Angeles International Airport this fall, although the London lounge has still not been given a confirmed opening date, expected still in a couple of years from now.

While the initial roll out of the in-flight product was fairly slow, United now plans to add one aircraft with the new United Polaris business class seat every 10 days from now through 2020. Beginning July 1, every seat in the United Polaris cabin will be provisioned with a cooling gel pillow. The gel pillow, previously available by request, has proven to be one of the most popular items of United Polaris bedding.