United Airlines now limits Polaris lounge access to their own eligible passengers and to business and first class passengers on their joint venture partners (but excluding Air Canada). Passengers on other Star Alliance airlines are not be eligible.
| Eligible customers | Where you can access | Guest policy | ||
| Standard or flexible fare in United Polaris® | Lounges at departure, connecting and arrival airports along their eligible same-day itinerary | No guests allowed. | ||
| First class on Lufthansa, Swiss or ANA | Lounges at the departure airport for their international long-haul first class flight | One guest allowed. | ||
| Business class tickets on ANA, Air New Zealand or ITA. Basic and Flex business class tickets on Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian or Brussels Airlines. | Lounges at the departure airport for their international long-haul business class flight | No guests allowed. |
Interestingly, United passengers on the new ‘basic business’ fares will not be able to use Polaris lounges, but Basic Business passengers on joint venture partners will have access.
United Polaris Lounge Newark
Currently, Polaris lounges are overrun at peak times. For competitive reasons, they’re adding access for passengers on their premium transcon flights. American and Delta allow access to their dedicated business class lounges for passengers on the routes.
United is adding planes and shifting to even more premium capacity. That means more eligible passengers for these lounges, too.
United Polaris Lounge Houston
So restrictions make sense. And alliances exist but United doesn’t really value treating EgyptAir business class passengers especially well. It’s their own customers and those of their antitrust-immunized, revenue-sharing joint ventures that matter to them.
But this is certainly a blow to the value of Star Alliance. It makes sense, I suppose, that Air Canada passengers don’t gain access to Polaris lounges – joint venture partner access is limited to a passenger’s international gateway city.
A Lufthansa business class passenger flying from Chicago to Germany can use the Chicago Polaris lounge. Flying United from Los Angeles to Chicago connecting to Lufthansa would not gain them access to the Polaris lounge in Los Angeles (the way a United passenger flying the same route is welcome). Air Canada does not have long haul flights departing from the U.S.
United Polaris Lounge San Francisco
This disparate treatment between United passengers and those of ‘metal neutral’ joint venture partners is unfortunate, but at least consistent.
(HT: One Mile at a Time)
Polaris is a very mid and basic business class lounge. Nothing special. One World by far has the best treatment of elites and lounges within the alliance. Star Alliance trails and Sky Team is a disgrace.
@gary it’s very confusing but apparently LH’s version of basic business is actually called “light”, and those will not have Polaris Lounge access. LH’s “basic” business fare is apparently a higher fare class.
United has always been cheap about Polaris lounge access. Compared to AA and DL, which do allow access to their most-premium Flagship and DeltaOne lounges, even on Transcon, but United never did. Likewise, when AA and B6 had the NEA, Admirals Club members on B6 metal could access AA; but, with UA and B6, nothing, no reciprocal access.
Polaris lounges are ALWAYS over crowded. Their sit down restaurant is NEVER available unless you have 3 hours to wait. Plus the food isn’t that great. I think these changes will be helpful in decreasing the volume of people. And those that are cut out can use the standard UA lounge – which really isn’t that different. But now those will be more crowded, right?
If I am reading this right, it looks like business class saver awards on LH, LX and OS flying TATL originating out of (not connecting in) IAD will still carry Polaris access at IAD. That is probably what I most care about.
@1990 – would be nice to get into Soho on transcon when flying business instead of Greenwich, but still, not bad. Agree with you, Matthew and Michael.
@Peter — With OWE, pretty sure Soho is still eligible, no? One of the reasons I went for Platinum Pro again over settling on Platinum.
@Michael Martin — I assume you’re referring to EWR, because they opened that new sit-down restaurant last fall; it’s not that special (basically a knockoff of DeltaOne Brasserie at JFK), smaller, but does have a better view.