United CEO aims to win back high-paying business travellers

United CEO Oscar Munoz knows that his airline has alienated some of its most loyal fliers. His effort to win them back starts with a new business class product that he personally unveiled Thursday at his first major public appearance since becoming CEO. "It is about the entire experience," Munoz said. "It's not just a new seat. It's not just new meals. It's not just better wines." Business travellers, who may pay $5,000 for a trans-Atlantic flight, want seats that are comfortable to work, eat and sleep in. They want direct access to the aisle, particularly on overnight flights where nobody wants to have to crawl over a sleeping passenger to use the bathroom. So, United is giving its business class seats their first upgrade in a decade — and removing middle seats from those planes still have them in the premium cabin. Passengers will also get do not disturb signs and more storage space. There will be dedicated lounges in key airports just for business class fliers. It's all part of a new service called Polaris. Munoz says the product represents "the new spirt of United" and is part of "winning back the trust of our customers." He acknowledges more work needs to be done. "Airline travel has become like going to the dentist," he told the crowd gathered in a Manhattan event space for the unveiling. The goal is to improve it from "lounge to landing." Seth Kaplan, managing partner of industry newsletter Airline Weekly, says the new seats will let United match business-class offerings from American Airlines and Delta. But Munoz knows that updating the physical product isn't enough. That's why flight attendants are getting a new level of training for international flights, which he says will filter down to the domestic trips some also take.<br/>