United unveils the first of its new 'Polaris' business-class lounges

United’s much talked-about Polaris business-class program for intercontinental travellers kicked off Thursday. Customers will have to wait until next year for the first of United's new Polaris business-class seats to begin flying, but other elements of the carrier's new Polaris upgrade begin rolling out today. The first is the airline's new United Polaris lounge at Chicago O'Hare, which opened to eligible fliers on Thursday. In the air, passengers will need to wait longer for the new lie-flat, all aisle-access Polaris seats, but United's new upgraded "Polaris" service will roll out Thursday ahead of the actual seats. As for the actual seats, they'll debut on the carrier’s new and retrofitted aircraft in early 2017. They'll appear first on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and then on Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The new upgraded business-class seats will also be included as part of retrofits to United's Boeing 767-300 and 777-200 widebody planes. But United is touting its new Polaris service as more than just a seat, calling it a "complete re-imagination of business class flying.” That includes the lounge in Chicago, the first of nine United plans to open worldwide. The Chicago lounge is located in O'Hare's Terminal 1, near gate C18.<br/>