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Review: United Airlines 777-200ER Polaris Business Class Rome to San Francisco | FCO-SFO

YOUTUBE: United Airlines: Newark to Santiago de Compostela
YOUTUBE: United Airlines: Rome to San Francisco

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After spending some time in the Prima Vista Lounge here in Rome, it was time to make my way over to the gate for my flight back to San Francisco.

Waiting for us was a United Airlines Boeing 777-200ER that would be taking us all the way back to California.

Boarding eventually began, and as a United 1K member I was able to board during preboarding and get some pictures before the cabin filled up.

United’s 777-200ERs feature Polaris business class in a 1-2-1 configuration. Every seat has direct aisle access, but the odd-numbered seats along the windows are the ones that are positioned directly against the window and offer more privacy.

FCO-SFO

Boeing 777-200ER

1 June 2026

My seat for this flight was 9L, which is one of the true window seats. The seat is tucked away from the aisle and right against the windows, which is exactly where I want to be on a long flight like this.

Waiting at the seat was the usual stack of Polaris bedding. United continues to offer some of the best bedding in business class, and that remains one of the strongest parts of the overall Polaris experience.

Off to the side is a storage compartment where United keeps the headphones and a bottle of water. This is also a useful place to put smaller items during the flight.

There is a good amount of surface space next to the seat for drinks, a phone, or anything else you want to keep nearby.

The footwell is directly in front of the seat and becomes part of the sleeping surface once the seat is placed into bed mode. The nice thing about the footwell at the bulkhead rows 1 and 9 is that the footwells are much larger than the other polaris seats. 

The seat controls are straightforward and include a few preset positions along with the ability to make more precise adjustments.

There are also multiple ways to keep devices charged during the flight.

The entertainment screen is a good size and was responsive throughout the flight.

The tray table slides out from below the screen. It takes up a good amount of space once fully opened, but it can also be moved forward and backward as needed.

The screen also gives you a timeline of what to expect throughout the flight.

There was a sizable enough selection of movies and television shows to keep anyone entertained on the long journey to San Francisco.

The menu had the newer black Polaris design, and the crew came around on the ground to take meal orders. Global Services and 1K members had their orders taken first, followed by the rest of the cabin.

The menu included warm nuts, a choice of smoked salmon or whipped ricotta, a salad, and four possible main courses.

For the main course, the choices were braised lamb shank, chicken breast, halibut, or gnocchi. There was also the usual selection of desserts, including United’s signature ice cream sundae.

The menu also had multiple midflight snacks and three choices for the pre-arrival meal.

And in the spirit of flying out of Italy, United even had an Aperol Spritz available on this flight.

Before departure, the crew offered everyone a choice of water or champagne. Naturally, I went with the latter.

The view from 9L gave me a great look at our Pratt & Whittney engine outside.

We eventually pushed back and began making our way around Rome Fiumicino.

We also passed an Emirates A380 during the taxi, which is always a nice aircraft to see.

Eventually it was our turn to take off.

We climbed away from Rome and got some excellent views of the coastline below.

The crew took some time to set up shop while we continued our climb over the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Before the meal service got underway, the crew came around with hot towels.

The Wi-Fi portal offered a full-flight pass for $17.99 or 1,800 miles, along with shorter one- and two-hour options.

The first proper service came from the drink trolley, accompanied by warm nuts. Since we had just departed Italy, I had to go with the Aperol Spritz.

The views outside were also doing their part to keep me entertained while the crew prepared the meal.

The appetizer course was served on one tray with smoked salmon, a salad, bread, and a trio of small tapas-style dishes.

The smoked salmon came with capers, pickled red onions, lemon, and crème fraîche. This was delicious and a very good start to the meal.

The salad was fine. It was fresh enough, but nothing particularly memorable.

United has recently introduced this trio of tapas-style items on certain Polaris flights, and I thought they were very nice. This was a more interesting addition than the usual basic appetizer setup.

The bread was also pretty solid.

For my main course, I went with the braised lamb shank, which came with creamy polenta, green beans, and an herb tomato sauce. Let me call it like it is: the presentation was not winning any awards. Fortunately, the taste was there. The lamb was tender and tasty, and the green beans were also very nice.

To finish the meal, I went with United’s signature ice cream sundae. My goodness, the crew was extremely generous with the sauces on this one. 

After the meal, I changed into the Polaris slippers and got the seat ready for some rest.

The seat turns into a fully flat bed, and United’s bedding gives you one of the best chances of getting meaningful sleep in business class.

The cabin was eventually darkened as passengers settled in for the long middle portion of the flight.

United had also set up a basket of packaged snacks in the galley for anyone who got hungry between services.

Here’s a quick look at one of the lavatories.

United stocks Therabody hand cream, face mist, and cleansing spray in the Polaris lavatories.

There were some excellent views during the flight, including plenty of ice and water below us as we continued west.

At some point during the flight, I ordered the lamb rosemary pie with demi-glace from the midflight snack menu.

The pie was very tasty. It feels strange saying this about an American carrier, and especially about United, an airline I fly so often, but I had genuinely enjoyed everything I had eaten up to this point. Maybe that had something to do with departing Italy and getting Italian catering instead of catering from the United States, but whatever the reason, the food had been excellent.

Before arrival, the crew once again came around with hot towels and asked everyone what they wanted for the second meal.

Given that we had taken off from Italy, I had to roll with the penne pasta. It came with a creamy black pepper sauce and rotisserie chicken, along with a salad, bread, dessert, and a glass of white wine.

The pasta was very tasty. Once I finished, the crew asked if I wanted seconds, and I gladly obliged. You do not usually expect to ask for a second helping of pasta on an airplane, but here we are.

The crew on this flight was honestly so solid. I had a great time chatting with several of them, and they even offered me a bottle of white wine to take home from the flight. I certainly could not say no to that.

Before landing, the purser stopped by to thank me for flying United and to ask how everything had been. We had a good conversation about some of the recent Wi-Fi issues on these aircraft as well.

Eventually, we began our descent into the Bay Area.

We had an excellent aerial view of San Francisco International Airport on the way in.

Soon enough, we were on short final for SFO.

We made it to the gate after a very enjoyable flight from Rome.

United Polaris is generally a product where you know what you are going to get. The seat is private and comfortable, the bedding is among the best in business class, and the overall experience is reliable. Seat 9L was exactly where I wanted to be thanks to its true-window position and added separation from the aisle.

What stood out on this flight was the catering and the crew. Every meal I had was genuinely enjoyable, from the smoked salmon and lamb shank to the midflight lamb pie and pre-arrival pasta. The presentation was not always perfect, but the taste absolutely delivered. Add in a crew that was friendly, attentive, and generous throughout the flight, and this turned into one of the better United flights I have had in quite some time.