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United’s New Amenity kits from Therabody and Saks Fifth Avenue
United have announced the largest overhaul since 2016 of United Polaris, the airline’s international business class.
New onboard products include complimentary eye serum, face spray, hand cream, cleansing towelette, cool gel pillow and day blanket, as well access to Therabody wellness products in United Polaris lounges and inflight wellness videos.
The new Therabody offerings include an onboard amenity kit that features an eye serum, face spray, hand cream and cleansing towelette exclusive to United customers, as well as access to the award-winning Therabody devices like the Lounger, Theragun and RecoveryAir JetBoots in United Polaris lounges and inflight wellness videos on the airline’s Inflight Entertainment screens. Therabody are a relatively new brand of massage tools which are featured in many high end hotels and spas.
The new Saks Fifth Avenue bedding includes select items that are made with recycled plastic, and feature a new limited-edition day blanket from fashion designer Claude Kameni, who was named as one of the most influential Black designers to watch in 2023.
Customers are booking premium cabin seats – United Polaris and United Premium Plus® – 30% more than last year.
“International travel is booming and our customers have direct access to more places around the globe than any other airline – with these new amenities, now they’ll also have the best experience flying there,” said Andrew Nocella, United Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. “We know amenities can really elevate the overall flying experience and are confident United Polaris flyers will love the new wellness-focused offerings created with our best-in-class partners Therabody and Saks Fifth Avenue and increased focus on sourcing recycled materials.”
United’s Therabody Products
Onboard, customers can experience a new amenity kit that features exclusive TheraFace skincare products. I’d say this looks very impressive compared to pretty much all the other business class products on transatlantic airlines. Tucked inside a reusable belt bag made with recycled plastic, customers will find:
Eye serum: United is the only U.S. airline that offers an eye serum in its amenity kit. Made with ingredients like niacinamide, caffeine, hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B5 and allantoin, the serum helps reduce puffiness, enhance hydration, soothe the eye area and improve the skin’s barrier function.
TheraFace face spray: Formulated to help soothe, hydrate and protect the skin, this spray features hyaluronic acid, Vitamin B5, calendula flower extract, aloe leaf juice and glycerin.
TheraFace cleansing towelette: Wipe-off the travel day without drying the skin thanks to ingredients like Vitamin B5 and E, calendula flower extract, aloe leaf juice and glycerin.
TheraFace hand cream: Avoid dreaded dry hands thanks to ingredients like niacinamide, shea butter, hyaluronic acid, sweet almond oil and Vitamin B5. Both the hand cream and face spray are available in the onboard lavatories as well.
The must-haves: The kit also includes go-to amenities for arriving refreshed, including a bamboo toothbrush, toothpaste, eye mask, ear plugs, socks and a pen.
You can also access free wellness videos onboard from Therabody’s team of experts. The videos are tailored for passengers looking to incorporate simple, effective wellness practices into their trip, like movement, breathwork and guided meditations that support relaxation and sleep.
At the airport, Therabody’s Reset Suites are scheduled to open this autumn at all United Polaris lounges, starting with New York/Newark and San Francisco lounges late October and followed-by Chicago O’Hare, Houston Intercontinental, Los Angeles and Washington Dulles. It is anticipated that every lounge will offer at least one semi-private room each outfitted with Therabody wellness technology, including one Therabody Lounger, which combines sound and vibration therapy for full body relaxation. Additional amenities available through lounge valets include the Theragun and RecoveryAir JetBoots to support circulation, lymphatic drainage and muscle recovery and aid in decreased swelling and stiffness, plus SmartGoggles to help customers feel more relaxed. The TheraFace skin and body care products are also available in the United Polaris lounge restrooms and showers.
Refreshed Bedding by Saks Fifth Avenue
The bedding has also been changed:
Large pillow and duvet…and an extra cool gel pillow – United Polaris is the only U.S. business class cabin that provides two pillows per person and the only airline to offer a cool gel pillow.
Limited-edition day blanket – Featuring a pattern by fashion designer Claude Kameni and made from 100% recycled plastic, the day blanket offers additional warmth and comfort. The limited-edition blanket will be available through early 2024.
Elevated Food & Drinks
United is in the midst of a drive to improve the Polaris food and beverage offerings onboard. So far this year, United added more than 20 new wine, beer and spirit brands to its menu, including award-winning brands like Whispering Angel, Groth, Caymus Mer Soleil and Tito’s, and will introduce additional brands later this year including JUSTIN Justification and Bell’s.
United also brought back customer favorites like the ice cream sundae cart in February, added an appetizer service and introduced nearly 100 new menu items across all cabins and routes. Customers can also see onboard menus in advance of their flight via the United app and website and pre-order their meal of choice.
Pre-book Heathrow security slots
Heathrow has today launched a trial allowing passengers to pre-book security slots ahead of their journeys, one of the first airports in the UK to offer this system.
Heathrow Timeslot is a free service which will give passengers a designated time and entry point to the security search area. It doesn’t state this but I’d assume this is only for regular security and not fast track. Recently security times have been better at Heathrow now that they say they are back to full staffing.
The trial will be live in Terminal 3 for up to six months and initially be open to passengers travelling with four airlines, American Airlines, Delta, Emirates and Virgin Atlantic. Further airlines may be added during the trial. The outcomes of the trial will inform any future extension or roll-out to other terminals.
Mark Powell, Operational Planning Director at Heathrow said:
“Everyone is familiar with airport security, but at Heathrow we’re constantly thinking of innovative ways to boost the safety and streamline the experience for our passengers. This new trial will give passengers that extra added bit of certainty and reassurance ahead of their journey and we think it will be particularly popular for those with families or nervous travellers who may want a bit more confidence in their journeys. We look forward to seeing the data come in to give us some learnings on how we can roll this out more widely across Heathrow.”
Earn bonus Virgin Points for stays at Virgin Hotels Glasgow
To celebrate the launch of Virgin Hotels Glasgow, Virgin Red is rewarding The Know members with the chance to earn an extra 2,000 bonus Virgin Points when they stay at the hotel and check out between 1 November and 31 December 2023.
This bonus points offer is in addition to the normal rate of seven points per £1. Points per £1 spent are only awarded on room charges.
To get the points you need to sign up to The Know – Virgin Hotels’ loyalty program – and link your Virgin Red account. Members can book their stay directly with Virgin Hotels and The Know will then email a unique Virgin Points promo code for the bonus points within seven days after the check-out date. Enter the promo code in the ‘Account’ section of the Virgin Red app or website and 2,000 bonus Virgin Points will be added instantly to your Virgin Red account.
Find out more here or download the Virgin Red app on your smartphone.
1 comment
The contents of the therabody packs are impressive but really liked the old Away mini cases on Polaris – they were great as tech tidies whilst travelling. I don’t think I really need multiple bum bags – odd choice! But decent service onboard (trip LHR/EWE this week)
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