Polaris Studio on United's "Lemon 87": First Class or Business Class Plus?

Polaris Studio is United's new first-class-in-all-but-name suite on the 787-9, and it costs extra on top of a Polaris business fare. I paid $499 for the upgrade on this flight. United now charges $699 - about what an airport upgrade into actual First costs on some airlines. So is it first class, or business class plus? I flew San Francisco to London in it and kept the receipts. The plane was N61101, the first of United's Elevated 787s and also the most problematic. The Lemon 87 had yet to complete an international round trip since it was delivered: on its maiden overseas trip it had to turn back to Singapore, and it ended up being returned to Boeing. This was its first international flight with paying passengers since it came back. Door to door: 15 hours 45 minutes, Emeryville to East London, every leg on camera - the bus, BART, the lounge, the seat, the food, the pyjamas, and the bits United would rather you skipped. What's in it: the Studio suite and whether the extra space is worth anything? The caviar, the beef, the pyjamas, the seat controls that wake you up, the IFE, and how many ads sit in front of a film. What the upgrade actually buys. Interchange reviews journeys door to door: planes, trains, automobiles, ships, and anything else that moves under its own power, plus the odd museum and a hotel with a 737 parked outside. Every leg counted, including the ones most reviews skip. I buy my own tickets, so the verdict is mine: this upgrade came out of my own pocket. New episodes at least every two weeks. https://interchange.travel Music from Epidemic Sound - https://www.epidemicsound.com Theme: "Arcaders" - Ben Elson Chapters 0:00 Was it worth it? 0:30 The route: Emeryville to London 1:13 Emeryville, and why the airport is a bus ride 2:51 MacArthur BART, under the bay 3:46 San Francisco International 4:51 The Polaris Lounge 6:34 UA930, and a 787 with a secret 8:06 Pre-boarding, and seat 9L 9:37 Take-off, and the Lemon 87 10:24 Airborne in the Studio suite 11:32 The caviar 12:03 The beef 13:40 The pyjamas 14:27 Bed, and a seat that fights back 15:56 Breakfast, and the snack box 17:27 The screen, and the adverts in front of it 18:28 Descent across central London 19:37 Heathrow, and the Elizabeth line 21:49 Door to door: the numbers 23:18 Verdict: is Polaris Studio worth it? 24:32 Sign-off