Avoid This Airline's Business Class As It's Well Known As The Worst In America

A seat in business class can turn an uncomfortable flight into a luxurious experience — at least when flying with some airlines. With others, the upgrade from economy might not be worth your money.

That's what some frequent fliers are saying about United Airlines' business class offerings. United's Polaris business class branding may appear lavish and its iconic Saks Fifth Avenue bedding beats the itchy blankets typically offered in the budget seats, but many other aspects of the airline's premium class leave much to be desired. Some netizens have gone as far as calling United's business class the worst in the U.S.

For starters, the seats aren't always so different from what you'd find in the economy section. Will Davis, known as Trek Trendy on YouTube, reviewed a United business class seat on a 767 aircraft and noted the lack of space, dirty tray tables, and difficult access to the aisle. The cramped seating is also common on United's 777-200 planes. These vessels often come with "coffin seats" that have largely been phased out by other air carriers, according to Matthew Klint, the blogger behind Live and Let's Fly. These seats are known to be narrow with little room for personal belongings. To make matters worse, they face each other, meaning you're stuck looking at your seatmates throughout the flight.

One of the benefits of upgrading to business class is receiving exceptional customer service, but with United Airlines, that isn't always the case. One Tripadvisor user detailed their "worst business class" experience after United flight attendants spoke curtly and even yelled at them. TikToker @drakepooley also criticized United's business class for having "awful flight attendants."

Trek Trendy was similarly disappointed with the customer service provided on his United flight, calling the cabin crew "particularly icy and unfriendly." Moreover, the YouTube creator shared that his seat area was dirty and covered in crumbs, suggesting that the airline's cleaning crew hadn't been through the cabin lately (though, the truth is, planes don't get cleaned between flights as often as you might think). Points Miles and Bling writer and founder Anshul also documented the crumbs and greasy stains found around his United Polaris seat. Lesson learned: Just because you're paying a premium for the seat doesn't mean it'll be clean when you arrive.

According to United, business and first-class customers are eligible to receive free alcoholic drinks and, in some cases, an assortment of snacks on short flights. On long-haul flights, food can include gourmet airplane snacks, a hot entrée with salad and bread, dessert, cocktails, and a "bistro on board."

Unfortunately, not everyone's a fan of United's business class meals. On Reddit, u/BerCle shared a snap of their "worst business class dinner ever" on a United flight. The photo shared to the social media platform shows sad-looking meatballs served on top of pieces of potato. "Had this on Dub-EWR this morning. Frozen like a rock," u/benjo768 responded in the thread, although he did inexplicably add, "Still delicious."

The Points Guy also gave a scathing review of United's business class food, including a main course centering on an allegedly undercooked, inedible rack of lamb. "This was by far the worst business-class flight I've experienced," revealed the reviewer.