Review: LOT Polish Business Class 787 New York To Warsaw

I took the same flight about a week earlier. It was very good for business class. I connected onto a domestic flight with only a 20 minute connection (flight was a little late). I easily made it (one of the virtues of WAW). The big negative was the JFK lounge situation. You kind of glossed over it in your report, but LH is shamelessly violating Star Alliance rules by not allowing LOT J class pax into its lounge, claiming that LOT doesn't have a contract with LH for late flight. Total bullshit and not acceptable. Three weeks later, I'm still livid.

Good to see that they have Polish beer on board.

On a slightly unrelated note, what does China Southern serve in business class? In the sunrise pictures was the window dimmed or not?

How does the entertainment system work for the passengers in row 1? I don't see screens on the wall on for either of the two sets of side seats and it looks like the middle two seats just have one large screen. Am I missing something or is there some sort of fold-out system for that row?

I have always had some trepidation flying LOT long-haul because the crews are primarily older and come packaged with major attitude. I'm glad that you noticed that the FA serving your seats was half the age of the rest of the crew. I have flown LOT in Business and Economy on European flights and their crews (all young) have been nothing short of awesome. I'm not bashing age here because I've had truly awesome service from more tenured Flight Attendants, but not on LOT.

I like the idea of the sheet in addition to the blanket. It beats drooling into the same bare seat as countless others have before. I wish more airlines did that.

Also, I completely agree with you about the cabin temperature. Most airlines also insist on providing a heavy blanket which is too hot to use, when all I want is a thin sheet so I can sleep without feeling exposed.

@ Alvin -- It was dimmed.

@ Desi -- They come out of the armrests for row one.

Ben, would love to hear what your overall impressions of the 787 we're now that you've been on a couple long-hauls. Air pressure / moisture levels and all that jargon actually make any difference for your flight experience?

@ Andrew T -- I can't really say that I feel strongly about it one way or the other. I like the larger windows on one hand, though miss window shades, as I don't think the "dimming" works perfectly. Other than that, can't say I've noticed a difference in terms of air pressure or humidity in the cabin, but I spend so much time on planes that it might just be lost on me.

@lucky
interesting. is avianca a reliable place to search for LOT award space? (and SQ for that matter). how does it compare with the ANA tool as far as accuracy?
thanks

@ purcitron -- Both are accurate in my experience.

Coins,

Looks like LOT clobbers IB (Iberia) in the food and wine/champagne department in Biz class. That flight was ORD/MAD.

Curious about the "Kotanyi mix of spices to go with your coffee". A Polish custom?

The nail filer (otherwise known as an emery board) is for when the dry cabin air causes a fingernail to split or break, leaving you with a sharp edge that scratches anyone you shake hands with or catches on fabric. One, two swipes with the board will hold you over till you can address any lingering issues in private.

Good for nail biters, too.

Are those the same business class seats that TK has? How do they compare?

@ James -- Yep, very similar seats.

I did the WAW-YYZ route in early May. Reading from Ben's experience on LOT before the trip, I wasn't sure what to expect. Although boarding was delayed, I have to say I was impressed by the service on board (the crew were quite young - not that it matters to us as long as they delivered good services), maybe because there were only 3 passengers in J. Sitting in 2C,D got us all the attention from the crew. The other passenger used 1A to sleep and 1B to eat. For us, we used the rest of the cabin. During the meal service, I told the service director I'd try anything "polish", and she was pleased to offer me some special polish vodka after the meal. I wouldn't mind flying the LOT dreamliner again.

@Damian and Lucky: the difference between the old, communist-bred generation and the new one in Poland is Marianas Trench deep. The younger Poles speak English (versus Russian), have more professional attitude, are more relaxed, and much better educated (according to the OECD, Poland has the highest rate of higher education among the young people in the world at 83 percent).

@ Lucky - is it common for relatively new planes like 787s to fall apart like that so quickly? Just seems strange.

@ Marek - Given not-quite-good service typical of US airlines, I am inclined to attribute inadequate service to job security -- people may not try as hard if they can get away with doing a poor job. I didn't get to visit Poland on my recent trip to Central Europe (went to Vienna, Prague, and Zurich) but in Vienna and Prague both of my drivers were older gentlemen who provided awesome service despite them speaking better Russian than English.

@ Ivan Y -- I guess if they're not maintaining them it's not all that surprising. Quite sad to see, though...

I really liked the service on the YYZ-WAW flight I took earlier this month. My only complaint is that my seat, 2D, got stuck in between bed and seat mode. The purser came tried to fix it but wasn't able to, I just moved over to the seat beside me as it was empty. There were only 7-8 people in the J cabin.

The 787 cabin is great, it doesn't feel cramped and has lots of headroom.

I had a very similar experience with Passport control and the entire airport being fairly empty.

Would definitely fly the 787 again. Make sure to ask for a latte, as long as the machine isn't broken. They serve it in a clear glass mug with some Lindt chocolates one the side.

I must say that I adore flying LOT and connecting at WAW. I feel they have a really good attitude towards J class passengers (not like BA/LH where I feel that I am just another customer). Having flown JFK-WAW at least once every month for the past three years I have noticed that they are continually learning from their mistakes and improving their J class service. I can't wait for them to expand their long haul service to Asia once the EC clears them to. Great report as always Lucky!

Really, really disappointed in this airline and their attitude and I will NEVER EVER fly with them again!!! They cancelled our flight to Warshaw last minute and they refuse to fly us there today (they have seats in Business but are not willing to upgrade us). The manager I talked to - Lukasz Inglot gave me a LOT of attitude and refused to address our problem giving us the only option of flying tomorrow. UNACCEPTABLE behaviour for a manager working in Canada... He told me I was acting like a kid because I do not accept no for an answer!!!! Really?!? Do you hear yourself Lukasz?!?? This is not how you do business in Canada... Maybe in Poland your attitude would be accepted, but in Canada is NOT acceptable... And I will file a complaint on your behaviour at consumer protection Ontario and I will also escalate it to your manager. SHAME on you, Lukasz Inglot!!! I have 3 kids crying around me because they will not go to see grandma today although we booked tickets ahead of time and it is not our fault Lott cancelled the flight! Shame on you and you will hear back from me!!!!

@Veronica - Seriously, listen to yourself. The airline has what, up to 200 passengers to accommodate, and you think you trump them all? Their first priority is to rebook those who were in business - and no, your online website view of capacity isn't necessarily correct - so in fairness to all other passengers, stay firm on prioritizing or even offering upgrades. Perhaps they offered a paid upgrade to business, which would be entirely fair of them. No of course it's not your fault they had to cancel the flight, but they aren't obligated to upgrade four passengers because you promised your kids they'd see Grandma that day. Excellent lesson for them, that things happen and you will be disappointed, and I can think of bigger disappointments to "endure" than a one day delay in seeing family. As far as I can see, Lukasz had to deal with four children, and as much as you bullied him he has a job and a responsibility to all passengers, and was entirely justified in getting his point across to you. Grow up and set an example to your children on how to deal with, what is essentially, a minor inconvenience.

I fly this or the EWR route at least 5 times a year for business and I love to eat and I enjoy good food 😉
While I consider LOT very good value for the money and I like their new Dreamliners and their service I'm honestly surprised that you didn't address the awful meals they serve. I've learned and by now I eat before boarding, then I order the soup and get a sandwich, that's it (desserts and cheeses aren't bad). I've tried the duck, steak, fish and they were all really bad. I truly hope that they do something with their meals, that will make them AWESOME!