To kick off our trip to Greece, we flew LOT Polish Airlines’ Boeing 787-9 business class from Chicago to Warsaw. It had been years since I’d flown LOT’s business class across the Atlantic, so I was looking forward to seeing how it was holding up.
Continue reading: Review: LOT Polish Airlines Business Class 787 (ORD-WAW)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Been on this flight and totally agree. If it makes sense for you, this is a fine connection to Europe from ORD...but nothing like an elevated business class TATL experience.
sheesh... a grand total of TWO tater tots? I mean, they could not cost more than 1 cent each considering the huge sacks the caterers buy. I would like to announce to all and sundry airline bean counters... increase my J fare by five cents and place another half dozen or so tots on the plate. Okay?
This actually looks quite nice compared to my recent TATL trip out of ORD on TAP.
Is the two ravioli the entire main dish? Seems like an extremely small portion.
I haven’t, of course, tasted it, but chicken breast and tilapia as the two meat options seem a bit cheap for business class…
The food all looks so cheap, and the service pathetic for business class. I would definitely avoid LOT in J
"LOT intends to open a lounge in Chicago"
Hopefully that will alleviate some of the crowds at the SAS lounge.
Is Swiss going to reopen their lounge at ORD?
Couldn't the guy who got the hot breakfast item have been someone who paid for a business class upgrade after takeoff?
ORD WAW ATH - was this one the same ticket using Aeroplan's stopover option or separate tickets?
The review is not fair. Looks like you expected the worst but was disappointed with good food, good service, good accommodations. The crew was nice but fake it. How fo you know? Poor you didn't got hot breakfast but some cousin did. Wow. What a lack of profesionalism in that review. Kudos to LOT for a good job. As for the author of this review fly Lufthansa they will put you right in order.
"We had arrived the same day from Miami on United Airlines"....no review of the United Airlines. As a relatively long-time reader, I've seen comments here and there of your "unsavoury past" with UA. Are you now flying them? Will you provide a review? Also will you spill the tea?
I really am surprised (and honestly impressed) that you chose this over SQ first class given the choice at the time. I couldn't have done it, but that is why you are a successful travel blogger / journalist and I am not. Great review Ben, and I love it when you include little details like the person who was upgraded post-door closure.
According to the menus, flights out of LAX and MIA have more extensive selections, soup and b/f choices included, against other US departing points.
I remember business class upgrade sales pitches onboard Condor, and KLM, if my memory doesn't fail me.
Ben asked us, the readers, which he flight be should take for review purposes, and the majority thought that the LOT report would be more interesting that yet another TR about SQ F.
Good on you for choosing it, Ben. It was a good read; and good on Ford for going along with the plan. My husband would have flown SQ and left me to review LOT on my own.
It looked just ok but I can’t imagine paying whatever the actual fare is and feeling I got value for my money
You should consider yourself lucky if you only boarded 40 minutes late. It's well known that LOT stands for "Later Or Tomorrow".
Looks just like the United flights to Australia that were mostly this seat type up to Covid and even the menu feels familiar.
Are you suggesting that handing out food items to your friends, while there's not enough stock for people *who paid for them* is no big deal? Seriously?
What an absurd comment. Ben just reported it as he experienced it. That's what a good review does. Is he supposed to change the facts for you? Or change his feelings in anticipation of your not liking them?
I found this review, like most of Ben's, to be factual, to the point, and useful.
Seems like if you're travelling with someone else (or don't mind having a neighbor), and your primary concern is having a comfortable lie-flat seat, then LOT is a perfectly fine option. If you read other recent reviews, there are a few that are quite a bit more positive about the food, and the crews are almost universally acclaimed as friendly. The failures seem to be in things like broken seats, broken milk frothers, etc.
I like LOT if traveling with someone. I find the layout to be more comfortable than most J with footwells
What the heck is "vegetable puttanesca"? Anchovies (along with capers) are one of the defining ingredients of that dish.
I love LOT’s “inefficient use of space.” For me, more space means more comfort.
That's a pretty pathetic comment Jeffrey!
Hop on united busiand you'll get your delicious peanut butter n jelly sandwich at best but and that a one gorgeous looking sandwich lol
Thanks for your review. LO is one of the few European airlines I haven’t flown - mainly because their lowest business class fare class (F) doesn’t earn on most *A programs.
I agree, it's a pretty comfortable hard product. When on a red-eye from the US, I don't eat dinner (I wouldn't normally eat dinner at 11pm...), I skip breakfast (I wouldn't normally eat breakfast at 4am...), it's all about maximizing the sleep.
Excellent review, Ben, thanks very much. This is exactly what sets OMAAT apart from other travel bloggers.
I've really enjoyed LOT when I've flown them a couple of times recently, and for pretty much the same reasons. I booked it because I was able to get a cheap business class fare, but wouldn't hesitate to book again if the price is right.
For everyone nitpicking here, do consider you would be paying double to fly the same route with Lufthansa: Same outdated 2-2-2 configuration with less space, completely exposed to your neighbor with no privacy divider whatsoever, similarly mediocre catering, and a "different" (presumably colder and more efficient) but not necessarily better service/crew.
In this context, I'd say LOT could be good value at a right price and schedule.
If cost is not an issue, surely more elevated experiences are on offer from the usual Middle-Eastern carriers.
Ben didn't say that the crew's niceness was fake. He said that if it was fake, then the crew was doing a good job of faking.
There was no indication that Ben was "expecting the worst"; rather, his expectations were modest.
There was also no indication either that he was overall disappointed even though there was much that be liked about the food, service and accommodation.
Like Kredie noted, i also appreciated your frank review; nice to see Polish white wines in the menu
I have flown them on L/H business twice, WAW to NRT, and LAX to WAW. I slept for the majority of the NRT flight (quite well actually). The LAX flight was a mixed bag, since the entertainment system didn't work properly. The crew was genuinely dedicated on both occasions.
When they are cheap, I think they are a really good option, since WAW is a proper *A hub with good connections to central and Eastern Europe.
WAW transits can be a pain. Long walking distances and the need to re-clear security when coming from the US (but nowhere as panfuls LHR or FRA).
The LOT business lounge I actually found quite decent in WAW.
I would fly them again.
Just flew LOT last week in business class from Warsaw to Los Angeles with my adult son. I agree with most of the review but would add both of our entertainment systems were broken and the breakfast meal was the worst ever experienced. It was a daylight flight with no WiFi but we had our own devices to endure the lack of common services.
I'm sure you were pleased they at least were proactive with the meal service instead of punishing pax by waiting three hours to serve dinner after a nice long gossip in the galley (wh. of course the pax can overhear!).
LOT is a also a perfect option for european flights, as long as they still offer complimentary inflight service. Much better than Lufthansa GROUP.
I'll be taking LOT from ICN-WAW-LAX and back from YYZ-WAW-ICN. Even though it's not the most convenient routing, it was a very good price point for J class--and I wanted to catch up with friends in Europe this summer anyway. While hardly cutting edge, it should be comfortable enough for the long trans-Eurasia and trans-Atlantic flights.
would you recommend full aisle seats or window seat on this overnight flight, given that windows seat will have more benefit of sleeping but might need to reach over the next passenger.