Good morning from Warsaw! I’m in the midst of a US Airways 90,000 mile business class award to North Asia, and flew from New York JFK to Warsaw yesterday on LOT Polish.
I was excited to finally fly the LOT 787, after having flown their 767 from Warsaw to Chicago last year. Their 767s are ancient, so suffice to say that flight was a LOT less POLISHed than I was expecting (you’ll be happy to know that on this trip we only have one more flight on LOT, so the jokes will soon stop). 😉
How did the 787 compare? Well, after an interesting visit to the Korean Air Lounge at JFK, I was ready to find out!
LOT 787
I’ll have a full trip report upon the conclusion of the trip, though in the meantime here are my initial thoughts:
LOT Polish 787 business class seat
LOT’s business class cabin on the 787 is really nice. It consists of just 18 seats spread across three rows in a 2-2-2 configuration. The seats are standard forward facing fully flat business class seats, though felt spacious. These seats are pretty ideal if traveling with someone, since you have a bit of privacy but can still have a conversation without having to scream or turn.
LOT 787 business class cabin
LOT 787 business class seats
LOT 787 business class seats
The one thing worth noting is that while this was a fairly new 787, it was already starting to show its age. My tray table wouldn’t come out (the flight attendant nearly got a concussion trying to get it out), Andrew’s entertainment control didn’t work, and the back of both of our seats were being held up by duct tape (though perhaps that’s a “feature?”).
Despite the somewhat depressing state of the seats, I was impressed by the hard product, which was comfortable for sleeping and lounging.
LOT 787 business class seat reclined position
LOT Polish 787 business class food
The food was actually sort of impressive. The catering on my flight out of Warsaw last year was kind of depressing. But I guess that’s what happens when they’re serving “seasonal greens” catered in Warsaw in January.
The food on this sector was actually good. Not quite to the level of Austrian or Turkish in business class, but I’d say better than Lufthansa and most other airlines in business class for sure.
They served amuse bouche on the ground, along with champagne that was actually drinkable (which is somewhat of a rarity in business class on non-premium airlines).
LOT 787 business class amuse bouche
Inflight service began with a thimble of room temperature nuts.
LOT 787 business class nuts
Then the salad and appetizer were served — “seasonal” greens and scallops. I was impressed by the plating and also that there was no tray — everything was placed directly on the tablecloth.
LOT 787 business class appetizer
The main course consisted of halibut and risotto. Again, I was impressed by the presentation, which looked a lot more like first class plating than business class plating.
LOT 787 business class main course
Then there was a pre-plated cheese course.
LOT 787 business class cheese course
And dessert consisted of ice cream and berries.
LOT 787 business class dessert
Breakfast was “continental,” and was accompanied by two truffles.
LOT 787 business class continental breakfast
LOT Polish 787 business class service
The service was very… efficient. There was one younger flight attendant working business class that smiled once in a while and was friendly, while the two senior flight attendants working the cabin were…
Okay, so they weren’t at all rude and I wouldn’t call their service “bad,” but they were just very focused on efficiency and weren’t really into smiling or anything. And I actually didn’t mind that since they were still rather attentive and at least were sincere in their lack of warmth.
I couldn’t help but laugh when we landed and one of them made an announcement “a vhery vharm vhelcome to Vharshaw.” The only thing warm about the announcement was the outside temperature she cited.
LOT Polish 787 business class amenities
LOT has a decent entertainment system on their 787. Not anything like what you’d get on Singapore or Cathay Pacific or Emirates or Etihad, but it did have the most popular sitcoms and movies of 2005, so that was kind of cool. I just watched the airshow most of the way.
LOT 787 airshow
I was impressed by the bedding. The blanket and pillow were plush, and there was even a “sheet,” though I’m not sure what purpose that served.
LOT 787 business class bedding
And then there was a fairly decent amenity kit.
LOT 787 business class amenity kit
LOT 787 business class bottom line
The seat and food exceeded my expectations. The service was efficient, which I appreciate on an overnight flight. And unlike during my visit in January, I actually am finding Warsaw to be quite charming in the summer. It’s also a super easy airport to transit, as it was less than five minutes from the time we deplaned till we were in a taxi on our way to the hotel. Or more accurately, standing next to a taxi as the police were being called (more on that shortly)…
Warsaw
As a person working in the LOT Product team and a keen follower of your blog I'm very happy to see that you were satisfied with our product :) we hope you're going to fly with us again!
As for the taped seat, luckily it was just a one-time incident and it's not going to happen again ;)
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
I took the LOT 787 and the TK 777 in the same trip recently so I have a frame of reference - yes the seats are very similar, but both the wife and I felt the LOT seat was wider somehow (did not check if that was true). For companions, she preferred the 2-2-2 setup over the Eva Air pods by far
Have 787 been in service long enough to warrant seats falling apart like that?
The food looks nice though. And I suppose flight crews is a YMMV thing but they were not rude and did their job so it's not terrible.
I suppose the experience varies somewhat. I flew WAW to JFK on the 787 two weeks ago, and the plane was pristine. Definitely no tape holding the seats together (though like your flight, I did notice that the entire front row was missing TV systems and as a result nobody was seated there, which I kind of liked because the cabin was more empty). On my flight, the service was extremely attentive, a flight attendant...
I suppose the experience varies somewhat. I flew WAW to JFK on the 787 two weeks ago, and the plane was pristine. Definitely no tape holding the seats together (though like your flight, I did notice that the entire front row was missing TV systems and as a result nobody was seated there, which I kind of liked because the cabin was more empty). On my flight, the service was extremely attentive, a flight attendant checked in with me about every fifteen minutes to ask if I wanted anything to drink or eat. Was very impressed with both the hard and soft products. Cabin was also great, I slept for hours and it was a day flight too. I flew Austrian on my way to Europe a few weeks before that, and didn't sleep well due to the fact that the cabin temperature was extremely warm.
The fact that I love your reviews and you're in the same city as me is fairly cool! Warsaw did had a poor weather those past days, which is also a bummer for me but it's a nice city. Have fun, whenever you're now ;)
"Lindor Kugeln" from Lindt are awesome! :) They improve every situation, in the air or on ground!
I checked your previous post on "Warsaw in January" that you mentioned. You should not travel there in Winter! But I was truly surprised with your reflections on Bristol. You experienced nothing except for bad smell??!! Bristol is adjacent to the famous Namiestnikowski Palace, where the Tzar's brother was killed in 1830 under dramatic circumstances (jointly with a general who was protecting him and who was my g-g-g-grandfather). In 1989, the Roundtable Talks took place...
I checked your previous post on "Warsaw in January" that you mentioned. You should not travel there in Winter! But I was truly surprised with your reflections on Bristol. You experienced nothing except for bad smell??!! Bristol is adjacent to the famous Namiestnikowski Palace, where the Tzar's brother was killed in 1830 under dramatic circumstances (jointly with a general who was protecting him and who was my g-g-g-grandfather). In 1989, the Roundtable Talks took place there from February to April and finally toppled communism. Opposite to Bristol is one of the best cafes in Europe (at least cheesecake and apple pie-wise). Next to it is a "communist-style" diner where waiters scream at you and make unpleasant comments (after the first shock you realize that they are acting). The simple food is delightful. And so on. Great place, great neighborhood incredibly full of history, with every stone telling its own story.
The ice in your coke was almost melted and that thimble contained barely a mouthful of nuts so I guess you were a bit disappointed.
Why do I read your blog? I'm not interested in credit cards or even, really, first class air travel. I don't even travel much anymore. Well, it's because of stuff like this: "It’s also a super easy airport to transit, as it was less than five minutes from the time we deplaned till we were in a taxi on our way to the hotel. Or more accurately, standing next to a taxi as the police were being called . . . ." I'm still laughing, and I read that several hours ago!
Lucky, those seats just look like a less polished version of TK's longhaul seats. Though it is better than TK's 2-3-2 seating...
Lindt chocolate truffles, yum!
Sounded good so I went to ExpertFlyer to check availability. They do not give an option for Business Class award seats - only eco and Prem eco. Something we should know?
@ Steven S -- I recommend using the ANA website to search LOT award availability:
https://onemileatatime.com/using-new-ana-tool/
The seats look almost identical to the ones on TK. Is that right?
@ turgutbey -- Yes, very similar, though felt a bit "fresher" to me.
i burn up using those blankets so i look forward to having the sheet on my trip in august.
Darn it lucky. I was just in Warsaw for a month, if I had known you'd be flying it, would have taken you to eat some perogi.
Drop the amenity kit and the sheet so you can use the money you save to buy better duct tape?
Not so lucky with the weather... but I hope you'll like your stay here anyway ;)