LOT Polish Airlines has made several exciting announcements over the past year or so, including plans to refresh Boeing 787 cabins, growing the fleet by around 50%, and also opening a lounge outside of Poland. I want to provide an update on that last point, as the lounge has opened as of today.
In this post:
Basics of the LOT Lounge Chicago O’Hare Airport
Today (Thursday, December 19, 2024), LOT Polish Airlines has opened its lounge at Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD). The lounge is located in Terminal 5 (just past the security checkpoint and by the food court area), which is the airport’s primary international terminal. The new lounge is open daily from 7AM until 12AM, covering a wide array of flights from the terminal.
The lounge is 617 square meters (6,642 square feet) in size, with seating for 165 people. As far as design goes, the lounge is modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows. There are a variety of seating options, a buffet, a bar, restrooms, and even shower suites.
This is LOT’s only lounge outside of Poland, so that’s a significant milestone. Chicago is a logical airport for such a lounge, since it’s the carrier’s largest outstation — LOT has service to both Krakow (KRK) and Warsaw (WAW) out of Chicago, with the latter route typically having two daily frequencies.
Based on the carrier’s page about lounge regulations, the lounge can be accessed up to four hours before departure, unless connecting in Chicago, in which case it can be accessed earlier than that. I also can’t help but chuckle at this bullet in the terms:
In the event that passenger stays at the Lounge and doesn’t use the ticket on the same day on which was registered in the Lounge, LOT Polish Airlines may charge the passenger with a fee of $100.00 USD for using the Lounge. Passenger is obligated to pay the imposed fee within (7) days from the date of receipt of the invoice from PLL LOT S.A.
Below are pictures of the LOT Polish Airlines Lounge Chicago, to give you a sense of what we can expect. It looks great!
This lounge addition is really exciting
In terms of lounge options, Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5 is probably the worst international terminal in the United States. While the new Delta Sky Club is great, non-SkyTeam flyers have really bad options. The two other lounges are the Scandinavian Airlines Lounge (which is tiny and doesn’t have bathrooms) and the Swissport Lounge (which I consider to be the worst lounge in the United States).
Additional lounge options in the terminal are long overdue — not only does the LOT Lounge look nicer than the existing options, but most importantly, it adds additional capacity, reducing crowding in the other (tiny) lounges.
In line with Star Alliance lounge access policies, the LOT Lounge will also accommodate premium passengers on other Star Alliance airlines, like Austrian Airlines, EVA Air, SWISS, TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines, and more. Historically many of these passengers have been sent to the Scandinavian Airlines Lounge, but the airline has left Star Alliance and joined SkyTeam.
While there’s an excellent United Polaris Lounge in Chicago, that’s located in Terminal 1, so it’s not practical for those who are originating their travels in Chicago.
Bottom line
LOT Polish Airlines has opened a lounge at Chicago O’Hare Terminal 5, which is the carrier’s only lounge outside of Poland. The lounge looks beautiful, and given how bad the lounge situation otherwise is at ORD Terminal 5, I’d say this is a very positive development.
What do you make of the new LOT Lounge Chicago?
Have to say… I’m here now and this lounge is spectacular. New, modern, with excellent food options. Love the make your own Bloody Mary station and the fact that they have smoked salmon. Great terminal 5 option, it saved me from rushing over to 1. Polaris is nice, but in all honesty I prefer this one. Staff is amazing as well, and it’s empty.
This evening, we were denied entry to this lounge by an extremely rude agent who refused to follow star alliance rules, or even the lounge access rules listed on LOT's own website. She yelled at us, and loudly called the Turkish station manager on speakerphone, who also said not to let us in.
They are denying access to Turkish business class passengers. The woman who would not allow us in claimed that they do not have a contract with Turkish and those passengers must use Swissport. The website for the LOT Chicago lounge actually says Turkish passengers are allowed. She replied that she is not responsible for the airline’s website. She called someone from Turkish and held the phone up on speaker to make sure we could hear...
They are denying access to Turkish business class passengers. The woman who would not allow us in claimed that they do not have a contract with Turkish and those passengers must use Swissport. The website for the LOT Chicago lounge actually says Turkish passengers are allowed. She replied that she is not responsible for the airline’s website. She called someone from Turkish and held the phone up on speaker to make sure we could hear him say we are not allowed in. It was incredibly rude.
Bearing in mind the WAW flight departs at 9:50 and the sas lounge was closing at 7:30 pm this is great as busin ess class passengers on TAP\ Lot and other late night departure can now enjoy lounge access closer to departure. No priority pass access though I am assuming. Delta Sky Club is gorgeous though and offers solid service.
And still no Pre Check
I’m flying on Turkish ORD - IST - TPE in February. Does this mean I’ll be able to use this instead of the awful Swiss port lounge?
Go to the United Polaris lounge
So, go through security in Terminal 1, then travel the Neon Tunnel from B to C Concourse, then tank up at the Polaris Lounge, then go back from C to B Concourse, exit security, and go to the air train. Then go from Terminal 1 to Terminal 5, clear security again (which is a serious issue at Terminal 5), then go to the gate. Fat chance.
FWIW I think the (post-security) shuttle bus would be better than the train in this situation. But also the Polaris Lounge will still be closed in February...
That’s too bad about the lounge closure, thanks for the info!
Thank you for the detailed instructions! Love the username
Thanks!
Now ORD T5 needs another SkyTeam lounge not operated by Delta, so Delta SkyTeam Plus members can access a lounge. I have a feeling that the SAS lounge will be packed at times.
I don't believe that the hours you listed (7AM until 12PM) are correct. That would only keep the lounge open for 5 hours in total. :)
@ NG -- Hah, that should read 12AM (though funny enough, LOT listed it as 12PM, but that's obviously not correct).