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.
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?
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