Stay Report: LOT Polish Airlines, Warsaw to Geneva
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I was traveling in Europe and needed to from Warsaw to Geneva. I have wanted to try LOT Polish for a while, mostly on long-haul but until I get that opportunity I would try them on this short-haul flight. It was very easy to book the ticket through the LOT website and as a Star Alliance member, I was able to earn miles on my flight. On some days LOT operates two flights a day and on others one flight a day. I had originally booked the early morning flight at7:30am and, because I had checked baggage, I choose the fare that included checked luggage and this fare also included complimentary seat assignment and one free change (no fare fees but difference in fare if applicable). Later on my plans changed so I was able to change my flight to the afternoon flight and because I had a change option in my ticket, I did not have to pay any change fees and only had to pay a difference in fare. My new flight would depart Warsaw at 4:55pm and arrive into Geneva at 7pm with a 2h15min flight time. The fare I bought included complimentary seat assignment so I was able to preselect my seat during booking. Due to the short flight time, complimentary meals would not be served but I could prepurchase food that would be served onboard.
Even though this was an inter-European flight, I got to the airport early because 1) I had to check bags
and 2) this was during the time of European airport craziness so I did not want to miss my flight. Checking into my flight was chaotic - there was a LOT going on at Warsaw airport and clearly the staff was overwhelmed. They had self-check in kiosks which they were trying to make everyone use, but some of the machines were glitchy and some passengers were not good at using technology. My first machine did not work so I tried another machine and luckily that worked. In the machine I could get my boarding pass (I had checked in 24-hours earlier where I was able to confirm my seat and obtain a boarding pass) as well as get my bag tag. Once I placed the bag tag on the suitcase, I could stand in the 'drop off' lane which other passengers were cutting into since it was the shortest line out of all the lines. I dropped off my bags, proceeded to security, and proceeded towards my gate.
The gates are very small at Warsaw airport, especially given the number of people that in the airport - it was very crowded everywhere. I received a notification that my flight was going to be delayed - this notification was received in the app as well as via text - there was no announcement and not many boards to check gates and updated flight times. My new flight time was an 1hour and 10mins beyond my original time so now we would depart at 6pm and arrive at 8pm.
My flight was operated by an Embraer E190 with a 2-2 seat configuration. Upfront were business classand in the back was regular economy. Boarded started 30-minutes prior to the scheduled time and were done by groups - some of the groups were adhered to while others were not; the chaos continued here. While onboard, the seat configuration and seat pitch were standard with other Embraers. I am 6'1 and the seat pitch and length was enough and decent for this 2hr15min flight. Once boarding completed, we pushed back and manual safety demonstration were one and then we departed. The seats were also standard Embraer seats with a tray table and a seatback pocket - there was nothing additional and no USB or power ports. After airborne, inflight service commenced in which complimentary snack and water was given followed by a buy-on service for additional snacks and drinks. The complimentary snack was a pasty and it was alright, but it was nice that given the short flight that something complimentary was given. There was no wifi on the plane and no IFE so no access to entertainment from LOT - it was personal entertainment if you wanted to enjoy something. After a while, we started our decent into Geneva and landed.
Overall, it was an average flight with LOT. The Embraer planes are pretty standard across the world and LOT did not change the modifications so it was a decent flight with a comfortable seat. It was very easy to book and modify my flight either through the website and/or app. I was also originally scheduled to fly LOT long-haul (from Canada to Warsaw on their 787) and seat assignment was complimentary and it was very easy to manage my booking. An average flight with decent service and a decent on-board product makes me choosing LOT in the future.
Even though this was an inter-European flight, I got to the airport early because 1) I had to check bagsand 2) this was during the time of European airport craziness so I did not want to miss my flight. Checking into my flight was chaotic - there was a LOT going on at Warsaw airport and clearly the staff was overwhelmed. They had self-check in kiosks which they were trying to make everyone use, but some of the machines were glitchy and some passengers were not good at using technology. My first machine did not work so I tried another machine and luckily that worked. In the machine I could get my boarding pass (I had checked in 24-hours earlier where I was able to confirm my seat and obtain a boarding pass) as well as get my bag tag. Once I placed the bag tag on the suitcase, I could stand in the 'drop off' lane which other passengers were cutting into since it was the shortest line out of all the lines. I dropped off my bags, proceeded to security, and proceeded towards my gate.
The gates are very small at Warsaw airport, especially given the number of people that in the airport - it was very crowded everywhere. I received a notification that my flight was going to be delayed - this notification was received in the app as well as via text - there was no announcement and not many boards to check gates and updated flight times. My new flight time was an 1hour and 10mins beyond my original time so now we would depart at 6pm and arrive at 8pm.
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