For my trip home, I flew LOT Polish from Krakow to Chicago in business class on the 787-9. While not horrible, I was disappointed by several aspects of the business class experience.
LOT Polish 787-9 Business Review
The trip started with a long delay. Upon cheeck-in at John Paul II Kraków-Balice International Airport we were informed that our flight departure would be delayed 3 hours, 35 minutes due to a late incoming aircraft. We were offered a meal voucher for 25PLN (about 5USD), which I found quite petty and was barely enough for a cappuccino.
I was traveling with my friend and we both had work to do and found the pre-security food court area more pleasant than the lounge for spreading out without so many people around us.
At 6:00pm, we stamped out of Poland and made our way to the gate.
Finally, our aircraft arrived and boarding commenced 20 minutes before our 7:00pm scheduled departure. We ended up not leaving until 7:20pm.
LO 009
Krakow (KRK) – Chicago (ORD)
Monday, October 18
Depart: 4:25PM (7:20PM actual)
Arrive: 7:35PM (10:01PM actual)
Duration: 10hr, 10min
Distance: 4,740 miles
Aircraft: Boeing 787-9
Seat: 4D (Business Class)
Stepping onboard, I was greeted by a flight attendant, who pointed forward toward the business class cabin.
Seat
Business class includes a single cabin of 24 forward facing seats arranged in a 2-2-2 configuration over six rows. The seats are off-the-shelf Zodiac Aura Lite seats you will also find on Uzbekistan Airways, Kenya Airways, and Ethiopian Airlines’ Dreamliners as well. Seats are 23 inches wide and 78-80 inches in lie-flat mode.
The flight was lightly booked and because the sun was already down and would remain down for the duration of the flight, my friend and I moved across the aisle from our original seat assignments in seats 4 A and B to 4 C and D.
Seats include a universal power port, USB-C port (not strong enough to charge), a storage compartment for shoes or small items as well literature, and a snake reading light.
Each seat cover had what I considered to be a tacky headrest cover celebrating Poland’s independence. I also celebrate the restoration of Poland’s sovereignty in 1918, but the headrest covers looked like advertisements.
The seat itself is comfortable enough for lounging and sleeping, but LOT Polish doesn’t help by providing a warm and scratchy blanket and small pillow for sleeping (oddly, along with a sheet instead of a real mattress pad that might provide some added cushion). Furthermore, there are no individual air vents and the cabin did get hot during the flight.
I found the privacy divider quite strange: you can raise the center armrests to give yourself a bit of privacy if traveling with a stranger, but it’s an odd look with the armrest hovering above you.
Wi-Fi + IFE
Even though this aircraft has the Wi-Fi hump on the top, there was no wi-fi available. Noise-cancelling headphones were offered and a library with movies, TV shows, games, and music was available. With about 40 movies to choose from, I’d place the movie library size at below average.
I did find a movie to watch which I quite enjoyed, called The Good Liar. Such a great twist in the end! I won’t spoil it for you.
A hand-held remote did not work.
Lavatory
The aircraft featured one lavatory in the front of the business class cabin and two in the rear (also shared by premium economy passengers). I did love that a beautiful rose was placed on the mirror.
Amenity Kit
A beige colored amenity kit was sitting at each seat, with contents which included:
- socks
- eyeshade
- ear plugs
- toothbrush + toothpaste
- emory board
Very flimsy slippers were also offered.
Food + Drink
Prior to takeoff, a choice of water or orange juice was offered as well as a piece of candy (Solidarnosc candied plums).
No menus were distributed and dinner orders taken before takeoff.
Here’s how the conversation went down:
FA: “Beef, chicken (or may be turkey), or salmon?”
Me: “What kind of beef?”
FA: “Steak”
Me: “I’ll try that.”
That really set the tone…
The “Northern Lights” were put on for takeoff but shortly after the cabin lights were turned back on and meal service began.
First up, a choice of beverage and packet of peanuts.
At the same time, the appetizer tray was plunked down in front of me.
It included cold, stale bread, a decent salad (arugula, mangoes, tomatoes, though only oil offered as a dressing), and a dry price of chicken or turkey as an appetizer with capers and a slice of some kind of cured meat with it. I’m guessing here…remember, there was no menus or descriptions from the flight attendants.
Shortly thereafter the main courses showed up. My steak was cooked so far beyond well done that it was simply inedible. I’m usually good about eating just about anything put before me on an airplane, but not this. It was terrible.
Kudos to LOT for the presentation, though. I like the plating of meals without using trays.
My friend ordered salmon and also found it dry and the quinoa, corn, and zucchini sides were not great.
Thankfully, the dessert cart soon rolled down the aisle and this was the best part of the meal.
I ordered both cheese and cake along with a cappuccino and found all three quite satisfying and indeed, the only saving grace of the meal.
No snacks were offered during the flight, but when I got up to use the lavatory, I noticed what might have been a snack sitting in the galley (although I suspect it was just a coach meal).
I also noticed a basket with chocolate bars and peanuts.
About two hours prior to landing, flight attendants served a cold meal. It included sliced turkey (or was it chicken?), shrimp, another stale bread roll, and some sliced fruit.
Overall, a disappointing meal. I would have preferred a simply bowl of soup and salad like Lufthansa serves or even a hot vegetable plate or cheeseburger like United serves.
I will give LOT credit for its coffee and enjoyed an espresso before landing, served with a small glass of still water.
Service
In addition to what I mentioned above, the crew was missing in action between meal services, which represented the vast majority of the flight. Since I could not sleep, I sat watching movies and working on my laptop. The crew were missing…and were not even in the galley when I got up to use the lavatory.
The crew was by no means hostile, but was really just going through the motions and did not seem happy or enthusiastic to serve. That’s a missed opportunity.
CONCLUSION
My takeaway from LOT Polish is that the 787 business class product is below average overall. I did appreciate the coffee and dessert options and lie-flat seating, but was disappointed by the lack of wi-fi, poor bedding, food, and service. I’d give LOT Polish another try under the right circumstances (like flying nonstop from Krakow to Chicago), but I will not be rushing back to fly LOT anytime soon.
Sounds dreadful, especially the “sale bread”
Overall an interesting review and in line with other reviews I’ve seen on LOT 787 transatlantic service.
You’ve probably introduced this topic before, but it would be great if you could write these reviews a little bit more proximate to when you actually flew the route. It’s been nearly a year. Things could have changed. I know you’re busy, but still. You put out a lot of content, would be good if you could put these reviews out close to the flight.
Also, you mention in the commentary about the appetizer plate that you were given “…sale bread…”. I’m sure you meant stale.
Otherwise, interesting review that reinforces my existing perception of this product.
This makes DL’s service look pretty decent. Hopefully, LOT will improve in the future.
“My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined,”
You had me so anticipating this review that I thought your experience would be far worse than described. Sadly, I have gotten a lot of stale bread in the air not just LOT but Lufthansa and wonder if there’s a catering issue at the local airport. Do some airlines say “It’s ok to serve our passengers the stale bread for 30 cents less?” The overcooked meat may have an explanation: My Ukrainian wife and Slovakian friend both expressed a distaste for rare cooked steak and perhaps this is a regional preference causing them to burn the meat to be on the safe side? It took my wife a good 10 years to slowly come around to my way of thinking that slightly below medium was an ideal steak and for her to trust that good meat is better that way.
Your description of the business class cabin service being inattentive and perhaps poor job heating the food in-flight suggests that FA training may be a factor. Do you ever write in to the airlines in these cases to provide feedback for them? If a flight is good or bad, I send a comment to the airline just so they know and can act upon it. This may not be due to the Polish FA’s being lazy but rather my wife doesn’t “like being bothered” (yeah, I know) and griped that the 1st class FA’s were constantly asking her if she wanted something. She just wasn’t accustomed to that level of attention.
I just had an idea that perhaps airlines should make it a policy to give a serving of each meal to the FA’s and let them “eat the dog food” so to speak, so they can taste what the food is coming out like and then perhaps adjust their cooking accordingly. When I cook, I always taste the food before I serve it.
I want to echo the point on the beef / steak. I’m from Austrian stock and I find the same back home – unless you’re going to a specialist steak house, beef is cooked well (done). Even things like Tafelspitz are well boiled. I’d expect Polish beef to be well cooked, but fall apart nicely (if it was well cooked but also tough then there’s a real problem).
Hank Hill put it best:
Hank Hill : Firm, but with a little give. Yup, these are medium rare.
Bobby Hill : What if somebody wants theirs well-done?
Hank Hill : We ask them politely, yet firmly, to leave.
wish all J seats would get rid of the small footwells. I’d rather give up all isle access to actually be able to keep my feet in a comfortable place.
The LOT seat looks nice
I think that was śliwka candy, not Solidarnosc but nice autocorrect
“Solidarnosc” is the name of the company (the maker)
Perhaps the poultry in your second meal was overcooked duck? The fat cap leads me to believe it wasn’t chicken or turkey.
Quite honestly, it looks more like pork. Duck, or even goose, would be darker. Who knows what mystery meat they served. It appeared the FA’s certainly didn’t.
Yep, who knows what it was!
Thanks for this report. Now I know better and cancelled my LOT flight in Biz. Cheap fares does not mean good or solid service. Sticking with airlines with better service! although slightly expensive than LOT.
Your poor attitude for the late flight is apparent in this article. Nobody seems to mention the value ( what you get vs what you pay ). We have flown LOT business class ( between US and Pl) for the last 4 years and find it superior to Luftansa in both quality and value. Flight attendants always cheerful and helpful. The lounge in Krakow is far superior to the one in Warsaw.
Where’s the review of the SAS business class lounge “ joke” @ ORD? Not enough seats and poor food choice.
Perhaps it’s a blessing that you wrote such a poor review, so that we don’t have an issue rebooking next year!
The lounge in Krakow was before security?
No, but the lounge was crowded so we just hung out in the food court area.
“I found the privacy divider quite strange: you can raise the center armrests to give yourself a bit of privacy if traveling with a stranger, but it’s an odd look with the armrest hovering above you.”
You never noticed that when flying on Turkish’s older B777 seats?
Also, how bad the food must be if you can’t tell whether it’s chicken or turkey…
Right, I know TK has it too on the 777s and some A330s, but I’ve never actually extended it.
I’d rather fly a route like this in the other direction for the Polaris lounge (although admittedly troublesome to access in Chicago due to the need to transfer to T5… I almost missed my Austrian flight last March after spending too much time on lunch in the lounge!)
Personally I prefer 1-2-1 transatlantic and BA rocks with the privacy doors!Your Uzbek-Ethiopian airlines analogy is odd,given LOT is a EU airline and grossly overrated Lufthansa(worst stingiest meal I ever had)also does 2-2-2 as do Air France and KLM on the a330,(KLM audaciously charges for drinks in the lounge)while highly praised Emirates and TK still do 2-3-2 on the 777.BTW it’s”plums” and Prince Polo bars.My overall favorite is Swiss,Biz or economy never a bad experience,sorry Heidi had the off crew.
Uzbekistan Airways, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian, LATAM, and Turkish Airlines have the same seats (indeed, TK even has a middle seat). The Lufthansa seats are even worse, but by a different manufacturer.
All proteins are usually cooked well above the acceptable range, beef being amongst the worst. I’m sure the poultry would have been the same. Salmon or other fish is hit or miss. I’ve had terrible bread on NH, widely admired for their catering. I find EU airlines using Do & Co usually fare better with the catering. I usually skip airline meals altogether and either eat in a Polaris, Senator or equivalent lounge, or simply at an F&B outlet in the airport.
Why is it that when one or two issues irk us, we find fault with everything? I’m including myself among that group. A three or four hour flight delay on an international route is far from uncommon. An airport lounge of a higher calibre might be easier found in a city larger than Krakow. The ones in my home city of Montreal suck, believe me.
I’ve never flown LO because of their poor reputation, and their 2-2-2 business class product. However, they are usually competitively priced, so there’s that. I’m sure you were well aware of their reputation, so it was really a case of either convenience or budget. I’d be disappointed had I paid serious $$ for their business class product, but I rather doubt I would have.
It’s a fair point – when one thing goes wrong, we notice many things that we might otherwise overlook. The delay did not bother me nearly as much as the poor bedding and poor quality food.
It may also be worth noting that LOT don’t have many longhaul services from KRK, this is effectively outstation catering. Not an excuse for inedible food, but I certainly wouldn’t have gone with high expectations.
i flew economy class in LOT Polish last week and yeah the food wasn’t any better (at least I knew to bring snacks)
Still, a million times better than the United Polaris soft product crap they serve. UA should take a page from United’s book.
It’s certainly better presented, but not better tasting.
Sorry, from LOT’s book!!!lol
I flew Lot business 3 times, before, during and after Covid. All 3 experiences were terrible. I’m Polish and I’m very sad that we don’t have the decent business class. The most disappointing was the crew that didn’t care at all. I got the better service in economy on other airlines.
Recently I flew around the world using ANA miles and during 4 hours flight from Cairo to Istanbul in business on Egypt Air the seats ( amazing) the food and the service was much, much better than on Lot. Even our 2 hours flight from Bangkok to Singapore on Thai Air was better than 10 hours flying Lot.
They should send the whole crew to experience the flight on ANA that we flew from Tokyo to Chicago. 12 hours of wow. Amazing food and service. Even when we were landing in Chicago the stewardess went to each passenger and thank us for flying ANA business class. It is sad but Polish companies don’t care.
I haven’t flown LOT but I do like that seat (flew it on air Kenya). If you’re travelling with a partner it’s super comfortable. Agree that I’d be more inclined to try it overnight when you can eat prior in the Polaris lounge.
And snacks – how hard is it to plonk ramen noodles in a nice bowl with an onion garnish and have it on demand? Or a cheese or cheese and ham toasted sandwich.
Wow Matthew, We just watched “The Good Liar” on Amazon Prime for $3.99 and that was the BEST money we have ever spent watching a movie! Thank you for sharing a REALLY GREAT flick with my wife and I. P.S. it was so good we’re watching it again.
Thanks for the review. A few notes:
1. As someone said, posting a review such a long time after the actual trip makes it less useful, especially in these times when many (if not all 😉 ) airlines have made significant service improvements during 2022. For instance, I’ve flown TK J IST-IAH r/t June -21, Sept -21, Dec -21, Mar -22 and June -22 and the service and amenities have been improved on each flight. Same with UA, SK, etc.
2. I personally think that LO offers (or at least to offer) a good enough product, for the required price point. I think that LO’s cabins (especially in the 787-8s with only three rows of business) are better than, for instance, LH, OS and LX, and the only major downside is their F&B, which isn’t a huge issue as long as you know this going in. To be fair, it’s not like e.g. UA offered a stellar soft product on their long-haul ops during the fall of -21 (no menus, poor food).
3. I have an upcoming trip with LO J WAW-LAX-WAW in a couple of weeks. I can report back after the trip to see if any improvements have been made 🙂 (Travel with my wife, so the 2-2-2 seating isn’t an issue.)
I look forward to your report. Please let us know how the flight went.
I can’t agree with you more. I had the pleasure flew with LOT from Warsaw to Beijing a few years back on their 787, not the best to be honest in all areas of the business class. The service was a big let down, simply the crew didn’t want to be there. However their short haul business services was amazing that I had from London to Warsaw!
Aren’t those meals from the highly praised Do&Co caterer? At least when I flew LOT out of Warschau to JFK it was and at least the salmon I saw here looks 100% the same as it did back in 2019! I remember that on that flight, everybody thought their meal was crap, all 3 options of it. On the Chicago to Budapest flight on the 787-8 on the way back though, catering was (again, contrary to common belief) much better!
And, as pointed out here, the dessert was the highlight, on both flights. The crew was on both our flights more engaging than mentioned here (though some crew members on the return flight were a bit “colder”, but every request was followed through (and they did write a note in the service report, that the button which is used to raise the “divider” was broken). They even pro-actively unlocked the windows, when they saw I was trying to capture the sunrise and came to let me know they’d do it.
All in all yeah, their Do&Co choices for the mains were poor, delays in Poland are certainly a thing (but I absolutely loved both lounges at Chopin airport, there was even a free massage offered in the “long haul business” lounge at least in 2019).
Btw I equally enjoyed the little hop in business on their Embraer 170, I fell in love with that engine sound and the acceleration/performance of that little plane (unfortunately not so much with the minuscule lavatory).
I’m guessing LOT isn’t putting much of it’s budget into the catering…
I flew LOT business class from WAW to LAX in April 2022 – it were only 18 business class seats (3 rows).
My experience was completely different then yours. We got appetizer and champagne before the flight. They provided the menu before the flight and they asked me what I want and when – like everything “on one go” or to wake me up couple hours before LAX. Food was really good – even not at airplane I would pay for it.
I couldn’t sleep in the beginning so I had few beers (6?) and each time flight attendant was bringing them right away along with some snacks (peanuts, corn, etc). As well during the flight it was a choice of sandwiches (I think that I was the only one who asked for it). Bread rolls were very good with meals.
I was charging my iPhone through usb and charger was working.
My guess is that your not so good experience comes from the fact that LOT is operating only one long haul from KRK and I think it’s only 1x or 2x a week. But still it shouldn’t happen.
Delayed long haul by LOT? Well… I just got used to it…
If you want, I do have some photos from the flight.
I’m glad you had a good experience. I don’t doubt that LOT has some great crewmembers because I experienced that even on my BRU-WAW flight.
Isn’t that EU261 claim eligible?
In the 1990s and early 2000s, I think LOT actually had decent food. Even short haul flights within Europe came with quite a bit of fresh deli meat, and they’d give you unlimited bread refills. It was always fresh and “tasty.” Grocery stores in Poland even sold LOT branded TV Dinners… I loved them!
I flew LOT J ORD-WAW last week. I would describe the crew as “eager, but quite unrefined.” The food was actually pretty reasonable, particularly since my ex-US expectations are quite low. Probably also benefited from a stop in the Polaris lounge pre-flight. We did receive a menu.
I flew LOT in J last June from JFK WAW IST. The food and service were quite decent. I don’t mind the seats with plenty of room for the feet. I usually avoid the center row and opt for the window seat. Seems quite private. On the other hand in the end of June I was on Finnair from BKK to HEL in J and that was a fabulous flight on A350 with an older seats. Finnair is at the top or near the top of EU airlines.
Im packing my bags for WAW MIA flight in LOT on Saturday. Hoping for a good experience.
I have never flew LOT Business, however backing 2019 I flew Premium economy from Toronto to Warsaw and than to Barcelona and returnt same route. The flight attendants were attentive, friendly and excellent on all my flights. The food was delicious, probably the best I ever had on a plane, and presented very nicely. I flew United Polaris since, twice, both times the food was atrocious. And I flew Lufthansa both Premium economy and Business and the food was ok, but also not that flavorful.
And yes, I would actually expect an overcooked steak on LOT, as that’s how traditionally is cooked in that part of the world. It took me quite few years to be comfortable and eventually love medium rare temperature of a steak when I moved to US.
Also, the issues with flight attendants on LOT these days. There’s a lot of laber issues between company and their FAs. To my knowledge LOT is trying to save money and they now only hire FAs on short contracts that are extended over and over, but there are not permanent employees. It allows them to pay FAs less and skip some benefits. Obviously that’s not a good situation for the employees, so maybe that’s why they are not that “happy” at work and often appear to provide bare minimum expected service.
I have the disgrace of flying (can’t say how much I hate airports) twice per month for years now transatlantic with LOT, same class. The rating you, me or anyone else could do is based on expectations and needs, so I very much like your reviews, which are depth enough for people to know what they will get and to make their own evaluation.
For me, it is good enough: I barely eat or drink, and I am not sure what anyone can need from attendants. I don’t expect any experience flying business, just to get me as less exhausted as possible from one place to another. And here LOT has a huge minus and is the cushion of the seat, as you mentioned. I wanted to solve it myself taking one of this thin camping mattress that fits easily in a backpack to place it on the seat, so you get an extra cushion that should be enough and also some more hygiene. And pillows are horrible, while the blanket is too small.
So yes, the comfort conditions, which for me are those that make a difference, are far from ideal in LOT. The rest, more than satisfactory for me.
Quick update from my recent WAW-LAX and LAX-WAW flights: both were just fine with no complaints at all, possibly with the exeption of the new (lackluster) amenity kits. The service was VERY good, the bedding okay (same as before), the food pretty good (as before), the IFE offering sufficient and the seats good if you travel with a partner. I appreciate the lack of wifi. WAW is a delight to arrive and depart from IMHO. I wouldn’t hesitate to book them again in long-haul business!
I need to ask, how are you’ll not afraid of flying? I love to travel but each flight leaves me with a mild ptsd. I will fly next April from Chicago to Krakow in business class hoping to pass out on some strong drugs. I wish I could actually enjoy the flight and my business class experience no matter the shortcomings. Thank you for the review and will make some adjustments for your insightful comments.
Having only flown LOT intra Europe,finally had the opportunity to fly them Cairo-Waw-Chicago business class.I found the ground crew in Warsaw very helpful,given it was a quick connection.The in flight service from male flight attendants was rather amateurish and needs some serious retraining if LOT expects to maintain a competitive edge with other major carriers.I am Polish and know proper Polish manners,here they were very unpolished.Catering was just ok,even the coffee served lukewarm,offering potato pierogi as the Polish option in long haul biz class.,seriously,and the dessert cart must have been picked over,not very impressive.,,I found the seat comfortable,and had a lovely seatmate,young Polish lady studying psychology at a major USA university.Would I fly LOT again,maybe.Not as bad as KLM overall,But ,will probably stick with SWISS.