LOT POLISH AIRLINES Passenger Reviews and Customer Trip Reports

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LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 16 January 2009 : by Maria Salapska

Customer Rating : 1/5

WAW-ORD-PHX and back. My guest is an elderly lady. Flight to Phx delayed couple of hours. Flight back changed unilaterally to a horrible connection that would require 5 hour lay over in Chicago, while a better connection was available. Booking agents in Warsaw denied the change, said they could not override the automatic computer assignment. We changed that reservation telephonically from Phoenix. Clearly, it was possible but no one wanted to help the old woman. Then it took seven phone calls in an attempt to obtain the locator for the Phx-Ord leg, operated by the UA. The UA staff very polite but kept saying that they never received the change in reservation so they cannot assign seat. On their system our guest still shows on an earlier flight. At LOT, the NY staff rude and incompetent, every time you call you get a different story, e.g., that due to the difference in computer systems UA would not get the change for 8 days; that only UA can assign the seat; that UA will not get the change in reservation because they are not the ones who sold the ticket, but an e-mail from LOT will be honored at the airport and on and on. Meantime UA says that if there is no reservation locator, the passenger cannot get a boarding pass. We are still not done. I will report after our guest returns to Poland, who knows when, if ever. I cannot call any more because there is no one to talk to. The last person, purportedly the supervisor in the NY office was so arrogant I have no wish to talk to her or anyone else there again. We will definitely not be making another trip with that airline, unless something changes there dramatically.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 27 December 2008 : by Kowalski Piotr

Customer Rating : 4/5

CDG-WAW-POZ first leg on time, second delayed by 40 mins due to weather conditions. Please. Plenty of drinks and the crew more than welcoming. LOT is still a nice airline although the airplanes on domestic flights need urgent replacement.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 1 December 2008 : by Lukasz Garbowski

Customer Rating : 4/5

Economy London-Warsaw-Wroclaw-Warsaw-Stockholm. London-Warsaw with Boeing 737 (interior renewal would be nice), Warsaw-Wroclaw-Warsaw with old (very) Alenia and Warsaw-Stockholm with Embraer 170. All flights on-time, fast boarding, nice service. I guess the thing that stands out is catering - LOT offered nice snacks (cold dinner/breakfast) and a range of drinks. And the flight in Embraer is very comfy - nice adjustable seats, good pitch.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 24 October 2008 : by Tony Zmuda

Customer Rating : 4/5

EWR-WAW-RZE return. Flight attendants polite and efficient, food and drinks above average, seat was comfortable due to the fact the flight wasn't fully booked and the seat next to me was empty. The interior was a bit dated and worn. RZE and back on a 737 in good shape. No food service just a drink and snack. Overall good service, efficient and recommend.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 21 October 2008 : by Y Lee

Customer Rating : 4/5

AMS-WAW-GDN in Y. First time on LOT. Good service from AMS to WAW. Clean flight; food acceptable. WAW to GDN - full flight, old plane, a bit shaky with turbulence. Overall good value for money.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 21 October 2008 : by Wiktor Karpowicz

Customer Rating : 4/5

I often use LOT in Y class from Poland to Sweden and Switzerland. These destinations are served mainly by Embraer 170/175 aircraft, which have very modern, clean and spacious interior with seats offering comfortable legroom. Seats in Boeing 737s are relatively comfortable but the interior is old and often very shabby. Minor delays (within 30 minutes) occur quite often. The cabin crew is very friendly and the service on board satisfactory, with very generous free catering (LOT Cafe). The customer service is OK. However, LOT ground personel's rude behaviour at the airports (including the representative in Zurich) is not a rarity - it's like a totally different company. All problems are usually solved, but the way they treat passengers is unbearable.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 30 September 2008 : by Aleksander Orlowski

Customer Rating : 4/5

Warsaw - Istanbul return in economy. B737-500 not very new but clean and enough place for legs. Warm food in economy (chicken and pasta) + sandwich (bread, butter, meat and cheese). Back flight on time, the same airplane and same good food. Nice crew. The ticket was cheap so I would fly with them again.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 29 September 2008 : by K Hansen

Customer Rating : 5/5

CPH-WAW, Economy. LOT is the best choice of airline on this route. SAS is more expensive and offer less service on board, and the low-cost operator Norwegian has stopped flying on this route. LOT is using new Embraer 170/175's with plenty of legroom and comfortable seats. The flight is less than 1.5 hours, so you don't need much in terms of catering, however LOT serve free drinks (including alcohol). On a morning flight (leaving CPH at 09.55) you get a small tray with two pieces of bread, a butter, a few slices of cheese and ham, and a chocolate bar. Good crew, great plane and on-time.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 12 September 2008 : by Pawel Litwinski

Customer Rating : 3/5

KRK–PRG via WAW and back on the same day in business. All 4 flights on time, very friendly and efficient crew. Nice service (WAW to PRG I was the only C-class passenger). However ATR aircraft look very tired and what’s more important, being rather tall makes it impossible to seat for more than a few minutes. On drawback – it is now very common to leave the next seat in a row empty in business. However, LOT does not do so, making service the only difference in business. Especially in ATR’s, this would certainly improve the overall performance.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 19 August 2008 : by D Balinowski

Customer Rating : 5/5

WAW-FRA Business Class on ERJ-170. Aircraft boarded via jetway instead of the bus ride I had come to expect across the apron. Aircraft clean and bright. We were in seats 2 A&B, which is actually the first row on the left side. Lots of leg room and comfortable. Crew young, attractive, and outgoing. Provided menu cards indicating what would be served for lunch. Cold smoked fish and chicken were delicious. Surprised that on such a short flight, tablecloth was laid out on the tray tables. Nice choice of wines. Glass topped up with a smile. Arrived in Frankfurt on time. Our bags were the only ones on the belt when we got to baggage claim.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 13 August 2008 : by Oleksandr Martynenko

Customer Rating : 3/5

TXL-WAW-KBP. TXL-WAW on a small and clean E145. A small beef sandwich was provided. WAW-KBP delayed by 40 minutes due to "operational reasons" (have taken a number of LO flights in past and the delays have always been caused by these mysterious reasons). Cabin 30% full. For some reason, used an old B737 in a Centralwings livery. Cabin shabby and somewhat dirty. Same snack box as on TXL-WAW flight. Landed 30 minutes late and emerged into the permanent chaos of Kyiv Airport. Luggage was on the belt 40 minutes after landing. Overall, would fly with them again if the price was right. Previous LO intra-European flights have been more comfortable.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES review : 30 May 2008 : by D Wernerus

Customer Rating : 1/5

As LOT does not fly to Poznan except from Warsaw, we had a long transit time before being able to fly to Poznan (shortened by a 45' delay from Brussels that remained unapologized!). Surprise when we came back to Warsaw dirty domestic terminal: our flight was cancelled without reason. We were offered no assistance or refreshments. LOT does not seem to know passengers do have rights (forms on these were obviously missing). But the mostly unfriendly and indifferent LOT staff told us two interesting things you should know about : we could be put on a waiting list for the next flight, 3 hours later, but only if seats were available AND "LOT has the right to cancel any of its flights within 30 minutes". Actually, that you reserved and paid for the seats does not occur to be LOT's problem. Neither does LOT react to calls for compensation by whatever medium you use, taking grossly advantage of its monopoly on all flights within Poland. I heard that LOT far too often inflicts such a bad treatment to passengers flying within Poland.

LOT Polish Airlines review by J Greig

27 May 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

LHR-WAW-MSQ with LOT Polish Airlines. Boeing 737 on both legs. Good service on both flights. Food was ok. Being a Gold Star Alliance United Card holder helps with Business check in and lounge access. bmi lounge at Heathrow is ok - the LOT Warsaw lounge is very basic.

LOT Polish Airlines review by T Wieczorek

31 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

ORD-WAW and KRK-ORD. The flights were fine, comfortable enough considering how old the planes are. The food was fair, but if you're not Polish, you may be somewhat surprised by their meal presentation/selection. The flight attendants were about as friendly and polite as expected. The customer service representative in Krakow was rather rude. Also, if you have to call LOT's customer service center in the US, prepare yourself for a harrowing experience. As a Pole who grew up in the United States, I don't understand why so many Poles still lack any sense of customer service.

LOT Polish Airlines review by T Housh

26 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Most recent (and regular) flight is WAW to Gdansk. ATR or Embraer jets. Service OK and flights short. Gdansk airport is small and functional. LOT service from Warsaw should improve significantly with the opening in March 2008 of the long awaited Terminal 2 at Chopin (Okecie) Airport in Warsaw. I departed and returned on BA over the Easter holiday and used T2, despite it not being officially open for check in. Clean, airy, nice shops, good information displays, airbridges have returned to Warsaw. Baggage claim area large, clean and with plenty of free trolleys as well. If you must fly domestic, try to juggle your schedule at get an E jet rather than the rather bumpy and loud ATRs.

LOT Polish Airlines review by A McAllister

19 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

We avoid LOT whenever possible. Flight service is OK, but if you are ever having trouble with ticketing, reservations, transfers, connections, baggage or any other problems on the ground, get ready for blame-the-customer bureaucracy. This week my wife was traveling Chicago to Krakow and missed her connection due to flight delays. Despite having a business class ticket and previously being issued boarding passes for all segments of her flight, the ticket agent refused to give her a new pass for the next connecting flight saying that they had "no record of her". When she pointed out the confirmation number on the ticket the agent left and then returned saying that their records showed that my wife "had a reservation but had not paid." My wife was told she would have to pay several thousand dollars again if she wanted to board the flight. My wife got me on the phone and I insisted that they check the confirmation number again. They reluctantly checked again, and lo and behold their computer this time showed that she did have a paid ticket - just like her paper copies showed. All this halfway to Krakow. But as usual - no apologies. And they still lost her luggage. Not the first time we've seen this.

LOT Polish Airlines review by C Garrels

12 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Warsaw to JFK was a hellish experience. The plane was in bad shape, window shades had holes or were torn, the "vacant/occupied" indicators on the toilets were almost all broken, dirty interior. Unfriendly staff, two alcohol services on a 9 hour flight. Got up to ask for a beer, was told no, only orange juice or water. All NYCers going to Poland, stick with United!

LOT Polish Airlines review by Pawel Litwinski

7 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Krakow-Warsaw and back, one class only on a spacious Embraer, very short (about 30 minutes). A sweet bar and juice/water offered. Afternoon flight to Krakow on a dirty ATR, with almost no legroom. Again a sweet bar and coffee/tea. Worst of all, Warsaw domestic airport – a nightmare.

LOT Polish Airlines review by Andreas Theodorou

6 March 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Regularly on LCA-WAW sector onward to other European destinations, Club and economy class. At LCA staff are excellent. Aircraft are old 737s, unless you get an Embraer. Free newspapers and snacks provided by friendly but sleepy FAs.

LOT Polish Airlines review by C Wu

30 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Gdansk-Frankfurt by a fairly new Embraer 170, fast check-in and departed on time. Cold sandwich and soft drink were served, quite standard for a smaller airline on a shorter route. The in-flight announcement was made in English as well. Quite a pleasant flight with near full capacity.

LOT Polish Airlines review by Pawel Litwinski

27 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

Vienna - Krakow in economy. The flight was 1-hour late, no explanation nor apologies from the crew. Legroom in ATR turboprob very limited, seats narrow and uncomfortable. Free newspapers and a complimentary snack.

LOT Polish Airlines review by Pawel Rozencwajg

8 January 2008  Customer Trip Rating :

TLV-WAW in business class on old 737-400. Same seats like in economy class but service and food were excellent. No IFE.

LOT Polish Airlines review by K Piorkowska

24 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

It is now 5 years since LOT entered Star Alliance and despite my hopes that their service would become world class it has in fact declined. I fly NYC- WAW every 6 weeks and have flown LOT because they are the only direct and non-stop flight. The previous correspondents who state that the service has declined over the years are absolutely correct. Therefore, I have been able to observe the decline in their service. Silver Class Miles and More members should have their luggage tagged priority - LOT never does and despite asking for it the luggage is either not tagged or even if tagged the ground crew do not deliver it priority. Let us not discuss changing seat assignments or not delivering vegetarian food, which they insist the TA did not order - except I book my own tickets online. Ground staff in both JFK/EWR are ruder (if possible) than WAW. In WAW I have seen Business Class passengers stand and wait for 5 minutes while the agents chit chat. This is the service they render to a Silver Miles and More Member. Frequent Flyers do not get upgraded, rather I have witnessed and been told how 'friends of the family' (ie known to ground personnel) some of whom have never flown before get upgraded to Business Class. Intra- European flights are different and planes are well equipped and newer.

LOT Polish Airlines review by J Fitch

9 December 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

CDG-WAW in economy on LOT Embraer 175 as part of Star Alliance routing. Check-in and boarding efficiently and courteously managed by Lufthansa ground staff. Flight left on the dot. Uneventful flight to WAW. FAs did their jobs, though generally without a smile, not even on departure from the aircraft. Hot pasta of average quality provided, along with LOT lunch box that didn't have much in it. Aircraft fairly new and clean. Would fly them again on intra-European routes if they offered good value. Note to fellow travellers: LOT check-in at CDG terminal is done by Star Alliance partner Lufthansa, so look for the Lufthansa counter.

LOT Polish Airlines review by Vadym Fedotov

6 November 2007  Customer Trip Rating :

Toronto-Warsaw-Lviv return. Apart from old aircraft, everything else was competitive, especially a full bar and snack service on 45 min leg from Warsaw to Lviv. LOT Polish really needs to invest in refurbishing their 767 interiors as they frighten a North American passenger.