Living in the Cotswolds its BHX, BRS or LHR that works best for us, and whilst we could go direct with Ryanair from the former two, we elected to fly with LOT from LHR, despite a connection at Warsaw. The fun part is being able to fly on different types.
LHR is actually fastest for us to get to, about 70 minutes, even at rush hour, and we arrived at our designated parking at 08:00. We have an arrangement where we get a lift from there to the terminal and picked up on return for a reasonable amount.
My wife needs assistance as she is sight ipaired and unless the aircraft is on an airbridge, she needs help. Our outbound flight to Warsaw on Boeing 737-8 SP-LVI was on time and fairly full. I find T2 at LHR really spacious and the staff super helpful - they have also enhanced the experience for disabled travellers there, making the security journey painless. The gate was very close, and boarding painless too.
This was my first time on the Boeing Deathliner, and although I know there are now several hundred in regular service, I struggle to get past the fact that the design is inherently unstable, and relies on software to ensure safe flight. Some thoughts on this aircraft in particular : it was a little louder than expected given the fact that the LEAP engine is a recent upgrade.
I was surprised to learn that my last 34 short haul sectors have all been on Airbus equipment - reflecting the dominance of the company in Europe, if you don't fly Ryanair or KLM. One thing that's immediately apparent is the spacious overhead bins, but to me they have found this space by lowering the seat height, to give the impression of more head space. The seating is narrow compared to Airbus too.
LOT operate two configurations of 737-8, with 186 or 189 seats - the 189 seaters were destined for Blue Air, so SP-LVG/H/I/K/L/M are all in 189 seater layouts, really no better than low cost airlines. On a positive note there is USB and electrical power at every seat, but the drinks service was bizarre.
With a flight time of exactly two hours, the crew mabnaged to distribute water and a sticky bun to everyone, but were so slow that their second round of paid drinks ended a couple of rows in front of us as the aircraft started its descent - we were in row 29, four rows from the back.
- WAW approach.jpeg (254.06 KiB) Viewed 2020 times
It soon transpired that our onward flight, LO3919, was parked right next to SP-LVI, so we were transferred on the ambilift to that aircraft, and loaded through the R2 door on Embraer 195 SP-LNC, which is only about 4 feet high, and was a bit of a struggle for my wife. LNC does sport an attractive special scheme advertising prunes!
- SP-LNC Ambilift.jpeg (232.18 KiB) Viewed 2020 times
Again assistance was there to meet us, and with hand baggage only we were out of the airport and in a taxi within 20 minutes.
Our return journey was a little more fraught. Krakow has definitely become a major tourist destination in recent years, and despite the modern terminal, feels a little small for the passenger throughput. Its an important Ryanair/Buzz base, and I counted nine flights to various parts of the UK between 6pm and 11pm, also including Wizz, Easyjet and Jet2. The largest aircraft at Krakow were a Lufthansa A321neo, a Wizzair A321neo, and a Jet2 Airbus A321.
For our return to Warsaw we would be flying on Embraer 175 SP-LIL, and I could see from FR24 that the aircraft was about 40 minutes late in arriving. Our connection this time was just an hour, so things were starting to get a bit strained. We were also surrounded by Ryanair passengers for Milan at the next gate, making the area a bit crowded.
Eventually, the assistance person helped us on to the Embraer first, this time via the airbridge, and we were settled into 21C/D, on the back row.
Once everyone was onboard, the captain explained that he'd have to do a complete systems re-boot for the avionics, meaning the cabin would be completely dark and silent for a couple of minutes. This of course added to the delay, but eventually we pushed back at 1902, 47 minutes behind scheduled time. The connection to London was looking very ropey. We took off at 1915 and again took exactly 32 minutes to get to Warsaw, and were on a main stand at 1951, just nine minutes before the London flight was due to go.
Good news finally - the London LO285 flight was now showing off blocks at 2020, so the assistance person set off with us at a fast walking speed for gate 12N - at the other end of the terminal. And of course, as the UK is non-Schengen, we had to go through Passport Control. In front of us were a (I think) a FlyDubai crew, and the Polish Border Guard took forever to process them all, including making a call to a supervisor due to, I presume, 'your papers are not quite in order'.
We arrived at the gate at 2025 to find that boarding was just commencing, which was a massive relief. We boarded SP-LVD, one of LOT's own Max-8s, which felt slightly nicer than the ex Blue Air one. LVD wears special Polish Independence colours, and these are replicated on colourful red and white headrest covers - no I didn't nick one.
- Headrest.jpeg (213.85 KiB) Viewed 2020 times
A great trip in all in spite of the connection drama, to a place that's highly recommended. We paid £118 per person round trip, and LOT were fairly lax about hand baggage sizes, though for three days a roll aboard type is just fine.
P.S. Had a few more pix to add but even with small sizes I seem to be restricted to three.
OTEA