Welcome to my last part of the LOT Polish Adventure!
Photo: Daniel Gorun
Introduction
All fun time must come to an end, the trip to London was memorable and thankfully, everything went according to plan. My flight from London Heathrow landed at Warsaw later than scheduled but this didn't impact on my connecting flight to Singapore. In fact, I had 9 hours of layover. I met my friend on the land side for coffee. Thanks, Julian for the meetup!
About Warsaw Okecie / Frederic Chopin Airport
The airport was named after Frederic Chopin, a famous Polish musician in 2001, and the previous name of the airport was Warsaw-Okecie Airport. Currently, the largest airport in Poland, covering about 834 hectares of land and it handles around 300 over-scheduled flights. LOT Polish Airlines is the national carrier and this airport is the main hub for both of it's international and domestic flight operation. Enter Air, Wizz Air, Ryanair Sun, Smartwing Poland and Sprint Air are also regulars of this airport. (Updated 03/10/19)
Photo: Jakub Mielniczak
Photo: Mehrad Watson
This airport offers free wi-fi but the troublesome part is you have to re-connect every 30 minutes. The connection isn't very strong at certain parts of the terminal.
Airside
There is an escalator leading to some restaurants and a duty-free shop.
Interior of the airside
Seating area available at the air side, but when there are a number of wide-body flights, it may get quite crowded.
My flight was the last for that day
This was where my flight would be departing from
SP-LRG was flying back to Warsaw From Los Angeles, this beauty would then take me to Singapore.
Fortunately, this aircraft gets to rest for 4-5 hours.
Most of the passengers were Europeans with a handful of Asians probably Singaporeans on board this flight. It was about 80% full in Economy Class. I was fortunate to have the middle seat vacant with someone sitting at the window. The row I picked was windowless, so it was not a bad thing I chose the aisle seat.
Flight route: WAW-SIN
Miles: 5849
My ride: SP-LRG (Owned)
Engines: 2 X Roll Royce Trent 1000
Configuration: C18 W24 Y213
Delivered in June 2017
Built-in Everette (PAE)
568th Boeing 787
Photo: Mariusz Klarowicz
Photo: Sebastian Lukasiewicz
Date of departure: 2nd April 2019
Airline: LOT Polish
Flight: LO67
Route: WAW-SIN
Aircraft: Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner
Registration: SP-LRG
Gate: 13N/14N
Seat: 27G
Load: Above 80%
Flight time: 11 hours 30 mins
Departure time: 2300
Boarding time: 2220
Push back: 2302
Take off: 2314
Scheduled arrival: 1700
Actual arrival: 1646
Runway departure: 33
Arrival runway: 02L
When the time came for boarding, I was exhausted. Just wanted to get on board and rest. Greeted by a group of the professional crew, this set was certainly better than my previous 787 flight (SIN-WAW). I made my way to my seat with the crew standing at the other sections of the aircraft greeting me. Most of the seats in Economy Class were occupied. Luckily, I had the middle seat at my row vacant. More space for the window seatmate and myself.
Cabin shots
Premium Economy
Is it worth paying more for these seats? If you have the miles, use it to upgrade for long haul flight.
Economy
This aircraft was certainly in better condition than SP-LRA. IFE system on my seat was working properly.
The photo was taken before departure
A windowless seat at my row
We were flying over Malaysia at this point
My in-flight experience
The flight was generally smooth with small bumps encountered while flying through the bay of Bengal. Stronger turbulence took place just before entering the airspace of Malaysia. Not as intense as my previous 787 flight (SIN-WAW), but we were made to be seated for a good 20 minutes or so. It was only after we started our descent, the weather improved. We did a few loops (holding pattern) before making a smooth landing at Changi Airport. I managed to catch about 4 hours of sleep at the initial part of the flight, that was not too bad. After waking up, I spent most of the time watching movies.
In-flight service was great as the crew came about serving water even when most passengers were sleeping. Unlike the previous flight, this set of the crew was cheerful and helpful. No complaints at all.
Working IFE system - I was relieved
In-flight magazine
A good variety of aircraft featuring different capacity deployed on routes depending on load factor and distance. The airline will retire the 737-400 once the MAX is back in service.
Meals on board
First, we were served a drink of our choice and a packet of peanuts
This is the chicken meal, I had a choice between this or the beef.
This was for breakfast, rice balls if I am not wrong. I didn't quite like it.
A packet of sweets was issued after the meal
Unfortunately, no window shot photos for this flight.
My ride details
The flight duration was about an hour quicker than the SIN-WAW sector due to the tailwind.
Just touched down at SIN Airport
Landing at 02L means we had to taxi longer to our gate at terminal 2.
My rating:
Warsaw Airport: 6/10
Polish food: 8/10 (At the airport)
In-flight service: 7/10
Cabin interior: 8/10
Cleanliness: 10/10
Aircraft condition: 10/10
Punctuality: 10/10
In-flight meal: 6/10 (Breakfast was a let-down)
Seat comfort: 5/10
IFE system: 6/10
Overall rating: 76/100
Conclusion
The difference between (LOT's Polish registered 787 aircraft) LRA and LRG is noticeable. LRG's interior was much better. On the 27 March, SP-LRA went out of service and came back to service about 3-4 weeks later. It may have gone for a major maintenance check and if that is the case, I hope they got the aircraft clean up and issues with the IFE system sorted out.
My overall experience with LOT's Polish 787 Economy Class
I was fortunate to have seats vacant beside me for both 787 flights. However, if someone else sits beside me, it would have been uncomfortable with the shoulder touching one another. The atmosphere on the 787 with the Boeing Sky interior is the key reason why I enjoy flying on this new generation aircraft, the Boeing 787. There were recent reports on Boeing 787 having issues with the parts at South Carolina's manufacturing assembly, what do I think? I trust the airlines in checking their aircraft before taking delivery.
For the price I paid, it is a bargain I feel. Decent Y Class product with an IFE system is sufficient enough for long haul flights. Passengers considering flying with this airline shouldn't have to worry as LOT Polish Airlines has a good safety record and if you are connecting to other cities, it would be better to choose a flight with ample time for connection, that would be my recommendation. 3 out of 4 decent flights, that is acceptable to me. Do I recommend this airline to anyone? Yes, I would fly with LOT Polish Airlines again, that's for sure.
Always remember to travel with the insurance just in case something goes wrong, you can claim some compensation if applicable.
What's my next flight?
A trip to Bangkok with Cathay Pacific (For the A350-1000, fingers crossed!) in June and then a big trip in July, more details to come.
Check out my trip reports on other parts:
Part 1: SIN-WAW (Boeing 787-8) - click here
Part 2: WAW-LCY (ERJ-190) - click here
Part 3: LHR-WAW (Boeing 737-800) - click here
Have a good one!
Charles
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