norge75
23.05.04, 20:16
Oto opinie o lotach transatlantyckich LOTu. Pochodza ze strony:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=321112
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May 13, 04, 3:37 pm
#1
aw
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: burlingame
Posts: 531 Lot @ Ord
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Hi everyone,
This summer I will be traveling LOT Business Class for the first time ORD-WAW-
VIE and I'd like to get some feedback from the experts who have flown this
carrier.
First, what lounge does LOT use at Terminal 5 in ORD? How's the lounge? Any
good selection of snacks and drinks?
Since this is the longest route of the system, is the service onboard
elaborate? There are only 2 rows in J making for a total of 12 seats. I'm
assuming that there are at least 2 FA's assigned to this cabin. Is the
catering a strong point with this carrier?
How's the intra-Europe product? Is there a true Business Class cabin or are
they just Y seats blocked in the middle? Is catering good for this WAW-VIE?
Last, how seamless is the *A partnership? I'm booked on a US tkt stock, my
first flight is on UA from SFO-ORD. Would UA be able to issue me the boarding
passes for the connections in LOT or do I need to check with them directly?
I have allowed myself plenty of time at ORD just in case of contingencies and
unforeseeable events.
Thanks for your assistance.
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May 14, 04, 9:58 pm
#2
blue2002
To my best knowledge, travelling internationally in Business Class on a *A
carrier, you should have access to all *A Gold lounges. At T5 that would be
the SAS lounge.
The seats are somewhat aged, but overall OK.
Opinions on catering seem to vary along ethnic lines: Poles (including
myself) enjoy the food quite a bit; foreigners are not always that impressed.
It is somewhat surprising as the food is not necessarily very Polish... Is it
elaborate? Well, dinner consists of an appetizer, followed by a choice of
three main courses, a salad and a choice of desserts. I find the food of very
decent quality, on the par with Lufthansa. There is usually a cart with
snacks and fruits near the galley for the duration of the flight.
The FA's provide a pretty attentive service.
Intra-europe business class, to me, is not really worth it. As you have
guessed, same seat width as in Y. Naturally, the service up-front is better,
but given the shortness of most routes...
BTW, if you are flying on a US-issued ticket, then two options are possible:
1) You are flying on an award ticket, in which case, it doesn't matter, or
2) You have actually purchased ORD-WAW-ORD in Business Class from US, in
which case you may have overpaid by anywhere between 2000 and 4000 USD
compared to buying the same routing from a "Polish" travel agent in SFO. It
may be worth looking into ;-)
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May 16, 04, 9:47 pm
#3
aw
Thanks for the insightful advice, blue2002. You are correct in your first
assumption since I am using a free award tkt. Otherwise I would have
consulted with a travel agent that serves the community of that particular
carrier if I was to buy a tkt, which is a great suggestion. As far as food is
concerned, I am pretty accommodating and enjoy trying different cuisines, so
I'll be looking forward to some good Polish dishes. I was not aware that one
can use any *A partner lounge systemwide when traveling on a J tkt. That is
good news as I intend to visit the different lounges during my trajectory.
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May 19, 04, 7:09 am
#4
monitor
>The seats are somewhat aged, but overall OK.
Since the seats are the most important factor to us, could anybody elaborate
on pitch, recline, etc.?
We have also scored LOT business class award seats to Europe in late June.
and have another question since there is a 3 hour and 45 minute layover in
WAW.
Would that be enough time to leave the airport and see anything at all, and
would we need a visa or would we need to stay in a transit lounge (or is
there a *A lounge)?
Thanks in advance for anybody's help.
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May 19, 04, 10:30 am
#5
aw
Assuming that you have a US passport, you do not need a visa for Poland.
There is a useful link at the CO site for Visa/Travel info. Pls see:
http://www.continental.com/vendors/...B0&s=&i=TIMATIC
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May 19, 04, 11:30 am
#6
blue2002
>Since the seats are the most important factor to us, could anybody elaborate
>on pitch, recline, etc.?
>
>We have also scored LOT business class award seats to Europe in late June.
>and have another question since there is a 3 hour and 45 minute layover in
>WAW.
>
>Would that be enough time to leave the airport and see anything at all, and
>would we need a visa or would we need to stay in a transit lounge (or is
>there a *A lounge)?
>
>Thanks in advance for anybody's help.
For transatlantic routes, LO uses two aircraft types:
* 767-300 ER http://www.lot.com/app/index.jsp?ar...ane&pub_key=258 has 52"
pitch
* 767-200 ER http://www.lot.com/app/index.jsp?ar...ane&pub_key=254 has 55" to
56" pitch
Both planes are configured with 6 seats accross. Having flown both, I believe
the recline is comparable to the "old" (i.e. before PrivateBed) Lufthansa
business class seats.
There are at least 3 lounges in the international terminal at WAW (1 *Gold
lounge and 2 frequent flyer lounges). AFAIK, with a business class ticket on
LO you should have access to all, but I would recommend *Gold.
Enjoy the trip!
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May 20, 04, 6:20 am
#7
rankourabu
With under 4 hours you would be hard pressed to go see anything.
It could take up to 45 minutes to get to the city in traffic. There isnt much
around the airport. And you cant really see much of the city's wonderful
sights in about an hour.
You are not required to stay in the transit lounge, no visas are needed for
Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians or Americans.
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May 20, 04, 8:46 am
#8
Schultzois
>There are at least 3 lounges in the international terminal at WAW (1 *Gold
>lounge and 2 frequent flyer lounges). AFAIK, with a business class ticket on
>LO you should have access to all, but I would recommend *Gold.
I don't know about in WAW, but I have been turned away from *Gold lounges in
VIE, CPH, ARN and perhaps other places while on full business class
intercontinental tickets. They insisted on a *Gold card or would have
accepted an F ticket on another *A carrier (these were all lounges where the
primary *A carrier did not offer 3-cabin service themselves). There was
always a very crowded "Business" lounge they would invite me to use - I say
very crowded because every short-haul full-fare passenger had access, as well
as many frequent travelers with a silver level status on the carrier whose
hub it was. I hope you have better experience in WAW!