TRIP REPORT
I flew from Warsaw to Sarajevo earlier this week, which included my first experience flying through Chopin Airport and also my first time flying with LOT.
I arrived at Warsaw from another long-haul international flight at around 6.30AM. After disembarking, the line for passport control was huge (I needed to pick up my luggage and check in for my LOT flight). It took me exactly one hour to get my passport stamped. It didn’t help that a lot of people were cutting in line and there was no one around to direct passengers. I should note that I have a non-EU passport. There was no one at the EU passport booth. I wanted to use the washroom after passing passport control only to enter one which was completely flooded, which I obviously didn’t use.
After picking up my bag I went to check in. LOT has a separate area for business class check-in and I was glad to see a separate fast track line for security, considering the regular one was very busy. However, the queues didn’t end there. I had to go through passport control again as I was heading to a non-Schengen destination. While the number of people in this line was significantly smaller than on arrival, it took me another 35 minutes to get to the top of the line. For some reason, the officers took a very long time checking everyone’s passport on departure and cabin crew also used this same line. I saw the officer checking the passport of a Qatar Airways crew member for a good five minutes, which is beyond me.
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| Another long line for passport control in a very narrow corridor |
After finally passing passport control, I headed to the LOT lounge, which is located on the ground floor where the bus gates are. The lounge is very small, but I appreciated the great views of the apron. The food selection was also very decent. When I arrived, the lounge was empty but as time passed and several North America flights were due to depart it became very busy and crowded. As their network keeps growing, I think they really need a bigger lounge.
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| Apron view from the lounge |
Boarding for the flight to Sarajevo from the bus gate started exactly on time and it was very quick. We were all in the bus within five minutes and were on a short ride to the aircraft - an E175. On this flight I was the only one in business class, while there were another 12 vacant seats in economy. The passengers seemed to be mixed. There were a few with Bosnian passports but I would say there were more senior Polish people who were obviously going for a holiday to Bosnia (perhaps to Medjugorje). There were also some soldiers in uniform and a few Chinese passengers.
There was an older lady and younger male cabin crew working on the flight that day. They were both polite and friendly. Upon taking my seat in the first row, the lady asked me if I would like water, orange juice or apple juice before departure, distributed a small menu card and a wet wipe.
We pushed back right on time and had a quick taxi to the runway.
I really like the Embraer. Apart from the wide windows, there was a lot of legroom in the first row. Although I was the only passenger, LOT blocks the seat next to you on the Embraer in business.
Minutes after taking off, the cabin crew member came by with a tablecloth and served the meal, which was fine. She also came around with a warm breadbasket and of course asked if I wanted any drinks. It was also nice of her to come by shortly after with several packaged snacks including some chocolate, pumpkin seeds, and some pizza crackers.
The toilet was also clean, and they had several dispensers with different products.
The rest of the flight passed by quickly and we landed in Sarajevo on time. We parked at a stand which was a short few seconds walk from the terminal. You then have to go up the stairs of one of the gates (with no elevator for people with reduced mobility, simmilar to what you can find in Belgrade for example). There were no incoming flights at that time, so passport control was empty. Upon leaving the baggage claim area you enter the check-in area as arrivals and check-in are on the same floor.
Overall, I thought LOT’s service was good for this short flight. I didn’t have the best first experience at Warsaw Airport but maybe it was just a one off. Since it was my first time, I will reserve judgment on it after another visit.
Hope you enjoyed the report.
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Thank you for the report, Polish tourists are definitely a booming category in Sarajevo and Mostar, especially younger ones. LOT remains one of the better legacy airlines where you at least get a spinach bread in economy
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, that was a great and informative report!
ReplyDeleteGreat report. Thank you. The meal is tiny but the service and presentation seem very decent.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice that the aisle seats are blocked in business class. I flew KLM to BEG recently, and they sell all seats, which makes business class almost indistinguishable from economy, in terms of cabin comfort. I don't know what other European airlines do on their 2-by-2 planes, but blocking the aisle seat should be a standard.
ReplyDelete+100
DeleteHmm so around 50 passengers in total. Not the best performance.
ReplyDelete82 capacity - 12 vacant seats in economy - 11 in business = 59 occupancy, 72%... not awful for an E175
DeleteI flew this same route in early June twice and flight was full both inbound (E175) and outbound (E195)
DeleteThanks for the report.
ReplyDeleteSounds good for a business class on a European route.
I guess your less-than-great airport experience came from the fact that you had two separate tickets, so you could not check in your luggage to your final destination and you had to go through two border controls. Was it the case?
Dirty toilets, small lounge and insufficient number of staff does not have much to do with two tickets.
Delete@23:45. I was simply puzzled by a double border check. Nothing to do with the number of staff.
DeleteRegarding your other comments, the author does not talk about dirty toilets. On the contrary: "The toilet was also clean, and they had several dispensers with different products." My experience at this airport is also positive from this point of view.
The author writes that the lounge is small, but at the same time on the picture you can see that there are free places, so not that bad... I had it worse in FRA, MUC, ORD, TLV etc...
Regarding teh border control, perhpas it's the insufficent number of staff, as you say (but here it is not entirely airport's fault, as it's the border guards who are in charge). Or simply, there are waves of long-haul flights when there are longer queues. I do not know this airport that well, but in general it is overstreched, so maybe there is no place to build more booths.
It seems to me that you didn't read the review at all
Delete" I wanted to use the washroom after passing passport control only to enter one which was completely flooded, which I obviously didn’t use."
The comment regarding the toilet you quoted was on the aircraft.
Regarding the lounge he says
"The lounge is very small. When I arrived, the lounge was empty but as time passed and several North America flights were due to depart it became very busy and crowded. As their network keeps growing, I think they really need a bigger lounge."
Also he explained why he went through passport control twice.
Suggest you read the review again.
Thanks for the correction. I must have read it too quickly. It does not change my overall rather positive experience with WAW airport.
DeleteAnd I still do not know why the author had to go through the passport ccontrol twice.
Osobe sa smanjenom pokretljivošću ne idu stepenicama nego uđu direktno u prostor za pasošku kontrolu
Delete