Pedahzur
30 Dec 2012
Travel / Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines? [380]
I have travelled internationally A LOT, and I have only had occasion to find myself on LOT Polish Air on a to/return trip from Toronto/Warsaw/Cairo this past year (although, to be honest, even though it was booked by my agent and the e-ticket credited LOT, on both legs the Cairo connection was EgyptAir). I must confess that I found LOT to be no worse of better than any other airline in many respects: Professional and courteous attendants, clean aircraft, usual amenities, easily comprehended bilingual safety instructions, and equally easily understood bilingual flight attendants. While the food combinations were somewhat odd, they were good, and for airline offerings, fairly generous portion size, too. What did strike me strongly, on both legs of my journey, was how friendly LOT passengers were, though! I found all the passengers I encountered very eager to communicate, in English as I do not know any Polish, and extremely pleasant, making the experience a very positive one and sincerely one of my favourite travel memories. The only reason that I would not take LOT again is that it does not service my usual routes at all, and that I found Lotnisko Chopina to be extremely jarring on the nerves: loud, too small, uncomfortable and altogether unpleasant to pass layover time in. Acoustically and aesthetically it is just a nightmare, which is just sad as it appears fairly new. Thank goodness they have bilingual electronic departure notifications as anyone not speaking Polish would never be able to make out what was being said over that horrid, echoing PA announcement system! This being said, I was impressed with the airport staff and VERY IMPRESSED by the security in place: professional and courteous. Overall, a good experience and outside of the terminal-hub for the airline give LOT Polish Airlines very high marks, and my impression of Polish people and their hospitality stellar grades!
I have travelled internationally A LOT, and I have only had occasion to find myself on LOT Polish Air on a to/return trip from Toronto/Warsaw/Cairo this past year (although, to be honest, even though it was booked by my agent and the e-ticket credited LOT, on both legs the Cairo connection was EgyptAir). I must confess that I found LOT to be no worse of better than any other airline in many respects: Professional and courteous attendants, clean aircraft, usual amenities, easily comprehended bilingual safety instructions, and equally easily understood bilingual flight attendants. While the food combinations were somewhat odd, they were good, and for airline offerings, fairly generous portion size, too. What did strike me strongly, on both legs of my journey, was how friendly LOT passengers were, though! I found all the passengers I encountered very eager to communicate, in English as I do not know any Polish, and extremely pleasant, making the experience a very positive one and sincerely one of my favourite travel memories. The only reason that I would not take LOT again is that it does not service my usual routes at all, and that I found Lotnisko Chopina to be extremely jarring on the nerves: loud, too small, uncomfortable and altogether unpleasant to pass layover time in. Acoustically and aesthetically it is just a nightmare, which is just sad as it appears fairly new. Thank goodness they have bilingual electronic departure notifications as anyone not speaking Polish would never be able to make out what was being said over that horrid, echoing PA announcement system! This being said, I was impressed with the airport staff and VERY IMPRESSED by the security in place: professional and courteous. Overall, a good experience and outside of the terminal-hub for the airline give LOT Polish Airlines very high marks, and my impression of Polish people and their hospitality stellar grades!