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Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines???

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Adam9999

Jun 30, 09, 22:13 #91

If you're flying between Poland & North America, LOT is without a doubt the WORST airline you could possibly fly. In fact, I consider it the worst airline for transatlantic travel altogether. Avoid it at all costs! I rarely post on internet forums, but I have to get this off my chest.

Just this past weekend: Toronto - Warsaw, delayed 10 hours; JFK - Warsaw, delayed almost 24 hours!!! These are not isolated incidents, but have become the norm over recent years. Delays like this have happened to me and everyone else I know that regularly travels between North America and Poland. Even worse, when you look online or call LOT before leaving for the airport, they tell you the flight will be on time, but when you show up at the airport, you find out that the flight won't depart for another 6..12+ hours!

It used to not be like this. About 10 years ago, the flights were generally on time, the food and service was ok. Gradually, the food started going to hell as did the customer service (on and off the flight). The inside of the planes also started falling apart (broken seats, televisions, etc). I could deal with all of this if LOT got me to my destination on time and at a competitive price. However, not only is LOT the most expensive option from North America, it is consistently off schedule. This is likely due to their decrepit fleet of 767s, of which they don't have many, so when one breaks down, you're stranded for God knows how long. Don't be fooled by the fact that LOT is the only carrier that flies direct to Poland, you'll be much better off with a changeover on another airline (Finnair and Lufthansa are two options I recommend if flying from NY). The service will be better (you might even get through to someone on the phone if you call!), the planes newer, and you'll get there much sooner than the theoretically "non-stop" flight by LOT. Perhaps when LOT gets its new fleet of planes, this will improve, but at this point I'm much too disgusted to ever give them another chance. Do you really want to waste a full day of your vacation stranded because your flight is delayed 24hrs? What if you're flying on business or have a family emergency?...then you're really SOL...

To be fair, I've flown LOT a few times within Europe and have never had any real issues. I find that there's little difference in quality between carriers on these short routes. But if flying to / from North America, do yourself a favor and avoid LOT!

Jihozapad

Edited by: Jihozapad Jun 30, 09, 22:32 #92

I flew LOT from Heathrow to Warsaw recently; first time I'd flown with them for about a year. Some credit-crunch cuts were obvious, the flight was late as usual, but the FAs were good.

Unfortunately I ended up next to someone who was scared of flying for three hours, but you can't really blame the airline for that, lol. :)

They are still OK but I'd probably fly with BA whenever possible, because the service is far better, the fares are better value, and the flights are a bit more convenient; that 0650 flight is a pain to get to on time, even from here (south-west London).

11111111

Jul 30, 09, 23:53 #93

My mother and I flew to Warsaw from Chicago in June 09. The staff at check in was rude. It seemed they did not want to be there. Hated their jobs perhaps. The flight attendant on the 767 was a real piece of work. She raised her voice to my mother. Lucky I was a seat away from the attendant or I might have slapped to B----.

Generally speaking, it seems Poland doesn't understand customer service, whether it be the rails system, hotel staff, etc. Until that happens, they will be a 2nd world country, sadly.

OsiedleRuda

Aug 31, 09, 21:12 #94

heeheehee... nice to see that one of my old threads still hasn't been binned yet... lol :) : )

Well, I'll be flying most of the way with BA next week (MAN-LHR-WAW) but it will be interesting to see if they are still using those ancient, wobbly turboprops on the internal flight to GDN - wasn't fun last time. I remember the terrified passenger next to me asking "do these small old planes always wobble like this".

"Er, yeah".

"Well, if I'd known that, I wouldn't have flown!"

lol!

ACMILAN

Sep 19, 09, 14:55 #95

I can only talk about flying within Europe, because I have never been outside of it.
The last years I have been flying a lot with different airlines, and there are some differences between them. I am from Holland and we have a very good airline wich I would choose if possible: KLM. The standards are high as well as the service. I spend my last holiday visiting Krakow, Poland and I flew with LOT airlines. The flight was to Warsaw with a transfer flight to Krakow (and back again ofcourse). Funny detail is that I have been in 3 different planes for the 4 flights. From Amsterdam to Warsaw and from Warsaw to Krakow in an Embraer 170, from Krakow to Warsaw in an ATR 42 (or 72 I am not sure) with a little more bumps on the way. From Warsaw to Amsterdam in an Embraer 175. About my experiences with LOT airlines: I have noticed very few differences with other European airliners. The people in the plane and at the service desk were nice and friendly. The last plane was very new. The food was not special, but not bad either. I would not avoid LOT in the future, they seem a professional European Airline to me. About the Polish people in general: I think the people are very friendly and helpful and made me feel well. This country has suffert a lot in past en recent history, but the people seem to be very positive. This is not the United States of America so don't try to compare them or call them a 2nd world country. It is not fair and not the truth! (reaction to a quote of 11111111).

seaman	Sep 26, 09, 23:14 #96
All cancelation and 3-7 times in month not acceptible Lot have no future with this SERVIC

PennBoyThreads: 148 Posts: 3,271 Joined: Dec 7, 08 ♂	Sep 27, 09, 07:18 #97
Just wait till' they'll get them brand new Boeing 787 next year, then they'll be begging to fly LOT.

tsaasdfasf

Jul 31, 10, 13:39 #98

I think FinAir is a good option to get to Poland from NY. Brief stopover in Helsinki but really a decent flight with a good amount of free booze. As for Lufthansa, I would say beware. If things go wrong their call center people go out of their way to screw you. First I was told by one of their representatives that I'd get a waiver for a missed flight and that the person I spoke to would call me back to rebook. No call back, finally I call, a different representative answers, and am hit with all kinds of penalties for rebooking. LOT isn't terrible, but it's an overpriced option. LOT tickets to Poland seem to cost several hundred more than the competetion and I don't see what I'm paying for. Old planes, so-so food. Overall I recommend FinAir. As for the title of this forum, I think there's plenty of hate on the internet for all of the major airlines. People have a bad experience and want to vent. I can't say that I hate LOT. The worst I had to Poland was Air Lingus, an Irish airline that flew via Dublin, but that was at sh*t cheap airfare and the main problem was tiny seats with no leg room, i.e., sardine seating.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,410 Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂	Jul 31, 10, 13:44 #99
tsaasdfasf: LOT tickets to Poland seem to cost several hundred more than the competetion huh? it's the cheapest option between PL and USA most of the time

tsaasdfasf	Jul 31, 10, 13:49 #100
Sorry, I just recalled my experience on Air Italia. That was the worst. The people at the airport in Milan where I had a transfer were on Italian time, which means screw you if you're in a hurry. Good luck making your connecting flight with such lazy slobs.

tsaasdfasf

Jul 31, 10, 13:58 #101

huh? it's the cheapest option between PL and USA most of the time

Really? When I used to buy at the ticket agencies in Greenpoint it was around $1000 during the summer months. The other airlines are cheaper if you book via Expedia, Travelocity, etc. LOT's airfares are a lot higher on these web sites. Certainly not the cheapest option, which are the "Frankenflights," composed of several airlines (fly to X on Delta, than to Warsaw on Air Italia, or whatever, the trip back is on two completely different airlines, so you don't know who the hell is responsible for you flight if something goes wrong.)

convexThreads: 47 Posts: 7,189 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Jul 31, 10, 14:00 #102
I usually fly American from the US to FRA, and then hop over with LH, LOT, or AirConvex. American is pretty cheap and they're fairly generous with the upgrades... Nice 772s too :)

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,410 Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂	Edited by: plk123 Jul 31, 10, 14:01 #103
a $1000? most of the time it's 400-800 bucks.. and it's one straight flight from chicago/nyc to warsaw which even if a bit more expensive is well worth not having to worry about potential hassles.. no? but you are right about expedia et al.. LOT doesn't do those..

♂

Jul 31, 10, 14:20 #104

plk123:

a $1000? most of the time it's 400-800 bucks.. and it's one straight flight from chicago/nyc to warsaw which even if a bit more expensive is well worth not having to worry about potential hassles.. no?

Unless you need to get somewhere else in Poland :)

AA gets me from my village to Frankfurt (via DFW), LOT/LH get me from FRA to Wroclaw...all under $1000. No hassle, pretty much door to door service.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,410 Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂	Jul 31, 10, 14:36 #105
village? via.. is/can be the issue.. LOT flies non stop..

convexThreads: 47 Posts: 7,189 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Jul 31, 10, 14:52 #106
plk123: village? I come from a little town with feeder service into DFW. I need to get from said little town to Wroclaw in the shortest amount of time possible. Doorstep to doorstep from shthole little town in the US to shthole medium sized city in Poland is about 18 hours.

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,410 Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂	Jul 31, 10, 14:57 #107
18h? ouch.. Wroclaw isn't a poophole, is it? no direct flights, right? and LOT doesn't fly out of DFW, does it?

convexThreads: 47 Posts: 7,189 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Jul 31, 10, 15:09 #108
18 hours from leaving my mothers house to flopping down on my couch, not too shabby really considering the start and end point. LOT doesn't fly to DFW, even if they did, I need that first connection to keep from having to drive for 4 hours. Wroclaw isn't that bad. Isn't that good, but isn't that bad...

plk123Threads: 30 Posts: 6,410 Joined: Aug 29, 07 ♂	Jul 31, 10, 15:53 #109
for total time with layovers, that isn't that bad indeed but still a long arse day..

convexThreads: 47 Posts: 7,189 Joined: Nov 25, 09 ♂	Jul 31, 10, 16:05 #110
plk123: for total time with layovers, that isn't that bad indeed but still a long arse day.. that's where the magic of alcohol comes into play.

atsiang

Aug 22, 10, 09:11 #111

I like to chime on this topic. I got the opportunity to fly LOT last summer 09 and this summer 10 from the US to Poland. Given the peak travel season, despite the high airfares, LOT is the cheapest airline to get to Poland and with the least amount of total travel time. However for the price you pay which was $1400 last summer from SF to ORD to WAW and this summer I paid $1800 from SF to ORD to KRK, what LOT offers inflight is rather unimpressive. The only thing that saves the trip from being a bad experience is the fact that LOT uses Boeing 767 with a 2-3-2 seating which is a rather comfortable arrangement. There are no individual tv screens and the food selection is rather bland. Also coming back from KRK to ORD a few weeks ago, the flight attendant did not offer myself and my travel friend a choice of beef or chicken or pork dish but just gave us a pork dish but gave other passengers options. (And no they didn't run out of beef or chicken) Granted that we are obviously not Polish, it would have been nice to have at least given us the option. Some of the flight attendants serving us last year and this year were not all that nice. However, I do have to commend on the male flight attendant or pursuer on august 1 on LOT 5 flight from KRK to ORD for being attentive to my meal and greeting me as I deboarded the plane.

beckskiThreads: 19 Posts: 2,105 Joined: May 15, 07 MEMBER ♀	Aug 31, 10, 06:47 #112
The LOT airplane in Warszawa arrived TWO hours late. Therefore, I arrived two hours late at JFK Airport. In turn, I missed my flight to LAX. Almost had to spend the night in the Big Apple NYC. Fortunately, a few seats stand-by seats were available on a later flight to LAX that evening. Honk if you love PF :)

HarryThreads: 59 Posts: 7,996 Joined: May 2, 07 ♂	Aug 31, 10, 13:46 #113
beckski: The LOT airplane in Warszawa arrived TWO hours late. Were you more than three hours late in getting to your destination? If so, you can claim compensation from LOT.

beckskiThreads: 19 Posts: 2,105 Joined: May 15, 07 MEMBER ♀	Aug 31, 10, 20:58 #114
Harry: Were you more than three hours late in getting to your destination? If so, you can claim compensation from LOT We arrived aprroximately 2.25 hours late. Oh darn, missed compensation by merely 45 minutes :( Honk if you love PF :)

valpomikeThreads: 18 Posts: 230 Joined: Apr 20, 09 ♂	Aug 31, 10, 22:34 #115
I used Lot airlines a few times, out of Chicago to Warsaw, and they gave great service, good food, and lots of drink. They were also on time, or early, each time. Now I have heard that they are owned by the Germans, is this true? Mike

FUZZYWICKETSThreads: 12 Posts: 1,821 Joined: Nov 3, 09 ♂	Dec 21, 10, 13:01 #116
to the OP, i always wondered the same thing. i've only flown LOT once, it was a short trip from Greece and it seemed no different really than one of those little Lufthansa prop planes. idk.

buketThreads: - Posts: 4 Joined: Aug 22, 10 ♀	Dec 21, 10, 13:08 #117
i have experience with Lot also:) it was sandwich with chese and terribly loudly fly munich to wroclaw :) i didnt heard anything half an hour after fly:))

♂

Dec 21, 10, 13:49 #118

I wont have a wrong word said about LOT.
When I flew with them I had a very positive experience. On booking in for the flight home from Warsaw I found my bags were well over the limit(not really a surprise as they were stuffed with military collectables like helmets and gasmask tins lol) when the lovely girl behind the desk pointed this out to me and told me I owed $115 in excess I gave her a blank look and said "Dollars,sorry,I dont have Dollars,Im Scottish." ,honestly,I was mentaly unpacking my bags already,debating which clothes to dump and telling myself I could by more shoes when she looked at me with a straight face and said,"Ive weighed your bags again,this time Ive adjusted for the weight of the frame(it was a RuckSack) so,have a nice flight." and that was that,no excess when she had me bang to rights :)
Oh,that and the fact that when we had a near miss in bad weather over Manchester the Pilot took evasive action like a fighter pilot,I think I was the only passenger on board who saw how close we'd come,a relative works for the ATC and confirmed there had been a near miss incident......

TrevekThreads: 30 Posts: 2,088 Joined: May 21, 08 ♂	Dec 21, 10, 14:08 #119
isthatu2: When I flew with them I had a very positive experience. isthatu2: Im Scottish Typical, save a Scot a couple of bob and they're your friend for life...

♀

Edited by: PlasticPole Dec 21, 10, 14:15 #120

Osiedle_Ruda:

every time I fly LOT to Poland I always hear some fool complaining about the service (usually in Polish, btw) and I've lost count of the number of times I've heard such whingers describe them as the "worst airline in the world".

If that's the case and so many people are dissatisfied with the service after spending so much money on tickets, maybe the airline should listen and improve its customer service? It's the airline's responsibility to please the customer, not the other way around.

This is just another example of a company disconnect from reality.