We will be spending 18 days in Poland in May 2024 (4 friends). I was hoping we could fly direct to Warsaw from Chicago O'Hare but I can't find any airline other than LOT that flies direct. The reviews I read about LOT are not great. Has anyone had experience with this airline? I also thought about flying from Chicago to Berlin and then taking a high speed train to Warsaw....but again, i can't find direct flights from Chicago to Berlin. I am trying to avoid layovers due to all the delays and cancelations in the airline industry these days. If anyone has suggestions on a way to get to Poland from Chicago with the fewest points of failure, please advise. Thank you!!
Posted by
Washington DC Region, USA
7049 posts
LOT is fine, it's your best bet if your goal is to minimize total flight time. You won't find any other airline other than LOT flying direct because it's THE national airline of Poland, and Chicago is one of the largest markets for non-stop service to Warsaw. I would not hesitate to take this option without second-guessing. Otherwise, you will have a stop somewhere, and there is no airline out there (except for really top tier ones) that doesn't have mixed-reviews or hasn't had some kind of issues either pre- or post-covid. Personally, I love Turkish Air but there is always an Istanbul stop-over which I partake of to fit in some time in Istanbul.
Posted by
841 posts
We’ve flown LOT on 2 trips: once to/from Warsaw and once to/from the Baltics, changing in Warsaw. We also thought it was fine. LOT would be my choice.
Posted by
TX, USA
4078 posts
I flew Lot last year from O’Hare to Warsaw (and on to Gdansk). Other than a rather chaotic boarding process there, that flight was just fine. I have also flown a couple of short hops on them - all with no problem.
Posted by
OP
Wisconsin
31 posts
Thank you for all of your replies. It's helpful.
Posted by
3 posts
In October 2023 I flew LOT both domestically in Poland (Posnan to Warsaw, Warsaw to Krakow) and internationally (Krakow to Chicago), and I found this airline to be perfectly acceptable on all three flights. They greet you in the cabin with a packaged sanitizing wipe - I thought it was a nice touch.
Actually, I think that flying LOT actually helped us in one instance. We encountered extremely long security lines in the Krakow airport and had lost hope that we would make it through in time for our flight, but an airport security employee came through calling out for passengers for our flight and got us all fast tracked through two lines - we made it just in time for our flight.
I'm surmising this but I think that occurred due to LOT being the dominant carrier at Krakow, I seriously doubt that would have happened had we been flying on a budget airline. But maybe it's just the culture, I've had a similar experience in Dublin - I know that wouldn't happen in the US.
I found most everyone in Poland to be friendly and helpful - I can hardy wait until next year to return to this country.