After a break I'm back with a small series of two reports covering my weekend trip to my country's old capital - the city of Krakow (known in English also as Cracow). It's been a while since my February trip to SE Asia and lack of flying in this period made me appreciate even a short domestic flight. I hoped silently to fly one of LOT's new 737 MAX jets that sometimes operate on this route but this time we made it without any changes, delays and other disasters that could make our weekend shorter and harder. The only funny thing was (you may laugh but it always happens to me) that after a whole week of sunny weather on the day of the flight some heavy stormy clouds appeared over Poland to make my flight a little bit bumpy…. I hate turbulence! Krakow is situated approximately 300 km southwards of Warsaw and as it is Poland's second biggest city, it can be reached in many different ways (fast train, slow train, bus, car) but I knew I wouldn't make it without flying to the holidays planned for the beginning of September, so the choice was easy. Anyway, a return ticket booked in advance costed only 50 euro and that was cheaper than the most popular solution on this route which is the fast "Pendolino" train.
As the flight was one of the early morning ones, I woke up entirely when I was already at the airport, after a completely uneventful security check (to my big astonishment noone was rude this time as it happens usually). I decided to begin my day with a little spotting using the wet tarmac and grey clouds as a background.
It's funny that in the moment of taking this picture I didn't know yet that this airline will take me in September to …. :)
Smartwings 737-800 operating one of the numerous in summer season charter flights
LOT E 175
and LH A 320 in Star Alliance livery to FRA
AF A 318 to CDG
Despite the rainy weather, we are taken to the aircraft by bus
But this allows me to take some pictures of the special anniversary sticker: NIEPODLEGŁA (here a copy of handwriting of Poland's chief of state Jozef Pilsudski) means INDEPENDENT (this year Poland celebrates the 100th anniversary of regaining its independence in 1918).
The E195 fuselage
SP-LRA was the first 787-800 to join LOT fleet, here seen from my seat
The cabin of this Embraer 195 looks really fresh and neat. The black leather seats look much better than the grey ones installed on the E70 and older E75 jets in LOT fleet.
Quite an abundant seat pocket contents as for a domestic flight
The BOB menu is useless as it's not available on domestic routes
We slowly begin our push-back
and start taxiing to the runway passing by two Nordica's CRJ-900 in this beautiful livery
This Q400 promotes flights to Israel being lately a very popular tourist destination in Poland
This E-75 is a 600th E-jet ever produced
Finally it's our turn
to leave rainy and stormy Warsaw
Above there is always sunshine and blue sky
But in a distance you may see some stormy clouds
The service during this 30-minutes hop is a traditional sweet snack + a glass of water
Descent is quite bumpy as we need to pass many layers of clouds in all the shades of white and grey, but eventually the weather seems to get better as we get closer to Krakow
Some green fields and A4 motorway connecting eastern and western borders may bee seen on short finals
Here we are
The tarmac in Krakow seems to be in constant renovation and we make many circles till we finally reach a remote stand
I may finally see the terminal that was completely rebuilt not long ago with addition of some jetbridges that seem not to be used by LOT
but there is still this Norwegian 737-800 that we need to pass by before we stop
The terminal doesn't look too big from the outside but as you will see in the report covering the flight back, they really made a good job here and inside you don't feel anymore as on a very small provincial airport
The baggage claim area and the arrivals hall look much better and spacious than before
We are going to try the train that should take us to the city centre in not more than 20 minutes. Great that you can reach the station directly from the terminal (before a shuttle bus connected the airport with the station)
That's all for now. Many thanks for reading. I'll be back soon with description of the flight back + some bonus pics from Krakow.
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Verdict
LOT Polish
6.6/10
Cabin8.5
Cabin crew7.0
Entertainment/wifi5.0
Meal/catering6.0
Warsaw - WAW
8.9/10
Efficiency8.5
Access9.0
Services9.0
Cleanliness9.0
Kraków - KRK
8.5/10
Efficiency9.0
Access9.0
Services7.5
Cleanliness8.5
Conclusion
LOT is a good solution on domestic routes if the flight is not delayed and your ticket is booked in advance, so the price and duration of your trip are competitive. KRK seems to have a very decent new terminal, hope it's the same good on the departures level.
4 LIKESLIKE TO THANK THE AUTHORTHANKS ! FLIGHT-REPORT LIKED
on the day of the flight some heavy stormy clouds appeared over Poland
Hahahahha. Sh*t happens. You're not alone. I'm taking a domestic flight in Argentina next Sat 14, but airport staff have just announced they're going on a nationwide strike on the 13th!! I hope it won't last more than one day!
to my big astonishment noone was rude this time as it happens usually
You were half-asleep. You didn't realize!
this airline will take me in September to …. :)
You leave me biting my knuckles!!! XD
a copy of handwriting of Poland's chief of state
I used to think that my handwriting was terrible. Now I feel very reassured!
The black leather seats look much better than the grey ones
Neon-orange with a touch of fluorescent chick-yellow and apple-green for me, please. But black definitely looks much more elegant than mouse-grey.
The BOB menu is useless as it's not available on domestic routes
That's cruel!
The baggage claim area and the arrivals hall look much better and spacious than before
Two thumbs up for KRK! Can you find out who did the job, please? We need them for Valdivia airport. :D
Hi Nechus, thanks a lot for your comment. This handwriting is 100 years old, so we can forgive the writer ;) KRK look really good, I think more airports should adapt such a modest style, to me it looks great (will post some more pictures on the flight back). Hope you're having a great time in Aregentina!
Hi Loukas, thanks for sharing a nice report as always! I used to not like the LOT livery, but it's growing on me and now I find it classy. E-jets, especially E190/195 are always a comfortable ride. Looking forward to seeing the next report with the new KRK terminal and bonus pics of Krakow. Have a good one!
Hi Kevin, I like LOT livery, I was sceptical first as the old classic one seemed almost eternal, but I find the new one modern and classic at the same time. Have you seen the anniversary livery of one 787-900 and one 737 MAX 8? I'm afraid that's the worst thing that LOT planes have ever carried on their fuselage, drama, drama, drama! Many thanks for your comment!
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6 Comments
Quick trip to KRK in a nice plane.
Krakow is very different than previous terminal for domestic flights...
Miłegi dnia!
Technically you're experiencing "flight withdrawal syndrome." XD
Hahahahha. Sh*t happens. You're not alone. I'm taking a domestic flight in Argentina next Sat 14, but airport staff have just announced they're going on a nationwide strike on the 13th!! I hope it won't last more than one day!
You were half-asleep. You didn't realize!
You leave me biting my knuckles!!! XD
I used to think that my handwriting was terrible. Now I feel very reassured!
Neon-orange with a touch of fluorescent chick-yellow and apple-green for me, please. But black definitely looks much more elegant than mouse-grey.
That's cruel!
Two thumbs up for KRK! Can you find out who did the job, please? We need them for Valdivia airport. :D
Greetings from Bariloche, Argentina!!
Thanks for sharing!
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