Review of LOT Polish flight Toronto → Warsaw in Business

Hi,

I arrived at Toronto Pearson Airport ca. 3 hours before scheduled departure and had a quick look at the nice and convenient interactive check in area map that shows where each airline is located and how long current waiting times are: 

LOT counters had just opened and there was nobody in front of me in the dedicated priority lane.

Security was quite quick as well and soon I was airside to walk the long way to the E gates at the end of Terminal 1 pier. On the way some nice Air Canada evening action could be seen.

Next was a visit to the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge on the upper floor.

The lounge is huge and offers a lot of seating in different layouts and styles. In general the lounge is nice and roomy with very high terminal ceilings. However it also feels quite worn and outdated with almost no seat having power plugs to charge your devices etc.

Due to Covid no self-service buffet was available and you had to order your drink and food choices from the service staff at the buffet. Food actually comes in a lat of single use paper and plastic and does not create a very premium atmosphere.

Around 45 minutes before scheduled departure I left the lounge and made my way to the boarding gate. Unfortunately our LOT Dreamliner for tonight's flight was parked at a position where it was impossible to take some photos. Boarding started about 10 minutes later in quite an orderly manner with priority boading via a dedicated lane first.

Door 2L was used today and I was greeted by a friendly cabin crew and directed left into the small and cozy Business Class section consisting of just 18 seats spread over 3 rows. Some shots of my nice and very roomy window seat 2A:

Quickly I was approached by one of the very friendly flight attendants who offered to take my coat and hang it in the wardrobe which I appreciated.

Waiting on my seat was a big blanket and pillow, some bed linen and an amenity kit.

The amenity kit has a nice and clean design however contents are rather cheap and miss any cosmetics like hand cream etc.

Waiting on the center armrest was a first disinfection towel.

Legroom on those seats is huge and the forward are provides a lot of welcome stowage area. Some LOT branded slippers were also waiting there.

Headphones have already been placed in the seat area as well. They were ok but not of the highest quality.

The center armrest also has some nice stowage section which had a bottle of water and was also issued with some small lights. In the night this armrest can slide up to provide more privacy as a separator to your neighbour. The light can also be turned off.

Soon I was approached by a flight attendant welcoming me to LOT Business Class and offering welcome drinks of water or orange juice from a silver tray. No alcohol was offered and she mentioned some US & Canada regulations as a reason for that. Not sure if that is true or just an excuse for cost savings.

Boarding came to an end soon and the seat next to me stayed empty. In total 9 passengers would travel in Business Class tonight. The cabin felt quiet and comfortable. Although the seats are comfortable and provide masses of space this cabin layout also misses privacy as no separating walls etc. are available.

Next the flight attendant came by and verbally described the three warm main course choices for dinner service after take off: fish, chicken or beef. I decided for the beef. She also explained that continental breakfast would be served 1hrs30mins before landing and if she should wake me up for breakfast which I confirmed. Sadly no printed menus have been distributed throughot this flight which is rather stange and rare for longhaul Business Class.

A flight time of 7 hours 30 minutes was announced while we pushed back and a safety video started to play on the monitors.

We soon powered into dark skies and started our journey direction North heading to Quebec.

About 15 minutes after take off the seatbelt sign was turned off and a hot towel was distributed - nice to see this is still part of the service in Business Class.

Then inflight service started with the distribution of tablecloths. During the whole flight never a trolley appeared in the cabin - all meals and drinks were individually served from the galley. At the same moment I was asked for some first drink choices for aperitif service.

I started with a Gin Tonic and some nuts.

Very soon the starter tray was served that also included a separate salad. Both tasted fine only the cold and packed bread roll was almost inedable.

Once finished I asked for a glass of white wine where I was offered a choice of 3 different ones. Main course was also served soon once my starter tray has been cleared away. The service was nice and restaurant style with a nice big main course plate and really cute porcelain salt & pepper shakers.

Next the flight attendant came by with a tray offering different cake style desserts and cheese. I decided for some cheese and a nice tatsung small chocolate cake with cranberries. It was served with a nice tasting peppermint tea.

Some kind of Baileys finished my meal:

The whole meal service was already finished 1 hour 30 minutes after take off which is perfect for such a rather short night time flight. Still the service did not feel rushed and was very nice. Quickly the cabin lights were turned off and I put my seat into bed mode. Actually the benefit of this open style seat is that there is a lot of space in the foot area and also to the sides it does by far not seam that cramped as other Business Class beds. In the end it was really fine for me and I managed to have ca. 4.5 hours of quite good sleep.

When I woke up we had already reached Norway near Stavanger and cabin was prepared for breakfast service.

Unfortunately there was no hot towel service before the meal - only another disinfection towelette was offered from a tray.

Soon a cold breakfast tray was served and drink orders taken. The meal was quite good, especially the yoghurt and fruits. However again the cold bread was inedible and I was missing some kind of croissant and jam for breakfast as well.

I had some tea and orange juice with the breakfast.

Once the tray has been cleared away I ordered an espresso to end the flight which was served in a very nice cup with a cute small glass of water. It also tasted fine.

We soon left cruising altitude and started to descend into Warsaw through cloudy and grey skies.

We landed slightly ahead of schedule and parked at a gate next to some narrowbodies.

Good Bye LOT.

Thanks for reading,
FlyAlex