Warsaw Flights

I took a direct LOT flight from Geneva to Warsaw. This 2 hours flight was operated by an Embraer 145 (49 seats) may be too noisy. The inflight service was good with the discovery of the Polish beer Zywiec...

LOT is the Polish national airline and came up with the cheapest fare from Chicago and I was doubly excited that adding the leg from Lviv to Warsaw actually made the ticket cheaper than a round trip from Krakow. On the day of travel, however, I became a lot less enthused about this airline. A 1 1/2 hour delay leaving Chicago, jammed into a seat only big enough for my left thigh for 9 hours, 2 parentless boys kicking the back of my chair and what is that crap they are trying to serve us for dinner? And why does breakfast look exactly the same as dinner?

But it just got better from there, the flight staff so reassuring that we won't have a problem with our connecting flight that is scheduled to leave at exactly the same time that we are scheduled to land, I'm pretty sure the gist of it was that these kind of delays happen all the time and that they know how to handle them. We jog through the airport, tap our fingers impatiently as we wait for the communist era immigration employee to determine that we are fit to enter the country and arrive at the gate just to see the plane pulling. So they didn't hold the connecting flight for me or the other dozen or so passengers on our flight, there's no airline personnel to help us get on the next flight that is 40 minutes after ours (which ironically they did hold for connecting passengers).

We finally asked at the transit desk if there was some other way to get to Krakow besides waiting for another 6 hours at the airport and we were advised that we could take a train that would get us in at 9 pm instead of midnight like the flight. So we take the airline provided taxi voucher, collect our luggage and all is right with the world. Except that the taxi company on the voucher doesn't seem to exist and the clock is ticking, ticking, ticking.

I finally give up looking for the cab and offer $15 to a cab driver to drive us as fast as he can to the central station. We make it with 7 minutes to spare, no time to buy a ticket and just enough time to locate the platform and find a helpful American who exchanges some zloty for dollars in case we need it on board.

The ride from Lviv to Warsaw and Warsaw back to Chicago are uneventful, we come armed this time with salami sandwiches, chicken and cheese flavored chips and assorted other snacks because, yes, we get the same meal yet again. Mercifully the exit row seats are still open and we ride in comfort.

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Flew with Wizzair into the pretty modern and easy to navigate Chopin Airport. No problems getting to or away from.
bus #175 runs into the city centre for Zl 2.80.
See website for more details about the airport.

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Flying in on International Airport Warsaw, named after composer F. Chopin, is best possible from Germany by the Polish Company LOT. Lufthansa also operates (under the Eurowings Group) on the Polish first Airport.

Norwegian is a low cost airline with good prices to Warsaw (and Krakow) but they only fly once a day from Stockholm-Arlanda, terminal 2 (and here you'll go thru passport control so have your passport and boarding pass handy). In our case, it departed at 8:20pm (as of September 2007) but I see that they've changed their departures to different times (might be either a morning or an afternoon flight).

There's a fee for selecting your seat (and checking in that way) and they have 2 kinds of seats: the ones with normal leg room (for us shorties) and the ones with extra leg room. Those who chose their seat get on board first. If the flight is code shared by another airline then choosing a seat might not be possible.

As of with any low cost airline, you get what you pay for, and although this was my first time flying with this kind of airline I commend their service - it was as good as with the "normal cost" airlines. If you want to eat or drink something then you pay for it either before you get on board (and after the security checks) or while flying. The flight attendants have a menu that they give to those who are interested in buying food.

If you are flying from Etiuda Terminal, beware and prepare accordingly. It is not that easy to find, and it is just a glorified pre-fab. On entering, just hoin the queue, it's about the only thing in the building, and if you are really lucky, there might even be some staff checking in passengers - It certainly wasn't over-staffed! Once checked in, you have to take your luggage to the security gate where it goes onto a conveyor belt. Only one security screener, so that bit is also slow. Once through, you are greeted with a very barren terminal - It has a basic newsagents, a basic shop, coffee and water vending machines and a pricy coffee cart.
Be prepared for lots of queueing, little information and don't leave all of your drink/ ciggy purchases until the airport. And wear deodorant... It can be very 'cosy' in the queue......

We flew to Warsaw from Edinburgh with Central Wings a subsidary of Lot the Polish National Airline. Prices for these flights vary but can be very economical. One thing to bear in mind for payment of the in - flight snacks and drinks - the airline accepts Euros, Zloty but only English Notes, so if flying from Edinburgh check your wallet and make sure you have the required currency. I'm glad I had my camera with me - probably for the last time - to take a picture while standing on the tarmac waiting to board.

Take the bus to the center - it's really cheap and easy (the taxi / other choices available at the airport are a rip-off!). Buy a ticket from the kiosk at the airport before getting on the bus (175 will take you to the main railway station which is in the middle of the city). The bus stops have names and there's a list of all the stops in the bus - and there's no way you can miss the train station.