http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/231915/
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-01 03:07:03 and read 7461 times.
Poland – one of those countries that I'd always liked the idea of visiting, but never thought I'd get around to visiting. That was until a post on Facebook showed that LOT Polish would be sending their new 787 on flights to London on some training flights. Well that was the excuse I needed! Without taking much time to think about it, I was parting with £182 to book myself on the limited flights. LOT would only be sending their new toy to LHR on limited dates throughout December and early January on the promotional European tour. Due to being on my Christmas break from work during those dates, any were possible for me – the only reason I chose the dates I did were because they were the cheapest. I selected both the 787 sectors as I liked the idea of going on two, but the downside of this would be I wouldn’t have too much time in Warsaw due to the early departure the following morning.
LOT would also send their Dreamliner to Munich, (See PlaneHunter’s excellent report for details on this sector - 100th Report: LOT 787 Dream)Liner, 1st Day Of Ops (by PlaneHunter Dec 16 2012 in Trip Reports) ) Vienna, Brussels, Frankfurt, Hannover, Prague, Budapest and Kiev. As it turned out, it was lucky I didn’t choose the very first LOT Dreamliner flight into Heathrow. Due to landing gear issues with SP-LRA, the planned 787 flights were substituted on that day for the tried and tested 737-400. As the second Dreamliner was delivered shortly after, the planned promotional flights continued with SP-LRB being put into service pretty rapidly, and as it turned out only the one 787 flight into LHR ended up being substituted.
Booking was made via the LOT website:
The booking process was pretty standard really. I initially chose seats 27A for both sectors, although upon looking at the walkthrough of the 787 on the LOT website shortly after delivery, I saw that those seats had no window. That wasn’t acceptable, so I logged back on to my booking and changed to 15A and 22A – Luckily I noticed this as although the plane didn’t seem overly full, most of the window seats seemed to be taken.
Due to the pretty early departure of the return flight, I elected the Courtyard by Marriott at Warsaw airport. When booking, the price shown was 215 Zloty. Not having any idea of the conversion rate I didn’t know if this was expensive or not, however upon checking the currency convertor it worked out to about £45 – Bargain!
The day before departure I used the online check in. It was the usual process, however there wasn’t any option to select no bags, so therefore it wouldn’t let you print your own boarding pass. Although I suspected this was to ensure everybody went to check in at the airport in case there were any last minute aircraft changes. I had initially requested seat 15A as it was the only remaining window seat, although once checking the seatmap at check in, I had noticed a lot more had opened up – therefore I moved forward to 12A as at that point I had no seatmates.
The morning of departure I woke up a little earlier than needed so I could check in for my return flight. This was a no go though as it said it couldn't load the seat map. So in theory LOT's online check in was good, but in practice it had a few flaws.
As I had a while to wait before leaving, I checked the inbound flight - and luckily it was still the Dreamliner.
I then made my way out to catch the 07:50 coach.
Passing T5 on the coach
Upon arriving at T1, I made my way over to the LOT check in to get my boarding pass and to try and check in for my return flight. This was no problem, and I was also given better news. As the flight was empty, the friendly check in agent said she would upgrade me to premium. After thanking her and mentioning that I'd chosen this flight for the Dreamliner, she replied if that's the case she’d put me in business if her supervisor agreed to it. She wondered over to another older guy checking people in, he glanced over at me, gave a slight nod and then she replied saying it was fine. She then gave me a choice of row one, two or three. I said I didn’t really mind as long as I had a window. So she gave me seat 1F. This would be the first time I'd sat in row 1. I'd been right in the nose of a VS 747 many years ago, but their rows start at 6, as row 1 was upstairs at the time.
It was then through to security - which was pretty slow even by T1 standards. And to add insult to injury, my bag was also selected for a random search. Once I was finally through I thought I'd try my luck at getting into the Star Alliance lounge - and I was welcomed in with no questions asked.
Food offerings:
Breakfast
I found the breakfast offerings in here to be pretty good, although the quality of the food wasn’t the best and the lounge itself wasn't the best I'd been in. In fact, I was so unimpressed with this lounge, around 30 minutes before boarding was due to be announced I decided to go for a wonder to see if I could see my jet for today. It was unusual for me to leave a lounge so early, especially considering I had seen more than enough of T1 on my previous visit back in October. On my travels I saw the familiar LOT tail heading off in the direction of the new stands, so I made my way down there too as this was unfamiliar territory for me.
It looked like gate 47 would be in use today.
Of interest was that a lot of people heading for the adjacent UA flight to LAX were stopping off and having a good look at the Dreamliner - I guess most of them hadn't seen one before.
Upon entering the holding pen, there were quite a few enthusiasts around.
Boarding started, and I made my way down the jet bridge. Unlike PH’s flight there was no fanfare for this sector. The only mention came onboard during the announcements, mentioning the promotional flights.
LO282
LHR-WAW
30th December 2012
787-85D / SP-LRA
Seat: 1F / Elite Club
Scheduled: 10:35/14:10
Off stand: 10:46
On stand: 13:50
I was greeted at the door by two friendly polish flight attendants and directed to seat 1F.
Legroom wasn’t an issue on this flight
Within a couple of minutes some drinks were brought around. Not in the glasses of BA though, more the plastic of economy.
There were some announcements made but I found them a little hard to hear due to the background noise of the APU etc. and the fact it was a little distorted.
A bit grubby for such a new bird.
Seat controls
I did have a seatmate on this sector - one of the few people in business that did actually. He seemed pretty chatty, and he had also flown a lot by the sound of it. Although he had no idea about the world of aviation! I tried to explain that this was the first aircraft of this type in Europe, but he was of the opinion that all planes are the same. That was until later in the flight when I started playing with the window dimmer. That amazed him, and I informed him that this was unique to this type of aircraft. He was also of the opinion that Emirates were the best airline and that Air India were pretty poor. He also said he liked the catering on PIA but not the planes.
There seemed to be a slight issue with the baggage loader
We pushed back and made a quick taxi out to 27R, departing just before 11 am
A quiet takeoff from LHR
After a bumpy departure, the captain came over the PA and announced a flying time of an hour and forty minutes - shame it wasn't nearer to the two and a half as advertised! The clouds started to clear once we reached the English Channel.
Then the cabin crew started dishing out the various bits and pieces, and I decided to give the IFE a tryout and see how good the noise cancelling headphones were. They weren’t too bad for airline stock, but nowhere near as good as my Bose ones! Also the IFE controller was in an interesting place – almost on the seat. I inadvertently turned the overhead light on at one point and wasn’t too sure how I had done it, or how to turn it off again. As PH mentioned, the dark blue on black buttons don’t make it too clear and the not so obvious position of the controller didn’t help matters either.
There was a full QWERTY keyboard on the reverse
Following this, the lunch service started. First off the table was set, then the drinks were brought round – this time in proper glasses – then the main course. The choice was beef or fish. I chose the beef - although it was only really a mouthful, it was still just about edible. The dessert was a bit hard too, like it had been chilled just a bit too much.
Progressing
Lunch was finished
After this, I grabbed a few more pictures of the business end of this 787.
Window in fully blacked out mode.
Very comfortable seat and fully flat bed.
Cabin overview
Good example of the window modes
The crew dimmed the windows
No-Smoking signs have now been extinguished
I know this aircraft is billed as being quiet - but I was still in amazement at quite how quiet it was. There was very little engine noise, although there was a loud-ish electrical hum throughout the flight that I had seen mentioned on other reports from the Japanese examples.
All too soon it was time to descend. The descent was pretty rapid - in fact due to the haze and the crew sitting down quite late, I hadn't realized quite how close to the ground we had got - I wasn't even totally sure the gear had gone down as, like everything else on this aircraft, it was pretty quiet up at the front
Landing into WAWThe landing was pretty smooth initially, but once the reverse thrust and brakes had really kicked in, it was a rough ride. It was then over to the terminal, passing sister ship SP-LRB proudly on display - not hidden away in a hanger somewhere like I had expected. Also along the way, I noticed quite a few camera flashes going off in the terminal and a few ground crew taking pictures also.
Sister ship SP-LRB
Upon arriving on stand, I asked to visit the flight deck - along with quite a few other people actually. This was eventually granted, however no sooner had I got my lens cap off quite an abrupt stewardess barked "you're finished, next". I did manage to grab a couple of pics, although they were a bit rushed.
It was then off through the terminal, to the hotel, chatting to another enthusiast along the way - who mentioned that this flight had earned him his millionth air mile. Impressive!
Not the most interesting stamp!
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-01 03:10:52 and read 7487 times.
Once at the hotel, I dumped my bag and headed straight down to the train station to go into the city.
As the light disappears pretty quickly in Poland, the destination pics aren’t that brilliant. I got off the train at Warsaw Central and took a walk down to the pretty busy Old Town.
After making my way back towards the central station and grabbing some dinner at the Hard Rock Café, I headed back to the hotel for the night, taking a brief detour around the airport terminal along the way, although there wasn't a huge amount to be seen.
I left my hotel at 05:30 the following morning and made my way over to the terminal. There was a pretty long queue at check in, so I looked elsewhere to get a souvenir boarding pass. Luckily there was a hand baggage only line with just two people in it.
No upgrade today unfortunately, although at least now I'd get a good comparison of business and economy.
Then it was off through security and a brief look airside, before heading down to gate 22.
Once again it would be SP-LRA. I was hoping that -LRB would be put into action, but from looking at its history over the last week or so, I knew that it had been used pretty sparingly.
Pretty difficult to get pictures here due to the curvature of the windows
Boarding started at 07:15 – once again no fanfare apart from the announcements onboard. I guess they only had a celebration for the first day of ops.
Once through the door to the jet bridge there was a welcome surprise.
It looked like we would be heading over to SP-LRB after all, which was a nice little twist to the tale. After the delays, cancellations, downgrades that I'd suffered over the last few months it was very welcome to not only get a trip where things had not only gone right but actually much better than expected. Once at the side of the jet, the ground crew were very accommodating towards people wanting to take pictures, and the seemed happy enough to let people hang around. Definitely a first. I took the rear steps.
Under the wing, you know
Definitely the 787!
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-01 03:11:38 and read 7501 times.
LO281
WAW-LHR
31st December 2012
787-85D / SP-LRB
Seat: 22A / Economy
Scheduled: 07:45/09:35
Off stand: 08:03
On stand: 09:47
Once onboard, it appeared to be a pretty full flight. In the rear section of economy at least I couldn't see a single spare seat. The crew made the usual announcements, and interestingly they were a little louder and less distorted on -LRB
The legroom wasn't too bad, but the width could of been better. Or it could have been down to the guy next to me who not only thought both armrests were his, but also seemed to have his legs in a permanent ten to two position.
The final Busload
Flying time
And route
We then pushed back and made our way over to the runway quite slowly. The captain announced a flying time of 2 hours.
Once at the runway, we taxied into position and held for a minute or two while a EuroLot landed on the cross runway. As soon as that had passed, we were off.
Departure from WAW
Once airborne, the crew distributed the headsets, shortly followed by breakfast. Although to be honest, it was more of a lunch. Either way it was more substantial and tasty than the business class meal I had yesterday, which was a little strange I thought.
The rest of the flight was mostly uneventful - apart from the person at behind thinking that the seatback touchscreen required a lot of force. And a few light bumps along the way.
Wing Detail
Descent into London started at 08:57. Unsurprisingly, we ended up doing a few laps North of London. Also unsurprisingly, the weather wasn't too great so there wasn't much to be seen until on short finals.
Looking grey over London
Touchdown was with a reasonable bump and we made the short taxi (or drive as BA put it) over to terminal 1.
Landing into a wet LHR
As I'd been held captive in my seat for the whole flight, I decided to hang back and get a few pictures after everybody else had left. This caught the attention of the crewmember looking after the section I was in, and he asked what I thought of the new plane. Well in business, the product was very good - although the service wasn't quite up to the standards of BA/LH etc. In economy, I must admit I didn't find it awfully different to any other plane I had been on really. The cabin air seemed a bit fresher though and it wasn’t quite as dry. The air conditioning seemed more like the sort you would get from a car than a plane is the best I can really describe it.
Premium Cabin
I didn’t bother with any pics of the business cabin as I covered that yesterday.
I attempted to get a reasonable time in the flight deck this time round, but once again I was limited to two rushed pics before I was thrown out. They still turned out better than my previous attempts though.
Interestingly, on both sectors there was a British guy from Monarch engineering on the flight deck. I heard him mention on yesterday's flight that he was based in WAW. It was a little annoying I didn't get to find out more, as it seemed odd that Monarch would base somebody at an airport they don't serve on a type they don't even have on order.
After that, it was once again into the future Terminal 2, taking some pictures along the way.
I thought these were only novelty signs?!
T2 overview
T1 baggage claim
And the last ditch effort to sell you stuff you don’t want.
The plus side of all the hanging around was that by the time I'd got to passport control I was virtually the only person there so I was through in seconds. It was then off to the central bus station for the final time this year and homeward bound to put the finishing touches to the report!
And so brings to an end my most comprehensive year of flying ever. I had well and truly beaten my previous record of eight sectors in a calendar year, set in 1991. I logged ten new types, nine new airlines, eleven new countries and sixteen new airports on board thirty sectors. 2013 is shaping up to be pretty good too with fourteen sectors booked between now and the beginning of May covering new airlines, types, airports, countries and continents as well as re familiarizing myself with a couple of old types and an airline I haven’t flown with in 22 years! I’ll also be trying out a current airlines new venture on board its inaugural UK domestic flight in March.
There’s still one more report from earlier in December to be posted, although I decided to put my efforts into this one as it’s of more interest.
But until then, happy New Year!
Previous trip reports
British Airways LGW-AGP-LCY 737/E190 Nov. 2012 (by jwhite9185 Dec 1 2012 in Trip Reports)
Part 2: 5 Flights 3 Airlines MXP-ZRH-DUS-LHR LX/LH (by jwhite9185 Nov 14 2012 in Trip Reports)
Part 1: 5 Flights 3 Airlines LHR-BRU-MXP In Theory (by jwhite9185 Oct 29 2012 in Trip Reports)
Cancellations, Widebodies And Iberia LHR-MAD-LHR (by jwhite9185 Oct 17 2012 in Trip Reports)
Virgin Atlantic's New A330 LHR-JFK-LHR (by jwhite9185 Sep 21 2012 in Trip Reports)
A Night In Amsterdam - KLM F70/738 LHR-AMS-LHR (by jwhite9185 Aug 28 2012 in Trip Reports)
Trying Out Flybe - LGW-BHD-GLA-BHD-LGW (by jwhite9185 Jul 11 2012 in Trip Reports)
A Day Trip To MAN (by jwhite9185 Jun 21 2012 in Trip Reports)
Nice, Monaco And The Great British Lounge With BMI (by jwhite9185 May 13 2012 in Trip Reports)
EI237/182 LGW-DUB-LHR And 2 Lounges (by jwhite9185 Apr 18 2012 in Trip Reports)
LGW-FRA-BRU-LHR With LH And SN (by jwhite9185 Mar 27 2012 in Trip Reports)
BA906/8735 LHR-FRA-LCY (by jwhite9185 Mar 13 2012 in Trip Reports)
VS015/016 LGW-MCO-LGW June 2010 (by jwhite9185 Jan 20 2012 in Trip Reports)
VS006 MIA-LHR A340-642 June 2008 (by jwhite9185 Feb 10 2012 in Trip Reports)
Virgin Atlantic 747 To BGI - October 2007 (by jwhite9185 Aug 3 2012 in Trip Reports)
Username: PlaneHunter
Posted 2013-01-01 03:35:48 and read 7344 times.
Hi James,
great report about your Dreamliner experience, I was looking forward to this one! Congratulations on getting upgraded and getting SP-LRB as well. You were really lucky!
You took many nice wing shots, that's what I hadn't been able to do on my evening flights. And boarding by stairs was an additional treat!
Btw - thanks for posting a link to my report! 
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
As it turned out, it was lucky I didn’t choose the very first LOT Dreamliner flight into Heathrow. Due to landing gear issues with SP-LRA, the planned 787 flights were substituted on that day for the tried and tested 737-400.
At least two round trips to MUC were operated by 734s, too.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Not having any idea of the conversion rate I didn’t know if this was expensive or not, however upon checking the currency convertor it worked out to about £45 – Bargain!
Yes, very good deal.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
As the flight was empty, the friendly check in agent said she would upgrade me to premium. After thanking her and mentioning that I'd chosen this flight for the Dreamliner, she replied if that's the case she’d put me in business if her supervisor agreed to it. She wondered over to another older guy checking people in, he glanced over at me, gave a slight nod and then she replied saying it was fine. She then gave me a choice of row one, two or three. I said I didn’t really mind as long as I had a window. So she gave me seat 1F.
What a nice surprise!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Unlike PH’s flight there was no fanfare for this sector. The only mention came onboard during the announcements, mentioning the promotional flights.
Would be interesting to know if there was a celebration on the first day of Dreamliner operations to LHR.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
As PH mentioned, the dark blue on black buttons don’t make it too clear and the not so obvious position of the controller didn’t help matters either.
Happy New Year!
PH
Username: visualapproach
Posted 2013-01-01 03:37:01 and read 7333 times.
An enjoyable report. Are you flying LHR-MAN on the inaugural flight then?
Username: airbuseric
Posted 2013-01-01 04:04:01 and read 7254 times.
Nice report James. Good pics and always good to score different registrations, especially under this situation when LO have only 2.
Regards
Eric
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-01 04:31:02 and read 7172 times.
Thanks for the comments already!
PH,
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3):
great report about your Dreamliner experience
Thanks,
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3):
Congratulations on getting upgraded and getting SP-LRB as well. You were really lucky!
Yeah first op-up I'd had since 2000 on a flight back from ORD with VS. Glad a logged -LRB also.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3):
You took many nice wing shots, that's what I hadn't been able to do on my evening flights. And boarding by stairs was an additional treat!
The wings on this bird have always amazed me, so I was glad to experience them flexing on takeoff first hand. I'm wondering if -LRA has gone tech again as it seemed odd that -LRA was at the gate, yet -LRB hadn't moved from its remote stand overnight. I heard a few rumours amongst other enthusiasts when disembarking at LHR that it had problems again.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3):
Btw - thanks for posting a link to my report!
No problem!
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3):
At least two round trips to MUC were operated by 734s, too.
Must of been in the slight gap between -LRA going tech and -LRB being delivered. Wonder if there will ban any more 734 subs now?
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3):
What a nice surprise!
It really was. Had a big smile on my face for about 15 minutes after that.
Quoting PlaneHunter (Reply 3):
Would be interesting to know if there was a celebration on the first day of Dreamliner operations to LHR.
Looking at the wording on the certificate you got, it seemed like they would be given to every passenger on the European flights even if they didn't have the celebrations.
visualapproach,
Quoting visualapproach (Reply 4):
An enjoyable report.
Thank you.
Quoting visualapproach (Reply 4):
Are you flying LHR-MAN on the inaugural flight then?
No, I'll be on the MAN-LHR sector - the very first flight!
Eric,
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 5):
Nice report James.
Thanks,
Quoting airbuseric (Reply 5):
Good pics and always good to score different registrations, especially under this situation when LO have only 2.
Thanks. I guess for a short time, I'll have been on 100% of the LO 787 fleet.
Username: Widebodyroga
Posted 2013-01-01 06:15:39 and read 6851 times.
Hey J,
Really cool trip report. It seems like Warsaw is the hottest European airport to fly into these days (due to the 787). Nice that you got to sample it too.
Man, before the addition of that tiny red stripe on the tail the LOT livery was "OK". With that tiny spec of red the livery is now totally kickass. Lovely.
Some great photos of Warsaw by the way. Certain buildings make it look remarkably similar to Sofia.
Wow, a gay-pride light display in Warsaw? What would the Pope say?
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
And so brings to an end my most comprehensive year of flying ever. I had well and truly beaten my previous record of eight sectors in a calendar year, set in 1991. I logged ten new types, nine new airlines, eleven new countries and sixteen new airports
Congrats!
Thanks again,
Widebodyroga
Username: delta777jet
Posted 2013-01-01 06:41:49 and read 6766 times.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Interestingly, on both sectors there was a British guy from Monarch engineering on the flight deck. I heard him mention on yesterday's flight that he was based in WAW. It was a little annoying I didn't get to find out more, as it seemed odd that Monarch would base somebody at an airport they don't serve on a type they don't even have on order.
Thats because Monarch Engineering got the maintenance contract to look after the 787 of LOT. It seems odd, that LOT will not use their own resources, but that's how it is.
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-01 07:05:42 and read 6685 times.
Stojan,
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7):
Really cool trip report.
Thanks,
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7):
It seems like Warsaw is the hottest European airport to fly into these days (due to the 787).
Yeah theres been a few reports over the last week or two. No doubt there will be more to come. Another reason why I chose to get this one done quickly. So it didn't become yet another LOT Dreamliner report!
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7):
Man, before the addition of that tiny red stripe on the tail the LOT livery was "OK". With that tiny spec of red the livery is now totally kickass. Lovely.
I guess you're right. Although the 787 in this basic livery looks very good anyway I think - much better than the Qatar example I pictured at LHR last week.
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7):
Some great photos of Warsaw by the way.
Thanks, just a shame it was dark for pretty much the whole time I was in Poland
Quoting Widebodyroga (Reply 7):
Wow, a gay-pride light display in Warsaw?
Interesting one this - it was lit up like this from a distance, but close up it was all purple. Couldn't figure out if the lights changed colour or weather it was some sort of illusion with the lighting effect.
Delta777jet
| Quoting delta777jet (Reply 8): Thats because Monarch Engineering got the maintenance contract to look after the 787 of LOT. It seems odd, that LOT will not use their own resources, but that's how it is. |
Ahh that clears that one up then. Maybe MON are hoping to get some on the cheap if LOT take a turn for the worse as predicted in a Polish newspaper that I read whilst I was there.
Username: 817Dreamliiner
Posted 2013-01-01 07:42:21 and read 6567 times.
Nice report!
Awesome you got upgraded on the first flight, lucky you! Great that you also got to bard via stairs, this is starting to become a rare occurrence, well, except LCC of course. Thanks for sharing your report, looking forward to reading more from you 
Username: roberts87
Posted 2013-01-01 12:25:43 and read 6015 times.
Great report, thanks for posting!
Congrats on logging the 787! And getting an upgrade on the outbound, and boarding by stairs on the way back, how cool is that?!
Username: reifel
Posted 2013-01-01 12:57:29 and read 5925 times.
Thanks so much for sharing!
You were terribly lucky with your upgrade! Hope I will have same luck, too
The Star Alliance lounge at T1 is not really nice. The old BMI lounge in the same terminal was sooo much nicer, but I believe it is not of any use now for *G holders...
Premium Economy looks great, I believe with the Dreamliner LOT now offers a great long haul product.
Concerning the food, they have been offering these Polo bars since I can think
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-01 13:34:18 and read 5828 times.
Hi Robert,
Quoting roberts87 (Reply 11):
Congrats on logging the 787! And getting an upgrade on the outbound, and boarding by stairs on the way back, how cool is that?!
As I mentioned, the upgrade was a huge surprise, as was getting LRB on the return especially considering -LRA was parked at the gate the flight was departing from.
Frederic,
Quoting reifel (Reply 12):
You were terribly lucky with your upgrade! Hope I will have same luck, too
I guess the trick is to get there early and mention you're taking the trip especially to get the Dreamliner.
Quoting reifel (Reply 12):
The Star Alliance lounge at T1 is not really nice. The old BMI lounge in the same terminal was sooo much nicer
Completely agree, plus the view was much better from the BMI lounge. Hopefully I'll get to try it out in its BMI form at some point this year.
Quoting reifel (Reply 12):
I believe with the Dreamliner LOT now offers a great long haul product.
Their business product was pretty good - better than VS actually. Still to make my mind up on the economy seat though. Hard to say for sure as my seatmate was taking up a lot of room. Maybe an excuse to book another trip...
Quoting reifel (Reply 12):
Concerning the food, they have been offering these Polo bars since I can think
I've seen them featured on quite a few TR's already. They were quite good actually, although I'm still questioning the reason behind serving them on such an early flight on the return.
Username: ba319-131
Posted 2013-01-01 13:53:21 and read 5786 times.
Hi James,
Great report and pictures, thanks for sharing.
Congratulations on joining the 787 'flown' crew, still not many of us on the list, even less of us who have two plus under our belts Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
As the flight was empty, the friendly check in agent said she would upgrade me to premium. After thanking her and mentioning that I'd chosen this flight for the Dreamliner, she replied if that's the case she’d put me in business if her supervisor agreed to it. She wondered over to another older guy checking people in, he glanced over at me, gave a slight nod and then she replied saying it was fine. She then gave me a choice of row one, two or three. I said I didn’t really mind as long as I had a window. So she gave me seat 1F. This would be the first time I'd sat in row 1.
- Now that is nice, hugely unexpected at that too!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
I was greeted at the door by two friendly polish flight attendants and directed to seat 1F.
- Ah, 1F, opposite side of my fav, 1A.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
the lunch service started. First off the table was set, then the drinks were brought round – this time in proper glasses – then the main course. The choice was beef or fish. I chose the beef - although it was only really a mouthful, it was still just about edible. The dessert was a bit hard too, like it had been chilled just a bit too much.
- Hmm, looks a bit of a weak offering really, quite 'cheap' looking.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
was still in amazement at quite how quiet it was. There was very little engine noise, although there was a loud-ish electrical hum throughout the flight that I had seen mentioned on other reports from the Japanese examples.
- Glad others are hearing this electrical 'noise'.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
on both sectors there was a British guy from Monarch engineering on the flight deck. I heard him mention on yesterday's flight that he was based in WAW. It was a little annoying I didn't get to find out more, as it seemed odd that Monarch would base somebody at an airport they don't serve on a type they don't even have on order.
- Despite ZB cancelling their 787's, the engineering department will/are still supporting the 787 in Europe, could well be LOT have retained Monarch Engineering to maintain their 787 fleet.
Cheers
Mark
Username: 767747
Posted 2013-01-01 14:14:24 and read 5722 times.
Great report!
Interesting to read and see photos of the experience you had flying with LOT on their new 787. Elite Club looks spacious, and I love the dimming windows!
I'm looking forward to flying on a 787 sometime in the near future here in the US!
Best,
Matthew
Username: ThomasCook
Posted 2013-01-01 14:24:50 and read 5690 times.
Hi,
Nice comparison to read and compare notes from my trip too!
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
- Hmm, looks a bit of a weak offering really, quite 'cheap' looking.
Obviously this is the short haul offering, not long haul. Looks more appealing then BA Club Europe's offering or KLMs snack box. LOT have totally overhauled their long haul offering ready for the 787.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
- Despite ZB cancelling their 787's, the engineering department will/are still supporting the 787 in Europe, could well be LOT have retained Monarch Engineering to maintain their 787 fleet.
Travel Service Engineers were also on hand in Prague for my flights. Perhaps both Monarch and Travel Service are simply 'shadowing' or working with LOT to build experience for their 787 engineering and operations in Travel Service's case.
Thanks
ThomasCook
Username: OA260
Posted 2013-01-02 01:33:37 and read 5117 times.
Great report James
Lovely photos and nice to see all three cabins. Loved your photos of Warsaw, been there many times and like the city.
Looking forward to your next report .
Regards
Philip
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-02 11:19:37 and read 4458 times.
Mark,
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
Great report and pictures
Thanks
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
Congratulations on joining the 787 'flown' crew, still not many of us on the list, even less of us who have two plus under our belts
Yeah, pretty strange to think I've now logged two 787's before I've logged a single 777 of any variant!
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
Now that is nice, hugely unexpected at that too!
Definitely.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
Ah, 1F, opposite side of my fav, 1A.
1A would of been good, but anywhere in that cabin would of done.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
Hmm, looks a bit of a weak offering really, quite 'cheap' looking.
One of the weakest business meals I've had. Although still not quite as bad as BA's afternoon tea! As i mentioned, the economy meal was more substantial.
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
Glad others are hearing this electrical 'noise'.
Its a strange one. Only time I've heard a noise like that is at work when they're running a transformer up. And I wouldn't of thought a Dreamliner has that sort of power on board!
Quoting ba319-131 (Reply 14):
Despite ZB cancelling their 787's, the engineering department will/are still supporting the 787 in Europe, could well be LOT have retained Monarch Engineering to maintain their 787 fleet.
Guess it could be a money earner for them with relatively little overheads.
767747,
Quoting 767747 (Reply 15):
Great report!
Thanks,
Quoting 767747 (Reply 15):
I'm looking forward to flying on a 787 sometime in the near future here in the US!
They're not bad, but a little over hyped. I guess it comes down to how the individual airline configures it though. If I had gone in business both directions, I'd probably had the opinion it was brilliant. If I had gone economy both ways and had a seat mate taking up the room I would of thought it was awful! Guess I need another trip before I'm swayed either way.
Quoting ThomasCook (Reply 16):
Obviously this is the short haul offering, not long haul. Looks more appealing then BA Club Europe's offering or KLMs snack box. LOT have totally overhauled their long haul offering ready for the 787.
Even so, It was pretty poor I though. Barely a mouthful. The economy roll was very good though - better than I've had on LH and BA.
Philip,
Quoting OA260 (Reply 17):
Great report James
Thanks,
Quoting OA260 (Reply 17):
Loved your photos of Warsaw, been there many times and like the city.
Just a shame it was dark for all but about 15 minutes of my time in the city!
Quoting OA260 (Reply 17):
Looking forward to your next report .
It's pretty much done, so hopefully you shouldn't have too long to wait.
Username: FLIEGER67
Posted 2013-01-02 14:02:02 and read 4213 times.
Hi, J.,
good work.
Really interesting to follow you´re impressions after the pics and story by PH.
Sounds like a good move to catch especially these flights, well done.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Under the wing, you know
Perfect, you know!.
Greetings,
Markus(FLIEGER67)
Username: LO231
Posted 2013-01-02 14:03:48 and read 4213 times.
Thank you for replying to my comment in another dreamliner thread. Still hoping to get some kind of recognision as my flight on Sat will be the first out of BRU...
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-02 14:08:07 and read 4195 times.
Markus,
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 19):
good work.
Thanks,
Quoting FLIEGER67 (Reply 19):
Perfect, you know!.
The first thing I thought of when stepping off the bus was to get a first under the wing shot from the Dreamliner.
LO231,
Quoting LO231 (Reply 20):
Thank you for replying to my comment in another dreamliner thread.
No problem.
Quoting LO231 (Reply 20):
Still hoping to get some kind of recognision as my flight on Sat will be the first out of BRU...
It will be interesting to see - do let me know!
Username: LO231
Posted 2013-01-02 14:42:06 and read 4149 times.
Hehe I will but after I come back from Poland. Vodka is waiting I guess, haven't seen my brother for a while... So my airliners and family needs will be met
[Edited 2013-01-02 14:45:01]
Username: Parton87
Posted 2013-01-02 15:59:46 and read 4037 times.
Hello James!
Thanks for the great report! Nice to read some more 787 report. Nice with the upgrade!
Lovely pictures from Warsaw as well! The old town looks nice with the Christmas decoration!
Greetings
Robert
Username: LO231
Posted 2013-01-02 17:51:37 and read 3893 times.
Parton, I will have pics of Warsa next week when I come back from WAW both flights on 787. Hopefully I will get some pics to post
Username: WROORD
Posted 2013-01-02 18:52:42 and read 3856 times.
Hi James,
A very nice report on LOT's 787 in LHR. An upgrade to biz and both 787s that's called lucky. The hotel was a great bargain as well.Do you know what was your cruising altitude and speed on both flights? I wonder if they went full blast or are just merely pushing it to its normal standards.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Reply 1):
As the light disappears pretty quickly in Poland, the destination pics aren’t that brilliant.
The pictures turned out fine. By the way what time it gets dark in England in December? I thought that for everyone on the north side of the earth the shortest days are in December.
There was no empty middle seat on LRB flight back? I guess with two aircraft LOT is selling all tickets as opposed to only 170 when they only had LRA.
Username: LO231
Posted 2013-01-02 19:17:13 and read 3829 times.
Parton, I will have pics of Warsaw next week when I come back from WAW both flights on 787. Hopefully I will get some pics to post
Username: YYZatcboy
Posted 2013-01-02 20:29:47 and read 3793 times.
Nice trip report. When the crew dimmed the windows could you manually override them a bit so you could still see out or were your controlls locked out?
Username: LO231
Posted 2013-01-02 22:15:58 and read 3740 times.
It's official. 2 days to go
Username: sultanils
Posted 2013-01-03 03:43:18 and read 3582 times.
Hey James,
Thanks for a most entertaining and interesting read. That really couldn’t be any better: a brandnew plane type, an upgrade to biz and flying on the 2 different frames they have!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
£182
That wasn’t cheap.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
As the flight was empty, the friendly check in agent said she would upgrade me to premium. After thanking her and mentioning that I'd chosen this flight for the Dreamliner, she replied if that's the case she’d put me in business if her supervisor agreed to it. She wondered over to another older guy checking people in, he glanced over at me, gave a slight nod and then she replied saying it was fine.
An upgrade, just like that, out of the blue? Lucky man!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Seat 15A / Economy
Seat: 1F / Elite Club
Ha ha, attention to detail is important 
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
A bit grubby for such a new bird
Some disrespectful pax have already come across?
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
After a bumpy departure, the captain came over the PA and announced a flying time of an hour and forty minutes - shame it wasn't nearer to the two and a half as advertised!
With such a timeframe, you might never be late.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Lunch was finished
To be honest: a bit disappointing for quantity. Can’t say anything about quality though 
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
No upgrade today unfortunately
Can’t have it all mate Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
It looked like we would be heading over to SP-LRB after all
Great outdoor shots. Pretty cool of the ground and cabin crew to let you take pics. In WAW that is.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Or it could have been down to the guy next to me who not only thought both armrests were his, but also seemed to have his legs in a permanent ten to two position.
Ah, another case of ‘swollen testicle syndrome’. How I hate that...
Sultanils
Username: MSS658
Posted 2013-01-03 04:32:38 and read 3503 times.
Hey James
Great report, thanks for taking the time to put this one up
Glad you where able to catch these flights and a free upgrade to J makes it even better.
Good to see you had both 787's.
Greetings
Marc
Username: CaptainRed
Posted 2013-01-03 11:15:34 and read 3258 times.
Hi James,
enjoyable report here. Good to read more about the 787, and nice that you actually got to log both frames they have.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
I initially chose seats 27A for both sectors, although upon looking at the walkthrough of the 787 on the LOT website shortly after delivery, I saw that those seats had no window.
Lucky for you that you have noticed that before the flight and could have it changed.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
As the flight was empty, the friendly check in agent said she would upgrade me to premium.
Well done here, always nice to see someone who appreciates our interest. Cool to get to fly in the premium cabin.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
He also said he liked the catering on PIA but not the planes.
Hmm, didn't he say earlier that all the planes are the same ?
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
"you're finished, next"
Too bad, but on the other side understandable if there are other people interested as well. Good that you managed to shoot a few pictured nonetheless. Really impressive cockpit here with the big screens.
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
Once at the side of the jet, the ground crew were very accommodating towards people wanting to take pictures, and the seemed happy enough to let people hang around.
Very nice, definitely unusual. But very nice to get so close to that plane and even have the opportunity to take some pictures.
Thanks for sharing this awesome trip with us
CaptainRed
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-03 11:58:19 and read 3235 times.
Parton87,
Quoting Parton87 (Reply 23):
Thanks for the great report!
No problem!
Quoting Parton87 (Reply 23):
The old town looks nice with the Christmas decoration!
Yeah it was a little crowded though, especially with the Christmas market. Felt like I couldnt quite fit it all into the pictures as I was a bit too close to it all.
WROORD,
Quoting WROORD (Reply 25):
A very nice report on LOT's 787 in LHR.
Thanks,
Quoting WROORD (Reply 25):
An upgrade to biz and both 787s that's called lucky.
Both were a nice surprise,
Quoting WROORD (Reply 25):
Do you know what was your cruising altitude and speed on both flights?
On the outbound I think the cruise was at 38,000 ft, and the fact made the journey 50 minutes quicker than scheduled meant we must of been going a little faster than usual.
The return was at 40,000ft I believe. Not too sure on the airspeed though.
Quoting WROORD (Reply 25):
The pictures turned out fine.
Not too bad on here, but the full size images are a little grainy due to the high iso that was needed.
Quoting WROORD (Reply 25):
By the way what time it gets dark in England in December? I thought that for everyone on the north side of the earth the shortest days are in December.
Around 16:15, where as in Warsaw it was more 15:30. Not a huge difference but enough.
Quoting WROORD (Reply 25):
There was no empty middle seat on LRB flight back?
There wasn't. Seemed a pretty full load from what I could see.
YYZatcboy
Quoting YYZatcboy (Reply 27):
Nice trip report.
Thanks,
Quoting YYZatcboy (Reply 27):
When the crew dimmed the windows could you manually override them a bit so you could still see out or were your controlls locked out?
You could only make them darker. Seems like the crew could set them to a maximum brightness setting, so the PAX cant open them up beyond a set limit. I also noticed the other side, which the sun wasn't on, had theirs fully 'open'. SO it would seem they can set them by Port/Starboard also.
Nils,
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
Thanks for a most entertaining and interesting read.
No problem.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
That really couldn’t be any better: a brandnew plane type, an upgrade to biz and flying on the 2 different frames they have!
This was one trip I was very pleased with.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
That wasn’t cheap.
One of the pricier trips I've taken this (or by now - last) year. - on the return sector all the cheap economy fares had sold out, so had to go for the full fat instead.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
An upgrade, just like that, out of the blue?
Indeed. Unheard of these days. Used to get them all the time back in the 90's when I used to travel with my parents - as my mum was the manager of the local Thomas Cook, the airlines used to bend over backwards to please!
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
Ha ha, attention to detail is important
Of course! Lucky I didn't put all my requested seats in there...
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
Some disrespectful pax have already come across?
Annoying how some people have no respect for other peoples belongings. Same as the guy sat behind me on the return smacking the touchscreen so hard I could feel it in the back of my head.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
With such a timeframe, you might never be late.
Guess they stuck to the E170/190 schedule which are a little slower.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
To be honest: a bit disappointing for quantity. Can’t say anything about quality though
Neither were brilliant. Apart from the Prince Polo.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
Can’t have it all mate
I didn't mind - Wanted to see what economy was like anyway, although if they had offered me another upgrade I wouldn't of declined!
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
Great outdoor shots. Pretty cool of the ground and cabin crew to let you take pics.
My only regret from this trip was not getting my proper camera out - the shots I took were with my phone.
Quoting sultanils (Reply 29):
Ah, another case of ‘swollen testicle syndrome’. How I hate that...
Yet pretty common I've found.
Marc,
Quoting MSS658 (Reply 30):
Great report, thanks for taking the time to put this one up
Cheers!
Marco,
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 31):
Lucky for you that you have noticed that before the flight and could have it changed.
Alarm bells started ringing when I saw a report from an AI 787, and noticed there was a window blocked out at the back. The guy who did end up in 27A on the return was asking pretty much everybody if they wanted to swap. I think he ended up in one of the D seats.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 31):
Hmm, didn't he say earlier that all the planes are the same
He seemed the kind to have a lot to say about everything! Nice enough guy though.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 31):
Too bad, but on the other side understandable if there are other people interested as well.
Yeah I can understand as there was quite a queue and a short turnaround, especially at LHR. They could of been a bit nicer about it though! The flight crew didn't seem to bothered by it.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 31):
Really impressive cockpit here with the big screens.
Although I had seen pics of it, It was still quite impressive. So much different to previous Boeing jets. Surprising that theres only a short-ish conversion course from the 777.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 31):
Very nice, definitely unusual. But very nice to get so close to that plane and even have the opportunity to take some pictures.
I know - there was one guy who I noticed spent a good 5-10 minutes chatting to one of the ground crew manning the rear stairs. I guess as its a new type, they expected enthusiasts and were a little more lenient.
Quoting CaptainRed (Reply 31):
Thanks for sharing this awesome trip with us
My pleasure!
Username: adamspotter
Posted 2013-01-03 12:39:02 and read 3162 times.
Hi James!
Fantastic report on LOTs dreamliner, thanks for sharing it with us!
Looks like you had 2 nice flights and congrats on the upgrade, very nice of the agent to do that for you!
Nice pictures of Warsaw too, it looks like a nice city!
Quoting jwhite9185 (Thread starter):
A bit grubby for such a new bird.
Indeed!
cheers,
Brendan
Username: jwhite9185
Posted 2013-01-03 13:20:48 and read 3113 times.
Hi Brendan,
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 33):
Fantastic report on LOTs dreamliner, thanks for sharing it with us!
No problem
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 33):
Looks like you had 2 nice flights
Yeah they were pretty good. One was obviously better than the other though!
Quoting adamspotter (Reply 33):
Nice pictures of Warsaw too, it looks like a nice city!
It was pretty good, just a shame I didn't have a little longer there really.
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