Review: LOT Polish Airlines Economy Class Embraer ERJ-175
In this review, we will take a LOT Polish Airlines flight in economy class on the Embraer ERJ-175 from Bucharest to Warsaw.
At the airport
Sometimes you just now already in advance that you will have an excellent day of flying ahead. With gorgeous spring weather and zero queues whatsoever at the airport, today was exactly such a day.
I was about to fly with LOT Polish Airlines from Bucharest to Warsaw – with a next-day connection to Zurich in Switzerland – and I was certainly looking forward to the journey.
Although it’s certainly not a luxurious experience, I always like flying with LOT Polish Airlines in economy class and have developed a soft spot for them over the last years.
In this flight review, I hope to be able to show exactly what I appreciate about LOT.
Having Star Alliance Gold status, I could access the mediocre TAROM Business Lounge before my flight.
Although this lounge is certainly nothing to write home about, at least it made for a quiet and calm spot to wait for my flight and watch some aircraft movements on the tarmac.
Boarding
My flight from Bucharest to Warsaw on LOT Polish Airlines would be operated by an Embraer ERJ-175.
Leaving aside some Boeing 737s (both the 737-800 and the MAX) and the Bombardier Dash 8-400 in service of LOT Polish Airlines, it’s the Embraer which forms the backbone of LOT’s short and mid-haul fleet.
‘Bigger is better’ is certainly not a credo which rings true to LOT Polish Airlines as these small Embraers – whether it’s the Embraer ERJ-175 (E175) I would fly today or the slightly larger ERJ-190 (E190) – are all superior to the Boeing 737 when it comes to comfort.
The only slight downside of flying out of Bucharest on a small plane like an Embraer is that your flight will depart from a bus gate from the basement of the airport.
With no priority boarding as to speak of and a journey across the apron in a packed airport bus, boarding is certainly no fun. That said, being driven across the airport is always a good opportunity for some plane spotting.
Bucharest (OTP) to Warsaw (WAW) on LOT Polish Airlines
Flight LO642 – Embraer ERJ-175 – Economy class, seat 5D
Plane registration number: SP-LIB
Departure: 2.20pm – Arrival: 3.05pm
Flight time: 1h45m – Distance: 575 miles
Costs: 134 EUR for OTP-WAW-ZRH
The Embraer ERJ-175 cabin
The cabin on the LOT Polish Airlines Embraer ERJ-175 is basically the same as the those on the E190 and E195, which basically are a larger stretch of the E170/175 models having a couple of extra rows of seats.
Seats on these Embraers are in a 2-2 configuration, which means that you are never stuck in the middle seat.
The seats on the LOT Polish Airlines Embraer ERJ-175 are comfortable, spacious leather seats which certainly have a generous seat pitch and lots of shoulder room.
In my opinion, these are perhaps the most comfortable economy class seats you can find in the skies over Europe – and I would certainly go to great lengths to make sure you are booked on a LOT Polish Airlines Embraer instead of one of their other planes.
Each seat on the LOT Polish Airlines Embraer ERJ-175 has a power socket and the cabin also features individual air nozzles. These planes are however not equipped with WiFi internet.
Departure
With LOT Polish Airlines, you can assign yourself a seat free of charge during online check-in and I managed to grab window seat 5D towards the front of the cabin.
I lucked out as the seat next to me would remain empty despite the passenger load being a healthy 80 to 90 percent.
After a short while taxiing across the apron we lined up for departure on this gorgeous spring afternoon.
The views upon take-off over Bucharest Otopeni Airport, the Wallachian countryside and the oilfields of Ploiești were lovely.
In-flight service
On LOT Polish Airlines flights in economy class, a complimentary snack and drink is included in the fare.
You have the choice between something sweet or savoury, and I opted for the former.
The apple pastry which was served was certainly delicious.
When it comes to drinks, only water is free of charge, with each passenger given the choice of still or sparkling water.
The LOT flight attendants also make a run through the cabin with a beverage cart if you might want anything else to eat and drink from the buy-on-board menu.
For a short European flight, I think it’s the perfect economy class service.
Arrival
The flight to Warsaw went by fast and soon the fasten seatbelt sign went on again as we slowly descended towards Chopin Airport.
Although the weather in Poland was decidedly more cloudy than in Romania, the views on arrival were great.
Flying over the Vistula River, we approached Warsaw from the south-east, which meant that I had a great view from my starboard window over the Warsaw skyline.
The landing at Warsaw Chopin Airport was smooth and on-time.
Conclusion
LOT Polish Airlines does not only have a good economy class product, but in their Embraer planes they also have some of the most comfortable aircraft in the skies.
Seats on the LOT Polish Airlines Embraer ERJ-175 (E175) are large, have a decent seat pitch – and as a passenger you will have huge amounts of shoulder room too.
Compared to your average seat on the ubiquitous Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s – the workhorses of most other European airlines – the Embraer really stands out in passenger space and comfort.
Add in LOT’s general reliability and a complimentary snack and drink, and you may have very well one of the best ways to fly within Europe as an economy class passenger.
Trip report index
This article is part of the ‘Across Europe by Train: Interrail in the Age of Corona‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:
1. Review: LOT Polish Airlines Economy Class (Embraer ERJ-175) Bucharest to Warsaw (current chapter)
2. Walking Through an Empty Warsaw in Corona Lockdown
3. Review: Four Points by Sheraton Warsaw Mokotow
4. Review: LOT Polish Airlines Economy Class Warsaw to Zurich (Boeing 737 MAX)
5. A Stopover Walk Through the Old Town of Zurich
6. Review: Railjet Train Zurich to Feldkirch
7. An Evening in Friendly Little Feldkirch
8. Review: Nightjet Train Feldkirch to Graz
9. A Short Walk Along the Sights of Graz
10. Review: Emona EuroCity Train Vienna – Ljubljana – Trieste
11. Zidani Most: Europe’s Most Picturesque Train Station
12. Review: Ljubljana to Zagreb by EuroCity Train EC 1211 ‘Sava’
13. Flying With Trade Air on a Let L-410 Turbolet Across Croatia
14. Review: Palace Derossi, Trogir, Croatia
15. A Visit to the Tranquil Island City of Trogir, Croatia
16. Cycling on Ciovo: A Trogir Day Trip by Bike
17. Split: Croatia’s Bustling Seaside City Full of History
18. Review: Croatian Railways ICN Train Split to Zagreb
19. Review: Esplanade Hotel, Zagreb, Croatia
20. Zagreb: A Guide to Croatia’s Underrated Capital City
21. Review: EuroCity Train “Croatia” Zagreb to Vienna
22. Review: Dacia Night Train Vienna to Bucharest
I agree with you Koen, the LOT Embraer is a well configured plane and extremely comfortable compared to most others in Europe these days. Sadly these days my opportunities to fly LOT are severely limited as nearly all the LHR services now used the Max and I need a lot more convincing to fly on it. Equally, while the comfort of the Embraer is good, the reports of the Max suggest it has just about the most awful seats crossing the European skies!
Still some safety worries about the MAX? My connecting flight to Zurich was on one of them, and even though I had some slight safety concerns in the back of my mind (although I admit it’s just a gut feeling, not something based on fact) it was mostly the general discomfort which left behind a bad feeling. Those seats are *very* tight! Not wanting to spoil that review, but while I would go out of my way to fly a LOT Embraer, I would equally try hard to avoid their MAX by all means.