LOT Polish Airlines Review: Embraer E195 Economy Class

For years, European airlines seem to have been engaged in a race to the bottom. Even supposedly full-service airlines are now competing primarily on price, rather than quality. As a result, the experience of flying short-haul within Europe is often now akin to catching a bus, with no frills and very few inclusions with your ticket.

So, I was pleasantly surprised with LOT Polish Airlines when I used them on a recent trip within Europe. My seat was comfortable, the crew were friendly and I got a free snack and drink on board.

This review covers my Economy Class experience on LOT’s Embraer E195 from the airline’s Warsaw hub to Tallinn.

Flight Details

Flight number	LO785
Route	Warsaw (WAW) to Tallinn (TLL)
Aircraft type	Embraer E195
Class of travel	Economy
Seat number	18C
On-time performance	We arrived on time
Star rating

The route

Flight Cost

I took this flight as part of a one-way Economy Saver ticket that I bought from Cluj to Tallinn (with an overnight stop in Warsaw) for EUR129.60 (~AU$223).

Airport Experience

I’d already checked in and chosen my seat online, but there were plenty of self-service kiosks available in Warsaw for people who hadn’t. And there was barely any queue for the bag drop counters.

Unlike many Star Alliance airlines in Europe, LOT Polish Airlines still gives Star Alliance Gold members a free checked bag even on its cheapest Economy Class fares. My Economy Saver fare ordinarily only includes 8kg of carry-on, but LOT’s systems recognised my status and didn’t charge me anything to check my bag in.

Star Alliance Gold status also gets you access to the fast-track security lane, Zone 1 boarding and the LOT Polonez Business Lounge in Warsaw, including the exclusive Gold Lounge which is inside the main lounge.

As these aren’t standard inclusions with a LOT Economy ticket, I haven’t accounted for these aspects of the experience in my rating for this review. But needless to say, LOT looks after Star Alliance Gold members quite well.

When I’ve flown out of Warsaw in the past, I’ve often boarded through a bus gate. Happily, on this occasion, my flight boarded through an airbridge and boarding started on time. The boarding zones were enforced and the whole process was quite straightforward.

As an aside, I love how many European airports are conveniently connected to the city with a frequent, fast and inexpensive train service. From Warsaw Chopin Airport, there are trains into the city departing every 15 minutes. The ticket costs just 4.40 Polish złoty, which is less than AU$2. The ticket machines at the airport train station were all out of paper when I visited, but you can buy a ticket on board the train or from the newsagent located right outside the platforms.

The Hard Product

If you fly LOT Polish Airlines on a short hop within Europe, there’s a good chance you’ll end up on an Embraer E-Jet. These comfortable regional jets make up more than half of the airline’s fleet.

LOT E195 Economy Class seating

I enjoy flying on the Embraer E195 because it doesn’t have any middle seats! Economy Class uses a standard 2-2 layout.

I found my leather seat very comfortable, with decent legroom.

The seat had a good amount of padding and a cushy headrest, although the headrest isn’t adjustable and could have been a tad higher.

This plane was clean and in a good condition.

In-flight entertainment

LOT hasn’t installed Wi-Fi or in-seat power on its Embraer regional jets. There was no in-flight entertainment available on board other than the Kaleidoscope magazine in the seat pocket.

However, LOT does let you download a newspaper or magazine from its e-press library up to 3 days before your flight.

The Soft Product

The super friendly cabin crew came through the aisle after takeoff to hand out sanitiser wipes before starting the snack service.

There was a choice of a sweet or savoury complimentary snack. The sweet option was a red currant bun, while the savoury option was a tomato bun. This came with a choice of free still water, sparkling water, tea or coffee. I was offered a slice of lemon in my sparkling water, which was a thoughtful touch.

After the main service, the crew quickly passed through the aisle with a trolley of additional snacks and drinks for sale. I didn’t actually see anyone buy anything and there was no menu in my seat pocket with prices listed. I guess this was just an extra option for anyone who was still feeling hungry?

For a 1.5 hour flight, I thought this was quite OK given the standards I’ve come to expect on other European airlines. Sure, you would probably get more on an Asian airline… but this isn’t Asia.

LOT’s on-time performance

Pleasingly, this flight arrived in Tallinn on time.

In the past when I’ve flown with LOT, quite a few of my flights have had rolling delays which lasted anywhere from 20 minutes to a few hours. However, most of those flights were pre-COVID.

I believe LOT’s on-time performance has improved since then, but I’m not sure how confident I would be to book a very tight connection in Warsaw – especially with checked luggage. (Then again, there are many European airports I’d avoid booking tight connections through…)

One final thing…

LOT is good at selling upgrades to Business Class. You can easily bid for an upgrade after booking on the LOT website, and the minimum bid amounts are often quite reasonable.

On short-haul flights, including on the E195, Business Class gets you all the premium ground services including lounge access. On board, you get the same seat as in Economy but it’s at the front of the plane and the seat beside you is kept empty.

In Business you also get a meal and drinks on board, as well as exclusive use of the up-front toilet. (There was only one toilet at the back of the plane for the rest of Economy.)

Oh, and you get a red headrest in Business instead of a blue one. 🤷

Personally I don’t think it’s worth upgrading in European Business Class if you already have lounge access (e.g. through status) and it’s just a short flight. But if the price is right and you want a nicer experience, then why not?

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.