Home again.....a flight in review

So, here it is, almost a week later and I am home, relaxed, and reflecting on my trip. When the engine was repaired, and the tires were inflated, we boarded the flight. It was an interesting situation. Just as they were opening the flight for boarding, along came a big wagon full of water, juice and wrapped sandwiches for the hungry and thirsty passengers. Of course, this passenger was quite refreshed and full from the lounge so I passed on that.

All of the angry passengers are lined up to get in when they opened a separate line for business class. I felt SO guilty as I walked to the front and went in and found my seat, but I got over it. I have to say that this plane was much nicer than the Aerosvet plane I took on the way over. It was a newer 767 with clean seats, clean carpet and a brighter outlook in general. I had the same seat location as on the way over and it was much more comfortable.

Of course it was not all roses and sunshine......we had a large screen for projection TV and all it played was the map again. Of course later in the trip they handed out the little portable players again for those that were so inclined, but on this trip I had a lot of work to do so I did not miss the movies. Oh, and the power socket worked in my seat which allowed me to use my laptop on the whole trip. Bonus!

The crew on this flight was really nice. They were super friendly, very service oriented and I could not have asked for a better experience in that respect.

The plane took off pretty quick and except for some really heavy shaking somewhere over the North Sea (spilled everyone's drinks!) the flight was very smooth and uneventful. The food was basically from the same menu as when we went out but I selected things differently which made things better. I enjoyed the fish and fresh fruit, the buns were fresh and the coffee was hot.

We landed at 6:40, only 2 hours late even though we left 3 hours late, so that was a good thing. We were off the plane quick, I used Nexus through customs, my luggage was already there when I went to pick it up and I was in my car and home by 7:40, a mere one hour later. Not tooooooo bad.

Bottom Line

So, if you have read the entire blog of my LOT flying experience, you have seen the good, the bad and the ok. This entire experience was written in a fun and entertaining way and although there were certainly some negatives to the trip, overall it was a good time.

Low:

Check in at Toronto was really poor service that the airline should address.

Using the Aerosvet plane on the way over is a really bad way to travel business class. I do not know what economy was like but I can only imagine it was very poor. I was told that LOT is using this carrier because they are short on planes and awaiting their first Dreamliner (which would be cool), but they should improve this plane for the short term.

A six hour layover in Warsaw. It actually is a highlight for me as well since I was able to go into downtown Warsaw by cab and enjoy a lovely summer day. To top it off, I had lounge access. If this was winter, or if I had this stopover on a regular basis, it would definitely not be such a good thing.

Highlights:

A business class lounge in most of the airports (not Berlin) made time go by and allowed for work to be done in peace.

An airfare that was less than half the price of all of the other carriers. No way to dispute that!

Three legs of the journey that had very good service which, in my opinion, is a huge part of traveling business class.

I was able to experience Warsaw Poland, a place I never expected to visit in my life.

And finally, I arrived safe and healthy on both ends of my trip and had an amazing experience.

In the end, I would have no real issue flying LOT again as long as they fly their own planes and the travel times were a little more friendly. A trip overseas is already a long journey so adding many hours of layover time is a killer.

I hope my blog review helps anyone who is thinking of using this airline. This is the end of this blog and my journey. Thanks to all who have joined me in my travels and happy flying.

Mechanical Issues

Hey there. Guess who is still in Warsaw Poland. They are coming around asking if we would like to take up residency. Might be a bad sign. So I am looking out my window and I see the mechanics are frantically working on the left side engine.

I watch this for awhile as I am working away and then notice the flight monitor says my flight is boarding at 2:10. I am happy as can be so I pack up my stuff and head upstairs to see a long line of unhappy people. Haven't they been hanging in the lounge for the last two hours? No?? Ahhhhh.....I see.....

So I stand around for a bit until they finally tell us it will be at least another 60 minutes. I think that means an hour in Canada, so I go down to the lounge while the rest of the people up there start to lynch mob the agents at the counter. It is starting to look like a Russia Poland Eurocup match so I scooted quick! So here I sit looking out the window and I see the pilot get in his little hidey hole and the technicians close the covers on the engine and I am hopeful that the beverage I just poured will not be consumed. But of course, this is LOT airlines here and it could not be the end. I see them do this:

Looks to me like they are changing a tire or something. I have been watching this crew of four guys jacking up the wheels and working away on it for at least the last 30 minutes, They look quite involved. In my opinion, I hope they fixed the engine, but if for some reason the engine, you know, is less than fixed, I can additionally hope that the wheel repair they are performing is a really quality one so that when the above mentioned engine does crap out, we can at least land on all of the wheels.

It is 3:05 here in Poland, a mere 2 hours and 15 minutes after scheduled departure. Things are looking like a 8:00pm minimum landing time in Canada and maybe home by 9:00 if I am lucky. So much for that nice dinner my wife planned for 6:00 when I got home. Lets hope THIS is the last blog update before Toronto.

I Spoke Too Soon

Well hello again. And not more than 30 minutes later. Imagine that! Well, I leave the lounge after stocking up on Polish treats for the office when I return and then go through imigration to let me leave mother Poland. I truck my way to gate 20, time to spare and feeling fine. On my way home, la de daaaaaaaaaaaa......aaaaah.....ummmmm.....what?

They are checking passports, and it looks like people are boarding but there is one thing wrong. There is a severe lack of a big metal thing with wings sitting at the gate. From my vast travel experience I know you need one of those to put the waiting people on when they need to go. I look up at the board and see "Opóźnienia lotu 14:40". I think I know what it means but it takes a few more seconds before the English translation "Flight Delayed 14:40" appears. Oh crap. So much for getting home at 4:30, getting a ride from the airport and, even more tragic, having the lounge on the OTHER SIDE OF IMMIGRATION!!!!! Oh no....

I head over to the LOT counter and ask if there is any way I can go to the other side again and spend the next 2 hours in the lounge. She is very nice and says no, but with a smile she tells me about the other lounge just down the stairs. Oh happy days!! Down I go and find the oasis in Poland.

So here I am, sipping on a nice tall latte and revved up to do a little of that work I was going to do in the air. There better be a TV or something on this flight. This is what I see as I look out the window right now.

Thats right. The spot where the plane should be. I have a few hours to kill so hopefully this is it until Toronto.

UPDATE: Boss boss......de plane de plane. It has arrived!!!!!! Suuuupppppperrrrrrr LOT.

 For some reason I cannot spin this picture but ya know what? It kinda feels right being sideways and all messed up. Maybe this is the picture they should use to describe their airline. Sideways and loving it. Looks like this is going to be a 22 hour travel day. I wonder how much overtime I could claim just in taking this flight and all the crap it involves.............bet it might end up being the same cost as, say, and an Air Canada flight in the end.

Hit Me Baby One More Time

The four days I have spent in Berlin have almost allowed me to push the first leg of my journey to that place in my mind where I keep the things that hurt me and make me want to curl up in a ball and cry. I had an excellent time in this city. The hotel was right in downtown allowing for hours of walking and exploring. The history of Berlin is mind blowing, the people are super nice, and the beer and food…..well……this was from last night’s dinner. German done right!

I went through the ritual last night of folding and packing and getting ready for my 5:15am wakeup call. My flight leaves for Warsaw at 9:00 but a few colleagues from the US have an 8:30 flight so we were going to share a taxi. I knew I would get there early but with business class, there is always the lounge to hang at and grab a bit of breakfast. Or so I thought. Yes, it starts again.

My US friends are taking a civil flight on lovely Lufthansa so I shake hands, wish them well and watch them fly through the business class line and into the terminal a good 2 hours before their flight and, I am sure, sitting in the lounge as I write this at 7:20. Where am I sitting you ask? Well, it is in a little steel chair with gum on it that is sticking to the ass of my pants. The smell of cigarette smoked wafts through the air and I stare at check in counter 78 waiting, hoping, and praying that this is the tough part. I had gone to the Star Alliance counter in terminal A, right beside where my US colleagues went in only to find out that no, I could not check in here.  Star Alliance yes, but LOT……come on now.

I was instructed that I needed to go to terminal D, a mere 3 minute walk away and go to check in 78. I wander around looking for terminal D and see the way!!

I arrive in this smoky little terminal, find check in 78, wait in line like a good little soldier only to be told “No. your flight eez at 9:00. You cannot check in until at least 1 hour 30 previous. Go look at blue monitor.” Nice. So I go look at blue monitor to see I need to go to counter 78 at 7:30. Wow. Good start.

I wander around a little and feeling the pangs of hunger (like I need more food) I pass by this classic Berlin sign and contemplate how this would feel at 7 am on top of last nights fried pork on a plate. I decide I might want to move on, so back to the terminal I went. And here I am. Two minutes to go. Better get in line.

 UPDATE: So 7:30 comes and there is no action at line 78. I scan the room hopefully looking for the LOT person that is going to sweep me away. Another 10 minutes pass before I see movement at counter 82 and they open the LOT business class check in. Oh joy!! I roll my luggage over but before I can even take a step there are 40 Polish fliers battling for a spot in this line. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I hang my head and trudge over and get in line. Five minutes pass and they open another gate for economy and tell everyone “Eef you are not beezness class, you must move to zee other line ya”. I am now front of the line and things are looking up.

I go through security in a matter of minutes (wish Toronto was like that) and lick my lips in anticipation of that hot coffee and a piece of toast I hope to find in the lounge……only to find that the terminal is a small glassed in box with a shared washroom and a small café bar that charges four euro for a small coffee.

And here I sit. The good thing is I can write my blog, albeit in Word as there is no internet access here. And I do have a bit of work to do. I was saving that for the plane as I figure I might need to keep myself occupied if I only have the map to watch again. Wow, if I am only that lucky.

UPDATE: OK.....so the gate opens and on we go to the bus. Oh the bus of stink ray fame. But it is early morning, and istead of 30 degrees C it is about 20 and the people are fresh and neat and clean and smell niiiiicccccceeeee.....things are turning around!

The bus fills up and off we go to our nice new LOT jet, maybe the same one that I went from Warsaw to Berlin in. Ohhhh.....leather seats, lots of room, and as soon as I sit down this nice lady in a lovely LOT blue uniform offers me water and juice. I am home. The rest of the flight went just like this. Smooth take off, good hot coffee and a light breakfast, a Polish newspaper in English and I even was able to get a little work done

And now I must pack up and get to my gate as my flight leaves in 45 minutes back to Toronto. This is the big one. I am crosses all the things I have on my body that can cross that this is a whole LOT (hahahaha) better than the flight from Toronto to Warsaw. At the very least it will be the same and at least I am prepared. I will publish this long segment and the rest? Well, it will have to wait until I have landed, rested, contemplated and then purged at the final destination. Thanks for reading along. It has been fun.

before a smooth landing one hour later. Again, first off the plane, and off to duty free where I picked up a bottle of Polish Bison Grass Vodka for about $8,00 Canadian. Not too bad. A few other duty free purchases and then I was off to the LOT lounge. The internet worked, it was not crowded and the food was hot, the drinks were cold. Ahhhhhh......

Landing, Etc.

So, where did I leave off? OK. So as we neared the 30 minute mark until landing, I find out my neighbour is actually a nice guy. We chat away and he is full of information about Europe. Lived and worked in Germany for years, worked around the world, and did lots of business is Poland. When he found out I had a 6 hour layover in Warsaw, he said I HAD to get a taxi and go into downtown Warsaw. I had to see this massive memorial that Stallin in Russian built for the Polish people after the war. He gave me cab info, Polish money info and how to get around in the airport info. Awesome. But we had to land first, so here we are. My video of the landing. If you want to see it in full screen, go to YouTube....

Isn't that nice? A free view of Poland for you. So, the landing was great, and it was the best part of the flight. Smooth and nice. We made it to the terminal is less than 5 minutes and I was the first off the plane. It kind of freaked me out actually because when I went into the airport, I was the only person there except for a few cleaners. It was realllllllllllly odd. Look.....

So I get through and while waiting at customs, my seat mate sees me and we go to the taxi area where he gets me a cab and wishes me will. Nice.....

Off I go to Warsaw. Interesting place.....some history, some new, lots of tall skinny people with most of the women having blonde hair and wearing high heels. My taxi driver gives me a running commentary as we come into town, telling me about "the gift from uncle Stallin" and where the mall is, where the Eurozone is for the soccer, etc. Rambling away. I just want out of the car as this is the first place I learned about the mystery of Polish men and strong body odour. Ewwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeee. Paid my cash and off I went. Walked around and can say that this is a true representation of downtown Warsaw:

So that was fun. Never been there before and I am thinking I likely never will again. And if I do, I know there are many others I work with who will also experience this. Oh yes, they certainly will........

Off I go back to the airport with a cab driver who might as well have been a deaf mute becuase he did not listen to a word I said after "take me to the airport" and never said another word until he told me the price. Odd ducks around the world I tell ya.....I check back in through security which took all of 5 minutes, then off to the LOT business lounge which was oh so nice. As usual, unlimited drinks, meats, cheeses, breads, etc. I loaded up (to save the company money on expenses you know.....I am very pro company....) and spent the next frustrating 2 hours trying to log onto the internet, which never did work, so it just made me angry which made me eat which made me feel fat which made me angry which made me eat.....it was a viscous circle that finally ended when it was time to board my next flight.

My second leg of the journey was on a smaller regional jet. I had an oh so friendly check in at the LOT counter, given priority because I was business and then it was off to a bus to bring us to the plane since it loaded on the tarmac. This is my second experience with the Polish male armpit of death, what I will call the stink ray. It was pointed right at my head and I had no chance to avoid it as it was like sardines in the bus and about 300 degrees. But it was a short ride and I was only a little blue when we got off the bus and walked to the plane to board.

This was ok. I again had a front row seat with a window. I actually had both front seats as it was business. It was a newer and nice looking plane, clean leather seats and only two of us were in the 20 or so business class seats. I was offered a drink even when the common folk were boarding and I was treated with utter respect. I really am not a snob, but it was nice to feel this after 9 hours of a totally different experience on the last flight. Forgot all about that experience did you???? Scroll down my friends and read away.....then come back as I have a little more to say before this one is put to bed.

OK, so my great flight crew was all smiles and nice. Offering me wine and water and anything I wanted. These guys were the tops!

OK......take off was immediate and nice and smooth. We were barely in the air when my meal comes. How much more food can I eat?? Well, keep shoving it at me and I will keep pushing it down if it is good enough. This time it was a salad with some beef and some lovely smoked cold fish which was awesome. And a nice little bottle of French red, some water and, well, a great big smile.

I eat most of this and then have a coffee and it was time to start our decent. We were coming into a lighting storm and it was pretty rough. There was lots of lightning all around the plane and I watched with great facination as I wondered what would happen if one of those bright blue bolts shattered one of our wings. Wondered if we were low enough to like, kinda float to the ground. And then we were through the storm and I could turn in that fantasy for later. The landing was quick, I was off the plane 1st again, into the terminal (hid my face from the stink ray this time) and when I arrived at the terminal, my bag was just coming onto the rack. Since I went through customs in Poland it was out into the Berlin air, grabbed a cab right away and made it to the Westin Grand Berlin soon after.

Next stop.....back to Warsaw and then from there to Toronto again on Friday. This time it is LOT planes on both legs of the jouney so I am hoping for a comfortable seat, no stinky pits and a TV that gets more than a fuzzy map. Oh, and a safe uneventful flight home. That over everything else.

The time came to head out to the gate. Interestingly, my gate was beside my colleagues gate, but she was taking Air Canada leaving 10 minutes before me. Doesn’t she look happy?

As they are being let on in the classic classy Air Canada way, my LOT people, well…….you tell me.

Yup. Pretty disinterested. So after a long wait…..the Air Canada plane was almost finished boarding……they called the boarding announcement. Now usually it is business class and pre-boarding for kids, etc. They might have been doing that, but unfortunately for me, the call was only made in Polish. I am a bit rusty in my Polish so I did not have a clue what they were saying. I watched as kids and parents started coming from all angles, pushing people and getting in. Then they made a call in English which said business class can come. But no! The business class line formed and the kids were still coming from all sides. As we tried to check in the mean looking check in lady actually PUSHED a business class passenger in front of me to stay where he was. Wow. Then after the kids were almost done,  general boarding started coming in from the sides and she STILL pushed us away until finally the guy in front of me got pissed off and pushed back and then we all pushed. What a strange way to be treated, especially in business class. They need to wake up to customer service. So…..then the long walk to the boarding.

On the plane I had seat 1G……1^st row window. The inside of the plane was in bad need of repair or burning down or something. The seats were so old that pieces of trim were coming off of them. It was a joke. The guy next to me was being a dick, and in general, it was not a warm and fuzzy nice feeling.

Time was ticking away and a 10:20 departure made way to an 11:00 departure. And it was HOT in there. We were given a glass of water and some champagne, so that made me feel  a bit better until my colleague on the AC plane I could see out my window sends me a picture of the pod she was sitting in and a copy of her menu which, among other things, included seared scallops. Not really what I wanted to see……

OK…..so it is now 11:00 and we push back and the show starts.

We finish this in time for the captain to tell us it is time for take off and it will be a rough ride. Oh great. That made me feel so much better!!!! 

The take off was smooth and although it was a little rough getting through the clouds, once we made cruising altitude it cleared up. So as I waited for the service to begin, I decided to try the enetertainment system. I had a 12 inch screen in front of my seat. It was old and a bit fuzzy, but the whole plane is old and fuzzy, so this is no surprise. What was a surprise was……ready for this???? There are 14 channels and only one works and it is the trip map!!!!!!!WOWWWWWWWW!!!

It is not only my TV. The entertainment system does not work. Awesome. A nine hour flight and a map to watch as we crawl towards Europe. I get my cell phone and charger out and figure I can amuse myself playing brickbreaker for part of the trip. My battery is a little low so I plug it in to the plug in the seat and…….wow!!! The plugs do not work! No power captain! This is getting better. I ask my crabby seat mate if his works. Nope. Now he is even more of a crab!

So they come asking me if I want “wine or beer or something”. All class. So I ask for a red wine. He brings this beat up piece of paper with three wines listed in Polish. I recognize the word Spain and order that. My crabby seat mate agrees I chose a good wine and he also orders. I am making a breakthrough with the crabby seat mate. Things are looking up.

There was no menu but the life jacket guy came by, handed me a cloth to put on my tray (he could not be bothered to put it on my tray himself) and then asked “do you want beef, chicken or fish?” to which I thought, where is the menu? What do these mystery meats come with? Without thinking I ask for beef as I figure it is the least of three evils. Within minutes the first course comes…..remember this is now midnight……it is the salad course. And of course there is only one food I HATE and that is beets, and there is was, huge piles of beets under the lettuce. UGG!

I eat the salad, eat around the beets and get another class of wine and water in time for the main course. Some kind of tough chewy beef chunks in gravy with mushy green beans. Awesome!

I pushed that around a bit and felt a little guilty for not eating more. He takes it away and gives me a scowl and asked if I want desert. Hey…..why not? Out comes coffee and a piece of some kinda pie. It actually tastes kinda like the beef dish……..

Enough complaining. My seat mate is watching a movie on his laptop and I want to bonk him on the head and take it away so I can watch. Note to self: load entertainment on computer for emergencies. But all is not perfect as his battery  is running low and, as mentioned, the plugs do not work. But wait!! Super hero life jacket guy has another option. A hand held entertainment device loaded with music (Polish), news (Polish) and movies (English!!). I take one like an alcoholic takes a drink, with longing in my eyes.

As I set it up he comes back with a shot of cherry vodka! The promised Polish treat, vodka, has finally arrived. It was sweet but nice and I enjoyed every last drop.

So I get the movie set up, my chair reclined……oh, it only reclines part way….something wrong with it…..and then the cabin lights go out…..and my eyes start to shut….the movie starts to fade as I drift off until…..BANG…..BANG…..the flight crew are making one hell of a noise with trays and stuff. This goes on for the next 2 hours…..drift into sleep…..loud noises…..drift….BANG…..toss…..turn….ear plugs…..eye mask……BANG…..until finally 5 hours later the lights come back on and it is time to wake the cattle. A hot towel and breakfast.

Not sure what this was, but it was interesting for sure. Ate the fruit and yogurt.....the bun was dry.....then got a hot towel. And sat and watched my map channel as we were still 45 minutes from landing.

Next installment.....landing, Warsaw, and the LOT flight into Berlin. The next part was good....stay tuned.

Check In Time

OK. Now the confusion starts, but the question is, is it my confusion or the travel agents? On check in I was noted that terminal 3 was the LOT check in terminal. I take a taxi with my co-worker to T3 and she goes to T1 where she is lucky enough to be flying Air Canada (don't get me started on THAT topic). I walk into T3 and look around.....no LOT counter in sight. WTF?

So I look around and think to myself....hey...Star Allianced is terminal 1. I look deeper into my paperwork and yup.....terminal 1. I feel a little bothered but since it is still more than 3 hours before flying, this is not big deal. Off I go to the lovely YYZ inter-terminal train....and see it is arriving in 58 seconds. Ain't life grand!

So I arrive in terminal one and find the LOT check in which is shared with Air Canada at area D. I got into line for business class and I was the 2nd person in line. The economy for LOT was lined up 100 deep and the Air Canada line was even longer. So now I find myself in an interesting position. I am second in line, there are 8 people at 8 different counters to serve people and not one person is actually doing anything? Hmmmmm......I look around.....nobody seems too concerned. So I snap a few pictures......first a real fun exciting shot of what it cost to bring your luggage on the flight:

Notice the high tech piece of pasted paper on the sign. Guess it was cheaper to put a little paper with $70 on it than to buy a new sign. Lets hope the planes are held together a little better!!

Next I decide to take a picture of the hard working LOT flight agent watching all of us watch her......she really did not care that there were 100 pairs of eyes watching and wondering WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! But thats ok.....I have nowhere to be really....

It is then that I realize it is 7:16 and they will not check us in until 3 hours before the flight. Ahhhhhhhhhh.....rigggghhhhhttttttt.....so at 7:26, exactly 2:54 minutes before take off, they open the gates. All of them except the 3 in front of the business class people. The rush of economy begins and us few lonely souls in the business class line watch as "they" in economy talk to our agents! Well....how insulting! Well, not really but I thought I would act like a spoiled brat. About two minutes went by and they opened the other agents and I was checked in quick and efficiently. Great seats and a friendly smile. What more could I want. Off to security where I flashed my NEXUS pass and zipped past a huge line and before I knew it, I was in the Air Canada Maple Leaf longe enjoying medium good food and an ice cold beverage. And here I sit. Happy and two hours until we take off......more as it happens.

Isn't this gripping stuff????? Wow!!!