LOT Polish launch Singapore to Warsaw Boeing 787 route next week

Another Star Alliance redemption option to Europe opens up next Thursday – a three times per week flight linking Singapore with Warsaw in Poland, which will increase to four times weekly by July. The new route launches from Warsaw on 15th May 2018 (with the first 787-8 operating the return flight in the early hours of 17th May 2018 from Singapore to Warsaw).

This will be the only direct flight to Central and Eastern Europe from Singapore, and will be LOT’s fourth year-round route to Asia (they already fly to Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo, plus a seasonal flight to Bali). The service will operate to and from Changi’s Terminal 2 with LOT directing their business class passengers to the T2 SilverKris lounge, which we reviewed recently.

Cast your minds back

Technically this counts as a service ‘resumption’ as LOT Polish previously flew to Warsaw from Singapore via Bangkok in the early 1990s using a Boeing 767. A gap of over two decades though means this is certainly being treated like a brand new route for Changi.

The LOT Polish 787-8

Fitted with 252 seats in total, comprising:

• 18 in business (2-2-2 config, a rather intimate 3-row cabin)
• 21 in premium economy (2-3-2 config, also just 3 rows)
• 213 in economy (3-3-3 config)

Business Class

The business class cabin on the LOT 787 is in a 2-2-2 configuration with all seats converting into fully flat-beds. Not Singapore Airlines standard by any stretch of the imagination – and lacking 100% direct aisle access – but for couples, it probably remains a good option.

For solo travellers there’s certainly less privacy than flying SIA to Europe – but if this is the only redemption option available on the dates you need it shouldn’t be too bad. Pick a C or D seat (aisle seat in the middle pair) for unrestricted aisle access.

We can’t personally endorse it as we have never tried it – but here’s a recent review.

Premium Economy Class

You can’t redeem into the premium economy class cabin on LOT using your KrisFlyer miles or indeed any using points from any other Star Alliance airline with the exception of Miles & More (the Lufthansa scheme which is shared by LOT themselves).

Here’s a review of the premium economy product.

Economy Class

Economy is in a 3-3-3 layout which is typical of most 787 operators, and so isn’t ideal for couples. Then again Singapore Airlines is offering 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 in economy for most of their Europe flights, unless you can secure an upper-deck economy pair on the increasingly rare A380 Version 1.

Each seat on the aircraft has an interactive, touch-screen, on-demand IFE system. Meals and drinks are complimentary, as you would expect for a full-service carrier, but there is no Wi-Fi functionality in any cabin.

The Schedule

A little complicated, as LOT Polish will initially fly this new service 3 times per week, increasing to 4 times weekly. Slot constraints at Changi have forced LOT to slightly ‘fabricate’ the arrival time on the flight from Warsaw initially (since it departs Warsaw at the same time on each day of operation the actual arrival time will be almost always be identical).

Here’s how the new service kicks off:

From 17th May 2018 to 3rd July 2018

(WAW-SIN from 15th May 2018 to 30th June 2018)

* next day

From early July 2018 the service will increase to 4 times weekly as shown:

From 4th July 2018 to 30th October 2018

(WAW-SIN from 2nd July 2018 to 28th October 2018)

* next day

Finally from the start of the northern winter season in late October 2018 the four weekly flights on this route have a common landing time in Singapore:

From 31st October 2018

(WAW-SIN from 29th October 2018)

Redemption Rates

Here’s how many miles or points a seat on this new route will set you back departing from Singapore to Warsaw. Remember you can continue your journey to any European destination on the LOT / Star Alliance network for the same total miles rate, subject to availability.

LOT Polish redemption Singapore-Warsaw
FFP used	Economy	Premium Economy	Business
	45,000	n/a	85,000
	40,000	52,500	67,000
	45,000	n/a	100,000
	55,000	n/a	78,000
	52,500	n/a	80,000

Miles & More, KrisFlyer and United MileagePlus are the best value options in economy class, while in business you’ll want to try and use Miles & More or LifeMiles if you have them – to lock in the lowest rates.

KrisFlyer Redemptions

Redemptions in economy class are relatively wide open on this route, so we decided to focus on business class award availability for the rest of 2018.

Numbers shown in the green boxes represent total business saver award redemption seats available that day to be booked through KrisFlyer or any other Star Alliance frequent flyer scheme.

LOT Polish Singapore – Warsaw – Singapore Business Class Award Availability

NA: Not Available. Availability correct at 7th May 2018, and is subject to change.

As you can see there is a decent amount of availability for the rest of 2018, particularly considering the small business cabin of only 18 seats on each flight.

Warsaw connection options

LOT Polish

If you can find redemption availability, the early morning arrival into Warsaw means that for the same number of miles quoted above you can tap into LOT’s extensive European network of over 50 destinations. Connections from Europe should also work well for the late night departure on the return sector from Warsaw to Singapore.

For the more adventurous, this might not be a bad way to try and redeem all the way to North America; LOT offer daily flights to Chicago, New York (JFK and Newark) and Toronto.

They also have a lounge in Warsaw to while away a few hours between flights if you’re flying business, or have Star Alliance Gold status. From what we’ve read online, comfortable, but forgettable is the broad consensus.

A North America add on would increase the KrisFlyer miles needed for a one-way redemption from Singapore to 55,000 in economy, and 97,500 in business.

Wizz Air

If you don’t mind the climb down from a full service carrier for the rest of your journey (and it would certainly be a climb down from business class) another option, perhaps little known to many Singaporeans, is low-cost airline Wizz Air.

Think Scoot or Jetstar, just a bit more pink / purple!

Wizz have a major base at Warsaw, operating to 46 year-round and seasonal destinations, and their fares are usually very competitive. This option could also work if you can’t redeem to your chosen European destination on LOT due to availability.

Obviously your connection would be unprotected if you went down this route, so we’d advise to build in good contingency. As well as some primary European cities, Wizz Air flies to many ‘smaller’ destinations not offered by LOT like Aberdeen, Birmingham, Doncaster/Sheffield, Eindhoven, Liverpool, Porto and Reykjavik.

Full fare

LOT have some fairly attractive full fare options on this route, for example a return flight from Singapore to Warsaw on selected dates is available from:

• S$783 in economy (earning 2,925 KrisFlyer miles)
• S$1,993 in premium economy (earning 11,698 KrisFlyer miles)
• S$3,490 in business class (earning 11,698 KrisFlyer miles)

You may even find competitive fares to other European destinations with a 1-stop itinerary through Warsaw. For example we found return fares from Singapore to:

• Prague for S$777 in economy
• Barcelona for S$1,889 in premium
• London Heathrow for S$3,580 in business class

These options would of course earn commensurately more KrisFlyer miles for the additional European sectors flown.

Summary

A very welcome Star Alliance connection to a new European destination here, with decent award availability in business class over the coming months and some competitive full fare options too.

LOT Polish certainly isn’t a Singapore Airlines replacement in terms of their hard product – but on dates without SQ saver award availability it’s a good option with a wide European network beyond Warsaw to tap into.

(Cover Photo: Adrian Pingstone)