Poland on the Dreamliner
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.
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.
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.
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. I was greeted at the door by two friendly polish flight attendants and directed to seat 1F. 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.
We pushed back and made a quick taxi out to 27R, departing just before 11 am. 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.
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.
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
The 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.
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!
Once at the hotel, I dumped my bag and headed straight down to the train station to go into the city.
