A little more than 24 hours ago, I was informed of a last-minute requirement to travel to Warsaw, Poland on business. Having been there once before, I felt I could maneuver the airport, ATM machines, taxi queues, etc. relatively easily, especially since I was a return traveler. Long story short, it was a quick in-and-out trip, which was relatively hassle-free.
As my meeting broke up earlier than expected, I was hoping to catch an earlier flight back to Düsseldorf. Unfortunately, no earlier flight was available on Lufthansa, the carrier I had flown earlier in the day. However, LOT, the Polish national airline carrier, a Lufthansa partner as well as a Star Alliance partner, had seats on its 5 pm flight.
Suddenly, I was faced with this quandary: do I fly an airline carrier I have never heard of or no nothing about their safety record? Or do I just take a deep breath, and climb on board a no-name carrier, resting calmly in the blind assurance that all will be well? Truthfully, I would most likely have passed on flying an unknown entity, but the thought of a bath and an early-to-bed routine (my morning had started at 4:30 am) rated a bit higher in priority than any potential safety concerns.
While the Warsaw airport, named after Frederic Chopin (how refreshing - cities actually naming their airports after cultural icons as opposed to only politicians), is quite old and dilapidated, a renovation project is currently underway. Still, you can imagine my trepidation as to the potential condition and age of LOT’s fleet as I stepped off the bus and walked across the tarmac to walk up the stairs to board the plane (you got it: regional flight, so we board the aircraft on the tarmac).
Well, it was lovely flying experience. Very new plane, albeit only a 70 seater. Clean. Leather seats throughout. Smooth flight. English and Polish speaking pilot. I must confess, though, that I actually did read the safety brochure, locate my exit rows, and watch the safety demonstration, just in the off chance I might need that knowledge…
Would be curious to know what you would do, so post a comment below by clicking on comments or the pencil. (I know, a shameless ploy to get people to post comments on my blog).
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5 comments:
Get to bed early at all costs.
have flown with lot some 13 years ago... didn't mean to, the plane of my original airline was out of commission... all I remember is sitting in the back near the exit and there was condense water dripping down on me during the whole flight... that's when I decided not to ever fly LOT again... good to see that times are changing!
to anonymous: that is exactly what I expected but thankfully did not find. I am not rushing for a return trip, though...I like the known quantities...warts and all.
to missy: we are so alike it's scary sometimes...
I could see why they won. My plane was almost brand new....
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