After a stay at the Berlin JW Marriott Hotel, it was time for me to begin my return trip to the US. Last time I went to Berlin, in April 2022, I flew from Berlin to Warsaw to London in Business Class on LOT that I had purchased as a United award ticket. At that time, I had a Star Alliance Gold and a Business Class ticket, so I was traveling in as elevated an experience as one can between Berlina and Warsaw. This time around, however, I was only traveling to Warsaw, and the only award tickets available were in economy.
I had checked back periodically, and Business Class availability never opened. That’s not normally the case because the size of European Business Class cabins is adjustable based on demand. There was also never an option to try to buy an upgrade, but since I had booked a United award ticket, that wasn’t unexpected. I would have actually have liked to have gotten a Business Class ticket because I don’t have access to any lounges in Berlin or access to any priority services.
I had also considered taking a train to Warsaw, but the train would have taken a full 5.5 hours, compared to an 80-minute flight and less than 3 hours of other airport time. My strategy to get to/from Berlin Airport was to take the train to/from Berlin’s south station and then an Uber the rest of the way. It balanced price, time, and walking pretty well.
I had a single bag to check to Warsaw, so upon arrival, I headed straight for the LOT counter, which was very far from where the train lets you out into the airport. The line for the flight wasn’t particularly long, but it was moving extremely slowly. The Business Class/Star Gold line was completely empty. Unlike on Oneworld, Star Alliance only guarantees priority airport check-in to their upper tier Star Gold members. Oneworld offers it to all elite members (including the lowest tier: Ruby), so that was annoying. But on the plus side, I did get a free checked bag. I’m uncertain if that came as standard with the award ticket or if it was from my Star Silver status (which is from my United Premier Silver status, which I have through my Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status).
Security at Berlin Airport was fine, but moved slowly due to its bad design, like everything else at this airport, haha.
Berlin Airport has a few lounges, including a Lufthansa Business/Senator lounge. However, none of the lounges can be accessed with Priority Pass. If I had been flying Lufthansa, I could’ve used the Lufthansa Business lounge thanks to my Amex Platinum card. However, LOT is not a Lufthansa Group airline, despite using the Lufthansa Miles & More rewards program.
Instead, I bought a snack and walked around looking at planes. I found our small E190, which was parked beside a Delta 767. Delta flies 767s seasonally to JFK from Berlin.
It was interesting to see it parked so close to the E190 because flights to/from the US are non-Schengen and so require passport control. My flight to Warsaw stayed within the Schengen zone (which I had entered in Finland).
Boarding began approximately on time with a substantial amount of pre-boarding. Since I was sitting at the front of Economy, I was in a relatively late group. I wasn’t in any rush to get on because there’s not really anything exciting about sitting in an economy seat on an E190. Even Business/First Class on an E190 isn’t anything exciting either.
Upon boarding, I understood why no Business Class seats had been made available. Business Class was at its bare minimum of only 4 seats because LOT blocks off one seat of the set of two. The layout meant there was only one set of two seats for rows 1 and 2, and then row 3 was normal. Also, this seating arrangement indicated that the plane was actually an E170, not an E190 like it had said when I booked it.
I took my seat quickly: 4A
Boarding was complete relatively quickly, and shortly thereafter, we were in the air.
Once in the air, the onboard service began. Business Class was presumably served a meal like the one I had had last time, and they came through with a drink offering for economy. I had filled my water bottle in the terminal and so didn’t take anything.
We landed on time, and like last time, were left at a bus gate. Unlike last time, I didn’t see a separate bus for Business Class passengers, but otherwise, everything was the same. I grabbed my bag and got an Uber to the hotel, which cost about $12 including tip. Poland’s got a great price point, haha.
In summary, this economy class flight between Berlin and Warsaw was the most cost and time-effective way available for me to get between Berlin and Warsaw. The ground experience in Berlin was somewhat subpar, but honestly, that’s what Berlin Airport is known for (2/5). The E190 economy class is one of the more comfortable options in the sky for short flights like this (3/5). There was a short drinks service but that was it (2/5). There was no IFE to speak of (0/5), but the flight attendants were sufficiently friendly and efficient (4/5). Overall, this quick flight gets a simple 11/25.
To book this ticket, I used United miles. United generally has good pricing for award tickets in Europe; this ticket cost only 6,000 miles and $33 in taxes and fees. More than anything, the main reason I booked an award ticket is that United offers free cancellation on all award tickets, and I was not entirely sure I was actually going to end up going to Berlin from when I booked it in April until early June, haha. Buying the ticket normally would have cost around $150 but with no cancellation option. United recently devalued its saver awards, so, coupled with its dynamic award pricing for its own flights, finding good value with United miles has become harder. This flight definitely provided good value for me; I got nearly 2 ¢/point for this short flight.
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