Next part of the trip is Istanbul-Warsaw via Zurich with another two airlines: Swiss on the IST-ZRH leg and LOT Polish Airlines on the ZRH-WAW leg, of course with both flights in business class.
Check-in at Istanbul Atatürk airport
I arrived at the airport two hours before departure after a very quick taxi ride from downtown Istanbul, the traffic really wasn’t as bad as I had feared.
Security at Istanbul Atatürk airport is quite tight tough, it starts already when entering the terminal building. At the entrance there was an initial security checkpoint where all luggage was x-rayed and you also had to pass through a metal detector.
All visitors at the airport have to pass there, no matter if you are flying or not. One may think that because of this they are not very strict (all departing passengers have to pass a new security check at the gate anyway), but that was not the case, they even wanted to rescreen my bag to make sure everything was OK before letting me inside the terminal.
Four check-in counters were open for the Swiss departure to Zurich, three for economy class and one for business class and status passengers.
At the entrance to the check-in area a security agent checked travel documents and passports and put a sticker at the back of the passport to indicate the documents were in order before allowing passengers to check-in.
Only one person was in line for the business class check-in desk so it was soon my turn.
A friendly young girl in charge of the business counter and there was also a check-in supervisor standing next to it ready to answer any questions.
I was checked in all the way to Warsaw and received boarding pass for both legs, I was also given an invitation to the Millennium lounge.
After check-in and passport control I entered the transit hall and followed the sign for the lounges.
The new international terminal is really a big improvement compared to the old terminal which is now used for domestic flights. Plenty of shops were available in the transit area, but honestly you don’t really make any bargains there.
Pics
Swiss check-in area
The international transit hall at Atatürk airport
Millennium lounge, Istanbul
The Millennium lounge was located on the first floor above the main international transit hall. It is operated by Türkiye Bankasi (that would mean “Bank of Turkey” in English, a bank!) and it is used by virtually all international airlines in Istanbul.
The lounge was very large with plenty of sitting areas and because of the large panorama windows it was very bright with plenty of light.
The selection of food and drinks in the lounge was quite decent. The self-service buffet had a very good selection of proper sandwiches, hot soup, cookies and pastries.
On the other side of the buffet area was a bar which was manned, plenty of drinks there including wine and spirits but you had to ask the bartender to pour it for you, of course it was free though.
Coffee, tea and soft drinks were available for self-service.
There were three computers available as well with free internet, but the connection was painfully slow and I basically gave up after five minutes.
Pics
The entrance to the Millennium lounge with the bar counter in the background
The self-service buffet area
Sitting areas in the lounge
Istanbul-Zürich, flight LX 1805 operated by Swiss
Departure: 17:20
Arrival: 19:15
Aircraft: Airbus A321
Class: Business Class
Seat: 03F
I left the lounge 40 minutes before scheduled departure and headed to the gate after some last-minute purchases in the tax-free.
There was a new security control at the gate with two officers checking passports and boarding passes at the entrance to the waiting lounge and then the standard x-ray/metal detector circus of course.
I think that was the fourth time I had to show my passport at the airport!
At the same time the first boarding call was made for business class passengers, gold card holders (HON/SEN/*G) and passengers travelling with children.
I do appreciate priority boarding was offered, but unfortunately it was not enforced very well and most passengers ignored what was announced and just boarded the plane anyway.
The plane to Zurich seemed quite full in both classes, six rows were used for business class on this flight.
The flight was operated by an Airbus A321 with a 3-3 configuration, however business class had the new configuration with all middle seats empty and replaced by a console which you can use for drinks, same concept as on Lufthansa.
Despite the good flight load I still got three seats to myself, not sure if status made a difference or if I was just lucky.
Before take-off newspapers and magazines were offered in business class, a pretty good selection covering all relevant languages (Turkish, German, French and English).
We also got a bottle of water and a refreshing towel.
Push-back pretty much on time, but due to many subsequent departures in the late afternoon we were not airborne until 25 minutes later.
Immediately after the seatbelt sign was turned off the inflight service started.
Drinks were offered together with packaged cocktail snacks. I noticed they had a bottle of champagne on the drink cart which I decided to try. It turned out to be Jacquart, pretty tasty!!
Next an FA came to take meal orders. They had a choice between two main courses on this flight: chicken with rice risotto or a vegetarian option (can’t remember what it was), I had the chicken.
More drinks were offered (another glass of bubbles of course
) and then it was time for the meal service.
The chicken course was actually quite good. It was served as a skewer with pineapples together with rice risotto and some kind of black sauce.
On the tray were also a large green salad, a cheese plate, and a chocolate dessert.
The friendly flight attendant made a third round with the drink cart and also offered more bread and finally coffee and tea.
Overall very nice and attentive service and the business class cabin was never left unattended. After the meal the purser came through the cabin and checked that we were happy with the meal and the service and that we didn’t need anything else. ^
As this was a longer European flight (a flight time close to three hours) and operated by an Airbus A321 with video screens in the cabin, they did have some inflight entertainment.
They showed an episode of Simpsons for example and an episode of the Canadian “Gag Reels”.
Half an hour before landing they also showed a short video about Zurich airport and the arrivals and transfer prodedures at the airport. Somehow they also managed to retrieve transfer information for all the passengers onboard with the relevant gates displayed on the screens in the cabin. Great feature!!
As usual they offered Swiss chocolates in the cabin before landing and we finally touched down at 7.05 pm, ten minutes early.
Pics
The middle seat console in business class and a bottle of water and a refreshing towel before departure
Lining up for departure on runway 36R with the international terminal in the background
The drink cart in business class
A glass of Jacquart Champagne and cocktail snacks
Dinner in business class
Flying over the Austrian Alps
Swiss Business lounge, Zürich
I didn’t think I would have time for a lounge visit in Zurich with only 40 minutes between flights, but due to the early arrival and the fact that we were assigned a parking position right next to the main transit hall and the lounge meant that there was time for a quick visit.
The lounge was just as nice as on my last visit with the “longest attended lounge bar” on the first floor overlooking the apron.
Plenty to drink in the lounge, both in the self-service areas and in the bar, but not that much to eat.
I didn’t have time for more than a few minutes in the lounge, just enough for a drink, before it was time to proceed to the gate.
Pics
The entrance to the Swiss lounges
One of the sitting areas in the lounge
The self-service buffet area
The longest attended lounge bar in the world!
The main lounge seen from the bar
Zürich-Warsaw, flight LO 420 operated by LOT Polish Airlines
Departure: 19:55
Arrival: 21:50
Aircraft: Embraer ERJ145
Class: Business Class
Seat: 01C
The lines for the security check (which all transfer passengers also need to pass) were horrendously long, but fortunately there was a fast track security for business class and first class passengers with only a few passengers in line.
The flight to Warsaw was operated by an ERJ145 and it was obviously parked at a remote stand so we were taken there by bus.
The plane had a 1-2 configuration with two rows used for business class, however we were only three passengers in C, a Spanish woman with her young son, and me.
I had a whole row to myself with plenty of space, although sitting on the first row meant I had to place all cabin luggage in the overhead bin during take-off and landing.
Before departure soft drinks and refreshing towels were offered in business class.
The flight got slightly delayed from Zurich due to some seating confusion in economy class (which was almost completely full).
Apparently a family of four had checked in very late and the two children had been given single seats on the left side of the aisle which did not comply with the safety regulations.
Both the FAs and a gate agent worked hard finding a satisfactory solution before we were finally allowed to leave.
Once airborne the service started in business class with drinks and peanuts, I asked for some red wine and had a choice between two reds, a Californian and a Chilean wine.
The Spanish woman sitting behind me in business class was not particularly interested in eating so the inflight service was basically personalised for me, which was of course very nice.
While I was enjoying my drink the passengers in economy class were served light snacks, but afterwards it was time for the meal service in business class to start.
A nice thing was that they used tablecloths in business class, well it did get a bit cramped onboard a regional jet, but still a very nice touch! ^
The meal in C was quite allright, if yet on the smaller side, but on the other hand I wasn’t very hungry.
It consisted of ham and some kind of paté as appetizer, beef and vegetables as main course (warm of course), and then cheese.
After the meal the FA offered coffee, tea and chocolates. I asked if they had any spirits onboard and it turned out they had four different whiskys which the FA brought to my seat so I could choose. They had Ballantines and Chivas Regal for example, my favourites, definitely not bad with four whiskys on a regional jet!!
Pics
Red wine and snacks served after take-off
Dinner in business class
Coffee, whisky and chocolates after dinner
Due to the late departure we also landed late in Warsaw and taxied to a remote stand.
Warsaw airport is undergoing some significant construction work at the moment and a new terminal (called terminal 2) is being built as the old terminal really cannot cope with the current passenger volume.
Funnily half of the new terminal is already in use, basically the arrivals hall and the baggage hall, while all departures are still handled at the old terminal.
This meant that the bus had to make two stops, one stop at the old terminal to drop off transfer passengers, and one stop at the new terminal to drop off all passengers finishing their journey in Warsaw.
The new terminal looked very nice (well I only got to see the arrivals hall), but what a great improvement from the old arrivals hall which was old, worn and rather dodgy!!
The new baggage hall looked bright and modern with LCD displays showing baggage information and with plenty of signs that were easy to read and follow. ^
Once the new terminal is fully in operation travelling through Warsaw will be a completely different experience.
Pics
Minutes before landing in Warsaw
Just landed at Warsaw ”Frederic Chopin” airport
The brand new arrivals hall in terminal 2 (which officially hasn’t even opened yet)
Radisson SAS Centrum Hotel, Warsaw
I took a taxi from the airport to the Radisson hotel in central Warsaw where I had a reservation.
The airport is only 8 km from the city centre so the taxi ride to downtown is very quick and not very expensive either (around 30 zloty).
The Radisson hotel is very new and modern, I had stayed there before and knew the hotel was fine.
I presented my SAS gold card at check-in and was upgraded to a nice business class room on the 8th floor. A business class room also gives you free pay-tv, bathrobe and slippers, and a free newspaper delivered to your room in the morning. ^
They have three room themes at the Radisson hotel in Warsaw: Scandinavian, Italian, and Maritime.
This time I was given an Italian room with a pretty cool interior, definitely something different. A really cool thing was that the room also had an espresso machine making lovely coffee and there were three types of coffee beans to choose between.
The view from the room was certainly not bad either, you could see pretty much the entire city centre including the Palace of science of culture from the room, really nice at night!!
Pics
My ”Italian-style” business class room at the Radisson SAS hotel
Fantastic view from my room at night with the Palace of science and culture in the foreground
My espresso machine (which made pretty good coffee!!)
The breakfast restaurant in the hotel