alvn

My friend is going to be meeting family at WAW, and they will have a mobile phone for her. However, until she finds them, she might not have a mobile phone that works there. Even now (that almost everyone has mobile phones), I'm assuming that there are still at least some pay phones there.

Is that correct? If so, how can one pay? Coins? Pre-paid cards? Credit cards?

Thanks in advance!

AlicorporateUK

I haven't seen one for ages, but it's probably me not paying any attention. If they are still alive, I remember using Orange and T-Mobile booths (God, that must have been ages ago), which worked with both coins and cards. There should also be a few stationary phones (cards accepted, with the various logos clearly on display) at Okęcie airport and Warszawa Centralna train station. In Polish, telephone booth translates in budka telefoniczna

Edit: speaking to the Mrs, it seems that the only telephone booth still alive and kicking is located in the post office's premises in Świętokrzyska street and, still according to the other half, it will soon disappear along with all the remaining booths in the rest of the Country (she did read it somewhere, I will look for a link just to be entirely accurate).

G

GUWonder

Free wifi at the airport and a messaging app may be a workaround.

I recall seeing payphones airside/transit side at WAW a few years back.

theSaladDays

Incredible what you don't notice when you no longer need to know! Apparently in 2000 there were 95 thousand throughout the country, now just a handful (mostly in prisons) with the remainder to be eliminated this year according to these articles:
http://www.gazetawroclawska.pl/wrocl...acji,10688049/
http://warszawa.naszemiasto.pl/artyk...l,t,id,tm.html

Not surprising though really, even my 89 year old grandmother has a mobile, don't think I know anybody other than young children who don't have them. And to think that 25 years ago to make a long-distance call you'd probably have to make a trip to the post office, request a call and then wait, sometimes hours, before a free line was available and the operator would connect you.

Sorry for the OT.

As for meeting family at the airport, you could also choose a spot in the arrivals area, say next to one of the car rental desks.

EmailKid

Don't know how much time before departure, but IMHO just mailing SIM card and having an unlocked (can be cheap) mobile will have you going the second FA announces you may use your devices @:-)

Just don't turn on the phone before the flight in case there are roaming charges outside of Poland.

Of course the T-Mobile SIM I purchased in Poland and was assured would roam (using roaming charges) went dead seconds after crossing Czech border