[TRIP REPORT] LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (ECONOMY) Rzeszow (RZE) - Newark (EWR)

[@kamilpasek281]

LOVE LOT POLISH AIRLINES.

[@JPAGH]

Around five thousand US troops are deployed near Rzeszow. They have families, and friends in the US and a direct connection to the east Polish border may be convenient for them. The plane didn't fly empty, and that's a good explanation. Maybe the airport is small but travelers prefer shorter travel over big airport amenities. Train from Warsaw to Rzeszow takes around five hours, plus travel from Warsaw Airport to Warsaw Main Station.

[@majlo4430]

No, flights from Rzeszow to NYC had started wayy before the war, US troops are no reason for this. Huge polish/ukr diaspora lives in this area.

[@EpicThe112]

​@majlo4430 you are correct on that these days it would be more ukrainians escaping the war remember there is no Kyiv to JFK/EWR. This is why this airport is a lifeline for them. For LOT there's a 50% discount for them. While Finnair offers 95% discount for ukrainians.

[@KamilBermesPC]

I love watching landings in the USA, hope I'll be there one day...

[@AeroTravels]

Nice report! I flew many years ago from Waw to yyz. It was ok.

[@higuys2140]

Yea, I completely agree, RZE catering might be nothing interesting, I flew the same route as you, and I really loved the brownie, polish food I guess, I went thru customs pretty fast and the baggage got sent in really fast also. Your question, why this route exists? Well, many people from Podkarpackie voivodeship and other find this airport the closest to them, and making how many people from Podkarpackie voivodeship fly to the US, this route is popular, I had a packed flight with all seats taken. LOT some time ago thought about adding this route to their program, making small airports that can handle the 787 (making it Rzeszów, Kraków, Katowice etc.) popular, well, it really helped, I'm an local avgeek in EPRZ and the passenger statistics skyrocketed after LOT added this Long-Haul to RZE. Now today, EPRZ has welcomed more traffic, February 2024 50 departures weekly, July/August 2024 over 80+ arrivals.

[@aristhecargayandavgeek]

I've been waiting for this vid since I saw your Insta story about this flight, and it didn't disappoint! Thanks for the background on RZE, makes sense why this flight exists. I bet it felt REALLY WEIRD flying on a transatlantic flight from such a tiny terminal. Thanks for the balanced flight review as well. The salami and cheese plate looked like the best part of the meal, did you try it?

[@sebastianliksza9892]

Flights from RZE to US were introduced long before the war and current geopolitical situation. Most probably because there are many Poles living in US from this region (Podkarpacie). Similarly there are flights from KRK to Chicago.

[@aviationmartin3246]

Fortunetely Lot Polish Airlines is going to Retrofit all B787-8 starting from next year which is really good information because they have really outdated cabin.

[@ch36799]

Turkish Airlines have the same seats on their A330 fleet like LOT.

[@GenkisTravels]

Nice video, I wonder what the duck dish was like :)

[@Archduke17]

The large load should answer why the flight exists. 😊

[@EpicThe112]

You are correct also it's the closest airport in Poland to Ukraine you look at the passenger manifest you will have majority Ukrainian passengers trying to escape the war

[@rachelehrenberg9231]

Sweetheart, if the flight landed 1hour early is it really a surprise that at a busy airport like EWR that a wait would happen?

[@Dublinplanespotter99]

Great video! I subbed!

[@higuys2140]

catering varies, rzeszow has duck and chicken, newark has pasta or chicken (different type of chickun)

[@EpicThe112]

Another reason why it's flown it has to do with the proximity to the Ukrainian border that's why this flight is running between former Austria-Hungary Galicia (Rzeszow Galizien Carl Ludwig Bahn railway which was used by Joe Biden and Anthony Blinken to reach Kyiv ) and Newark. These days you will have majority Ukrainian passengers alongside Poles

[@michaljakubik9179]

Actually, Brno, half the size airport, in the Czech republic, has direct connection to Thailand.

[@sebastianliksza9892]

But please note that Brno as second largest city in the country (larger than RZE) has still significant role. In case of polish RZE it's not even top 15 and despite great development has more regional role

[@MrSogjis]

Thanks for video of flight it was helpful for me! But if there are signs not to take a picture or take a video, you don't do that.

[@adamgb5716]

beautiful video, the REAL reason for unique unusual flight existing is because there is POLONIA civilians who left Poland before and during ww2 and since then they ancestors live in America but fly to my hometown (RZE) because many people from Rzeszów has migrated to the US. Itself town is really beautiful and war in Ukraine has only strengthened capacity of flights EWR-RZE-EWR

[@EpicThe112]

You are correct and for a Ukrainian the airline gives them 50% discount Finnair 95% discount. This was carried out because you couldn't fly out Kyiv Borispyl

[@Andrij_Kozak]

This flight exists maybe because US soldiers serving in Rzeszow ?? The US Army likely want direct flights back to the US from Rzeszow..

[@theplanesguy]

This flight started in 2018, and the US soldiers take flights on charter airlines, mainly on Eastern, Omni Air Int'l or Atlas Air. Apparently there is a lot of demand from locals in the area for a summer seasonal flight to NYC and Chicago.

[@Andrij_Kozak]

@@theplanesguy many ethnic Poles & Ukrainians living in Chicago. It would make more sense for a direct connection to Chicago.

[@kmstronski4742]

They don’t fly commercial flights but charter military flights

[@ryanridder4576]

Over an hour wait for the gate to open after landing is terrible

[@TripReportaviation]

I'm surprised to see a full flight even departing from a small airport. The IFE was very dated for a Dreamliner. I don't understand why some airlines choose to install old IFE even on their new planes

[@altavelmcnamara]

It’s a 10 years old 787, what would you expect

[@andrewmonks3668]

I think Shannon in the west of Ireland has a smaller population that Rzeszow?

[@theplanesguy]

It does, but RZE gets a lot less flights, to a lot less destinations than SNN.

[@styro6254]

Rejsy z RZE de EWR nie maja nic wspólnego z wojną ani z Ukrainą. Diaspora ukraińska to głównie Toronto. Z kolei historycznie Polacy z regionu dawnej Galicji (dzisiaj Podkarpackie) od początku XX wieku emigrowali głównie do Chicago i Nowego Jorku. I to dla nich i dla potomków Polaków jest to połączenie, które wystartowało 30 kwietnia 2018 roku.