LOT Polish Airlines adds Warsaw flights from Washington Dulles

LOT Polish Airlines will make Washington Dulles its newest U.S. destination.

The carrier will start nonstop service between its hub in Warsaw (WAW) and the D.C.-area airport on June 2. LOT will use Boeing 787 Dreamliners for its three flights a week on the route.

The Washington route continues LOT's recent expansion in the U.S.

"A direct flight from Warsaw to Washington, D.C., has long been on our shortlist," LOT CEO Rafal Milczarski said in a statement issued by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority that runs both the Dulles and Washington Reagan National airports.

Milczarski also suggested more U.S. flights may be in the works.

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"New long-haul flights to the USA are the backbone of our strategy, and announcing the new connection to Washington now certainly is not our last word," Milczarski added in the statement.

LOT has announced several other new U.S. routes recently, including new service from the Polish city of Krakow to New York-JFK and a new route between Warsaw and San Francisco.

The new service also continues a strong run for Washington Dulles (IAD), which has seen the addition of several high-profile international routes since 2017. Among the international carriers starting new service from Dulles since then are Air India (Delhi), Alitalia (Rome), Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong), Iberia (Madrid) and TAP Air Portugal (Lisbon).

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"LOT Polish Airlines is the 18th European carrier to join the Dulles International family, continuing the airport's legacy of offering unparalleled connectivity from the National Capital Region to Europe and beyond," said Yil Surehan, vice president of Airline Business Development for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

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The schedule for LOT's new Warsaw-Washington flights will operate as follows:

• WAW to IAD: LO Flight 39, departs WAW at 4:50 p.m. and arrives to IAD at 8:30 p.m., all times local. (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday)
• IAD to WAW: LO Flight 40, departs IAD at 10:25 p.m. and arrives to WAW at 1:25 p.m. the next day, all times local. (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday)

LOT is a Star Alliance partner with United, which operates a large connecting hub at Washington Dulles.

The Dulles press release says the Star Alliance ties should offer "connecting customers easy access to many destinations worldwide beyond [LOT's] Warsaw hub or across the United States via Star Alliance partner United Airlines once they arrive at Dulles International."

However, customers should note that the late-evening arrival time of the Washington-bound flight will limit the number of connections available. On the flip side, the 10:25 p.m. departure of the Warsaw-bound flight creates a friendly schedule for evening connections via United's Dulles network.

Similarly, the 1:25 p.m. arrival to Warsaw will give LOT customers numerous options to connect to afternoon and evening LOT flights to onward destinations.

Related: Washington Dulles vs. Reagan National: Which airport should I use?