Now Open: The First LOT Polish U.S. Lounge in Chicago

LOT Polish, Poland’s flag-carrier airline, has opened its first lounge outside its home country.

The LOT Business Lounge at Chicago’s O’Hare airport provides a much-needed addition to Terminal 5 at the world’s second-busiest airport by aircraft movements. It opened on December 19, 2024, and can be accessed by passengers on a variety of airlines, not just LOT.

Let’s look at the details.

Good News for Star Alliance Passengers in Chicago

The 6,600-square-foot lounge opened to the public on December 19, 2024.

It makes sense that LOT should choose Chicago O’Hare (ORD) for its first international lounge since the Polish community in the Chicago metropolitan area numbers around 1.5 million people — a huge source of demand for travel to Poland. That’s why LOT flies to both Warsaw (WAW) and Krakow (KRK) from O’Hare using Boeing 787s.

LOT’s website for the lounge shows that it’s located in Terminal 5, past security and next to the dining area. It was built by the same construction firm that built the United Club lounge at ORD.

The LOT Business Lounge features 165 seats, a relatively large capacity for the number of business-class passengers LOT will fly from O’Hare, but the space is needed because LOT passengers aren’t the only ones who will have access.

The Polish airline is part of Star Alliance, meaning that business-class flyers on alliance carriers at Terminal 5 also can get in. Star Alliance carriers at O’Hare’s Terminal 5 include Air India, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, Copa Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, Swiss, TAP Portugal, and Turkish Airlines.

The new space will surely be popular, considering that there is only 1 other Star Alliance lounge in the terminal, a Swissport lounge.

To access the LOT Business Lounge, you will need a valid same-day boarding pass in either long-haul business class or first class on a Star Alliance airline or Star Alliance Gold status plus a same-day boarding pass.

LOT says that access also is available to business-class passengers or passengers with status on “contracted airlines” but did not specify which airlines those will be.

Where LOT Polish Flies

Chicago is among the 6 destinations LOT flies to in North America. The others are New York-Kennedy (JFK), Newark (EWR), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), and Toronto Pearson (YYZ).

All of these routes are served with Boeing 787s — either the 787-8 or the longer 787-9 model. LOT features a rather outdated business class with a 2-2-2 layout, but it will refurbish its cabins with a modern 1-2-1 arrangement, providing all passengers with direct aisle access. The 787s will also have new entertainment systems, onboard Wi-Fi, and wireless charging. The bad news, however, is that the new interiors will appear only in 2026.

The changes are part of an ambitious growth plan LOT announced last year, which envisions a fleet of 110 aircraft in 2028, up from 75 today. By then, the airline wants to grow its passenger numbers by 60% to almost 17 million.

Final Thoughts

The opening of the LOT Business Lounge at Chicago O’Hare is good news for passengers on all Star Alliance airlines, not just those flying with the Polish flag carrier. Terminal 5 does not have many lounges, and the 165 seats in the new space are a big addition.