LOT Polish Airlines

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LOT Polish Airlines

IATA LO	ICAO LOT	Callsign LOT
Founded		1929
Hubs		Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport and John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice
Focus cities / secondary hubs		Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport,Katowice International Airport and Copernicus Airport Wrocław
Frequent flyer program		Miles & More
Member lounge		Executive Lounge
Alliance		Star Alliance
Fleet size		56
Destinations		65
Parent company		LOT Polish Airlines
Headquarters		Warsaw, Poland
Key people		Tomasz Dembski (Acting CEO)
Website: http://www.lot.com

LOT Polish Airlines (Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT) is an airline based in Poland. The company employs 4,200 people and reaches 65 destinations in 31 countries. Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport is their home base and main hub. The name Polskie Linie Lotnicze means Polish Airlines, while LOT means 'flight' in Polish. LOT was established in 1929 and is one of the oldest airlines in the World.

1 History
2 Destinations
3 Fleet
4 Subsidiaries
5 Incidents and accidents
6 See also
7 External links
8 References

[edit] History

The airline was established on 1 January 1929 by the Polish government as a state owned self governing corporation taking over existing domestic routes and opening services to Europe, and started operations in March 1929 ^[1]. The first aircraft used were Junkers F.13 and Fokker F.VII. Accepted into IATA in 1930, its first international service began on April 1 of that year, to Bucharest, followed by Athens, Beirut and Helsinki. Douglas DC-2, Lockheed L-10A Electra and L.14H Super Electra joined the fleet in 1935, 1936 and 1938 respectively (at its peak, LOT had 10 L-10, 9 L-14, 3 DC-2 and 1 Ju 52/3mge).

LOT Boeing 737-400

Services were suspended during the Second World War, and all of LOT's aircraft were either destroyed or detained. On 1 April 1945, seven years after the service was suspended, the airline restarted its operations after receiving 10 Lisunov Li-2, then a further Li-2 and 9 Douglas C-47. Domestic services restarted on 1 April 1945, while international services restarted on 11 May 1945. ^{[citation needed]}

Five SNCASE SE.161 Languedocs joined the fleet in July 1947, followed by the Ilyushin Il-12B in April 1949 and Ilyushin Il-14s in 1955. The Convair 240 and Vickers Viscount were first acquired in October 1957 and November 1962. ^{[citation needed]}

During Poland's period of communist rule, the composition of the fleet shifted to Soviet aircraft. The Ilyushin Il-18 was introduced in May 1961, leading to the establishment of routes to Africa and Middle East. The Antonov An-24 was delivered in April 1966, followed by the Tupolev Tu-134 in November 1968 and the Ilyushin Il-62 long range jet airliner in April 1973. The introduction of Il-62 aircraft enabled transatlantic services to Montreal and New York. The current planes' livery was introduced in 1978. ^{[citation needed]}

LOT Boeing 737-500

In the late 1980s, the fleet shifted back to Western aircraft, beginning with acquisitions of the Boeing 767-200 in April 1989, followed by the ATR 72 in August 1991, Boeing 737-500 in December 1992 and Boeing 737-400 in April 1993. From the mid-1990s LOT flew from Warsaw to Chicago, Newark and Toronto. In December 1992 the airline became a joint stock company, as a transitional step towards partial privatisation, which was effected in late 1999, with the SAirGroup acquiring a 37.6% stake. The Polish government has retained a controlling 51% holding. LOT created low cost arm Centralwings in 2004 ^[1].

On 26 October 2003, it became the fourteenth member of the Star Alliance. LOT plans to open new connections to Far East in October 2006. This was later accomplished by signing a codesharing agreement with Star Alliance partner Singapore Airlines. ^{[citation needed]}

In 2004-2005, LOT began evaluating new aircraft for long haul operations, particularly the Airbus A330 and Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787, as replacement for its aging Boeing 767 aircraft. Poland's treasury ministry, which owns around 68% of the airline, has advised LOT to seek an independent review of its long-haul fleet analysis, as the airline has yet to make a selection, several months after it was expected to reach a decision ,ref>Flight International July 2005</ref>.

LOT was the first airline to operate commercial services with the Embraer 170. LOT decided that new aircraft for long haul operations will be Boeing 787. The Polish flag carrier ordered 7 Boeing 787-8 and have options for 7 Boeing 787-9 (September 2005). LOT will be a launch carrier for the 787 type. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Destinations

Main article: LOT Polish Airlines destinations

[edit] Fleet

The LOT Polish Airlines and Centralwings fleet consists of the following aircraft as of August 2006:^[2]

**LOT Polish Airlines Fleet**
Type	Total	Passengers	Notes
Boeing 737-400	8	147 (48/99)
Boeing 737-500	6	108 (36/72)
Boeing 737-300	3	145
Boeing 767-200ER	2	202 (12/190)
Boeing 767-300ER	5	243 (18/225)
Embraer ERJ 145	11	48
Embraer 170	10	70	7 Options For E-Jet Family
Embraer 175	4	82	7 Options For E-Jet Family
Boeing 787-800	(7 Orders) (7 Options)		European Launch Customer

8 ATR 72-202 and 5 ATR 42-500 are used by LOT wholly owned subsidiary, Eurolot

[edit] Subsidiaries

EuroLOT ATR-42

Eurolot, a wholly owned subsidiary airline was founded on July 1, 1997. In 2005, a wholly owned subsidiary no-frills airline named Centralwings was launched. Centralwings operates in co-operation with Lufthansa's subsidiary Germanwings. Although independently owned, the airlines share frequent flyer programs and co-ordinate scheduling. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Incidents and accidents

14 March 1980 - Ilyushin IL-62 (SP-LAA), flight LO 007 crashed while attempting a go around due to a landing gear problem. When takeoff thrust was applied, the no.2 engine failed, severing the control cables for the elevator and rudder. There were 87 fatalities.
9 May 1987 - Ilyushin IL-62 (SP-LBG), flight LO 5055. Shortly after departure, the aircraft's no.1 engine suffered an uncontained engine failure. Parts of the engine penetrated the fuselage and damaged the elevator control systems, causing a loss of elevator authority and eventually a loss of control of the aircraft. There were 183 fatalities making this Poland's worst air disaster.^{[citation needed]}