LOT Polish Airlines

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

LOT Polish Airlines
IATA LO	ICAO LOT	Callsign LOT
Founded		1929
Hubs		Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport
Focus cities		Kraków-Balice Airport, Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, Katowice International Airport, Copernicus Airport Wrocław
Frequent flyer program		Miles & More
Member lounge		Executive Lounge
Alliance		Star Alliance
Fleet size		58
Destinations		68
Parent company		LOT Polish Airlines
Headquarters		Warsaw, Poland
Key people		Marek Mazur (CEO)
Website: http://www.lot.com

LOT Polish Airlines (LOT Polskie Linie Lotnicze) is an airline based in Poland. The company employs 4,200 people and reaches 68 destinations in 36 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. Lot Polish Airlines has been a member of Star Alliance since 2003.

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

[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).

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]}

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-1980s to early-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 Polish Airlines 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]}

On 7 September 2005 the airline ordered seven (with two options) Boeing 787-8s for its long haul operations for delivery in 2008^[2]. LOT Polish Airlines will be a European launch carrier for the 787-800 type. On the 19 February 2007 the airline converted one option to make a total of eight Boeing 787s on order^[3].

LOT Polish Airlines was the first airline and launch customer to operate commercial services with the Embraer 170.

[edit] Destinations

Main article: LOT Polish Airlines destinations

[edit] Fleet

The LOT Polish Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of December 2006:^[4]

LOT Polish Airlines and Centralwings Fleet

Type	Total	Passengers (Business/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Boeing 737-400	3 (5 Leased to Centralwings)	147 (48/99)	Are used on European and Middle Eastern routes
Boeing 737-300	3 (All Leased to Centralwings)	145	Are used on European routes
Boeing 737-500	6	108 (36/72)	Are used on European and Middle Eastern routes.
Boeing 767-200ER	2	202 (12/190)	Are used on Trans Atlantic routes	To be fitted with new long-haul business class.
Boeing 767-300ER	5	243 (18/225)	Are used on Trans Atlantic routes	Four out of five have the new long-haul business class.
Embraer ERJ 145	11	48	Are used on European and Domestic routes.
Embraer 170	10	76	Are used on European and Domestic routes.	7 Options For E-Jet Family.
Embraer 175	6	82	Are used on European and Domestic routes.	7 Options For E-Jet Family.
Boeing 787-8	(8 orders) (1 option)	278	European Launch Customer Entry into Service: October 2008
Boeing 787-9	(5 options)	318

[edit] Subsidiaries

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 near Warsaw airport after initiating an overshoot procedure 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 ^[5].
• 9 May 1987 - Ilyushin IL-62 (SP-LBG), flight LO 5055. Shortly after departure from Warsaw, 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.^[6]

[edit] See also

• Transportation in Poland

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Flight International 5-11 April 2005
2. ^ Boeing Press Release (September 2005)
3. ^ Boeing Press Release (February 2007)
4. ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
5. ^ Aviation Sefety Network website.
6. ^ Aviation Safety Network website.

[edit] External links

• LOT
• LOT Jet Fleet Detail
• LOT Passenger Opinions