LOT Polish Airlines (Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT) is the national airline of Poland based in Warsaw. It operates scheduled passenger and cargo services. Domestic services link Warsaw and Kraków with eight cities. Over 50 international routes are operated throughout Europe and to the Middle East and North America. Its main base is Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport. Lot Polish Airlines has been a member of Star Alliance since 2003.[1]
| File:LOT Polish logo.png | |||||||
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| 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 | ||||||
| Alliance | Star Alliance | ||||||
| Fleet size | 58 (8 orders) | ||||||
| Destinations | 68 | ||||||
| Parent company | LOT Polish Airlines | ||||||
| Headquarters | Warsaw, Poland | ||||||
| Key people | Piotr Siennicki (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.lot.com | ||||||
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.
History
The airline was established on 1 January 1929 by the Polish government as a state owned self governing corporation taking over existing domestic lines Aero and Aerolot, and started operations on January 2 [2]. The first aircraft used were Junkers F.13 and Fokker F.VII. Its first international service began on 2 August 1929 to Wien[2]. Accepted into IATA in 1930, it opened an international route to Bucharest that year, followed by Berlin, Athens, Beirut, Helsinki, Rome and some others. 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, 10 L-14, 3 DC-2 and 1 Ju 52/3mge). It carried 218,000 passengers by the war[2].
Services were suspended during the Second World War, and all of LOT's aircraft were either destroyed or detained. From August 1944 until December 1945 the Polish Air Force maintained basic transport in the country. On 10 March 1945 the Polish government recreated the LOT airline. In 1946, seven years after the service was suspended, the airline restarted its operations after receiving 10 Lisunov Li-2, then further 30 Li-2 and 9 Douglas C-47. Both domestic and international services restarted that year, first to Berlin, Paris, Stockholm and Prague.[3].
Five SNCASE SE.161 Languedocs joined the fleet in July 1947, followed by five Ilyushin Il-12B in April 1949 and 13-20 Ilyushin Il-14s in 1955-1957[3]. After the stalinist period in Poland, few Western aircraft were acquired: five Convair 240 in October 1957 and 1959 and three Vickers Viscount in November 1962[4]. Then the composition of the fleet shifted to Soviet aircraft only again.
The Ilyushin Il-18 was introduced in May 1961, leading to the establishment of routes to Africa and Middle East (9 were used). The Antonov An-24 was delivered from April 1966 (20 used, on domestic routes), followed by the first jet airliners Tupolev Tu-134 in November 1968 (12 used) 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. Tupolev Tu-154 mid-range airliners were acquired in the 1980s. The current planes' livery, with large inscription LOT in blue in fuselage front and blue tailfin, was introduced in 1977[4].
In the late 1980s, with the fall of the communist system, 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]
The airline is owned by the Polish government (67.97%), SAirLines Europe (25.1%) and employees (6.93%). It has 3,398 employees (at March 2007).[1]
Destinations
Fleet
The LOT Polish Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of December 2006: [citation needed]
| 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 | (6 options) | 318 |
On 7 September 2005 the airline ordered seven (with two options) Boeing 787-8s for its long haul operations for delivery in 2008[5]. 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[6].
LOT Polish Airlines was the first airline and launch customer to operate commercial services with the Embraer 170.
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]
Code Sharing
The airline has code-share agreements with the following airlines (as of April 2007):
- Asiana Airlines (Seoul)
- United Airlines (Boston, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, New York, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Seattle ,Minneapolis/St Paul, Detroit, Tampa, Las Vegas, Washington DC, Portland OR, St Louis, New Orleans, Kansas City, Cleveland, Cinncinati, Philadephia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, San Diego, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Charlotte, Salt Lake City)
- Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
- Lufthansa (Munich, Hamburg, Dusseldorf)
- Air Canada (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax, Quebec City, Regina, Edmonton, Victoria, St Johns)
- ANA (Tokyo)
- Brussels Airlines (Brussels)
- Aeroflot (Moscow)
- Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich, Basel)
Incidents and accidents
- 19 December 1962 - Vickers Viscount 804 (SP-LVB) on a scheduled flight from Brussels to Warsaw with a stop in Berlin crashed at the threshhold of runway 33 at Warsaw while making a second approach using instrument landing at night in fog and in winter conditions. There were 33 fatalities (all on board).[7]
- 2 April 1969 - Antonov An-24B (SP-LTF) crashed in the Polish mountains in Zawoja, many kilometers off course, on a scheduled domestic flight from Warsaw to Kraków-Balice. There were 53 fatalities (all on board).[8]
- 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 (all on board).[9]
- 9 May 1987 - Ilyushin Il-62M (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 (all on board), making this Poland's worst air disaster.[10]
See also
External links
References
- ^ a b c "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 2007-04-03. p. 107. Cite error: The named reference "FI" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c Adam Jońca, Samoloty linii lotniczych 1931-1939, WKiŁ, Warsaw 1985, ISBN 83-206-0504-0
- ^ a b Adam Jońca, Samoloty linii lotniczych 1945-1956, WKiŁ, Warsaw 1985, ISBN 83-206-0529-0
- ^ a b Adam Jońca, Samoloty linii lotniczych 1957-1981, WKiŁ, Warsaw 1986, ISBN 83-206-0530-X
- ^ Boeing Press Release (September 2005)
- ^ Boeing Press Release (February 2007)
- ^ "Aviation Sefety Network, crash of aircraft registration: SP-LVB".
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Aviation Sefety Network, crash of aircraft registration: SP-LTF".
- ^ "Aviation Sefety Network, crash of aircraft registration: SP-LAA".
- ^ "Aviation Safety Network, crash of aircraft registration: SP-LBG".