A lot to offer

Who would have thought 10 years ago that Lot Polish Airlines would win, three years in a row, the coveted title of best airline in eastern and central Europe? The readers of Business Travel World magazine again voted for Lot Polish Airlines this year. Those 10 years have seen a dramatic transformation in an airline that this year will carry 2.5 million passengers.

Now one of the youngest fleets in Europe, Lot's equipment includes Boeing 737300, 400 and 500 series, Boeing 767 200 and 300 series and the French-Italian ATR72s. In 1993, traffic between Poland and Britain was nine flights a week, today it is 30 and from next year Warsaw alone will have seven flights a day into Britain.

Good news for Irish businesses which are starting to make inroads in Poland. British Airways and Lot have entered into a codeshare agreement on a number of their flights, making travel easier between the two countries. British Midlands too, have entered the lucrative London-Warsaw route from July which can be seen as an example of the burgeoning Polish economy.

Plans for next year include moving from terminal two to terminal one in Heathrow and extending the codeshare links with British Airways, which will give passengers access to both airlines' frequent flyer programmes and the British Airways executive lounges at Manchester, Gatwick, Heathrow and Warsaw.

Lot is one of the oldest established airlines in eastern Europe having been formed in 1929 and joining the International Air Transport Association in 1931. By 1939 Lot Polish Airlines' network covered the major part of the European continent.

Warsaw has direct connections with 21 cities and 13 countries, and the fleet now numbers 26 aircraft. During the second World War Lot lost all its property and equipment and Polish pilots were scattered all over the world fighting in both Polish and British Air Forces. Polish pilots took part in the Battle of Britain.

After the second World War, Lot had to begin operations from scratch, building a new airport and hangers in Warsaw at Okecie Airport. Services resumed in 1946 with domestic and international services to Berlin, Paris, Stockholm and Prague.

Over the next 40 years Lot expanded its routes to cover the Middle East, North and South America, the Far East and Australia. In 1989 Lot initiated the biggest investment in its history, consisting of a complete fleet replacement with Western aircraft and the modernisation of the airport infrastructure.

In 1991 the Polish government passed a law to privatise the national carrier and in 1992 it became a company wholly-owned by the Polish State Treasury. The treasury hopes to complete the privatisation by the middle of next year.

Andrzej Rode, general manager for Lot UK and Ireland says the "aim of Lot is to become the strongest airline in the central Europe region and to turn Warsaw into a real hub not just for Poland but the neighbouring Baltic and CIS States".