LOT eyes fleet upgrades for cautious growth strategy
By VICTORIA MOORES
LOT Polish Airlines will continue its slow and steady expansion over the coming years, which will involve additional aircraft and—ultimately—moving to a new home hub.
Since 2016, LOT has quietly doubled its fleet and grown to 80 aircraft, comprising Embraer E170, E175s, E190s and E195s, and Boeing 737-800s, 737 MAX 8s, 787-8s and 787-9s.
“Within the coming years, we are going to grow, to add additional aeroplanes,” LOT Polish Airlines CCO Michał Fijoł said, speaking at Routes Europe 2023. “For now, no decisions have been made regarding the engaging of newer-generation airplanes. We are not in a hurry. There is time for the decision.”
Fijoł declined to give further specifics about the re-fleeting process, but he said LOT has learned lessons from its experiences with new aircraft technologies. He particularly pointed to recent engine issues and said LOT will be monitoring developments very closely.
“LOT was one of the first operators of the 787, which was a type of aeroplane with some troubles. We were also among the ones who were using 737 MAX 8s from the very beginning, which was also connected with some troubles,” he said. “Now we need to act extremely carefully, based on our past experiences and knowing the effects on the operations and business of the airline.”
This summer, LOT will serve over 100 destinations, meaning its operations are likely to hit around 10 million passengers in 2023, comparable with 2019 levels.
During the first day of the Routes Europe event, ACI Europe director general Olivier Jankovec cautioned that data for first three months of 2023 indicates that the recovery might be stagnating at around 11%-12% below 2019 levels. However, Fijoł is not seeing evidence of any slowdown at LOT. “What I observed from the beginning of the year was a steady growth of the demand,” he said.
One of the growth challenges that LOT will face is that Warsaw Chopin Airport is already at capacity. Fijoł said half of LOT’s fleet has already been moved to Warsaw Radom, a secondary airport located 100 km south of Warsaw.
In the longer term, LOT is planning to move to a new purpose-built airport called the Solidarity Hub, or Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), in Polish. This new facility, which is located 40 km south of Warsaw, is planned for construction by 2028, replacing Warsaw Chopin Airport.
“Solidarity Hub could be a unique selling point for LOT, and we do absolutely support this idea and we would like to have it as soon as possible, but we need to be realistic as well,” Fijoł said. The CPK project was discussed during an earlier panel, with questions being raised about whether the airport would ultimately be constructed.
Fijoł concluded by saying that LOT’s growth strategy will be “very effective,” with the airline getting bigger each year, but the incremental changes themselves will not be spectacular.
Last year, LOT took delivery of seven E-Jets and six MAXs. “Thirteen aircraft is nothing spectacular, but this is the way we are going to continue our growth,” he said. “I am confident that we will be in a completely different dimension after the next five years.”
