Poland’s LOT orders 40 Airbus planes in “largest investment in history”

LOT Polish Airlines has placed an order for 40 aircraft from Airbus, marking the first time that Poland’s national carrier has bought planes from the European aerospace giant.

The airline says that the deal, which will see the aircraft begin to be delivered in 2027, is part of its expansion and modernisation ahead of the planned opening of a major new airport in central Poland, known as the Central Communication Port (CPK).

“This is the largest investment in the history of the Polish national carrier,” declared Prime Minister Donald Tusk, announcing the news. “We are building a leader in air transport in Europe.”

The agreement will see LOT receive 20 of Airbus’s A220-100 aircraft and 20 A220-300s. The former, first introduced into regular service in 2016, typically seat 100-120 passengers, while the latter is a longer variant with a capacity of 120-150 passengers.

The terms of the deal has not been disclosed. Polish state broadcaster TVP notes that the cost of one such aircraft is around $90 million, depending on the precise configuration, which would put the value of 40 at around $3.6 billion (13.3 billion zloty).

“This order for 40 Airbus A220s marks a historic milestone as we officially welcome LOT Polish Airlines into the Airbus family,” said Benoît de Saint-Exupéry, Airbus’s executive vice president for sales of commercial aircraft.

Michał Fijoł, LOT’s CEO, said that the agreement “will allow us to compete effectively in the European skies, strengthen our position as the preferred carrier in Central and Eastern Europe, and prepare LOT for its role as a leading airline at the Central Communication Port”.

Last week, Poland’s infrastructure minister, Dariusz Klimczak, revealed that the results of LOT’s tender for 40 new regional aircraft would be announced at the Paris Airshow, which began today.

The contest had been between Airbus, a pan-European producer that is mainly based in France, and Brazil’s Embraer. On Saturday, Reuters reported, based on anonymous inside sources, that Airbus had been chosen by LOT as its supplier despite Embraer offering to open an assembly line in Poland.

The deal comes amid recent strengthened ties between France and Poland, including the two countries last month signing a major new treaty providing for closer cooperation on security, defence technologies, and developing nuclear energy, among other things.

Speaking today, Fijoł said that LOT had received “two very competitive offers” but “we believe that the A220 is in line with our strategy”, including “allowing passengers to travel comfortably and…[being] fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly”.

The airline currently operates 86 aircraft, around half of them Boeings and half from Embraer, reports industry news service Rynek Lotniczy. It is also awaiting delivery of two Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 13 Boeing 737 MAX 8s.

LOT will be the main carrier operating from the planned CPK airport, which is currently scheduled to open in 2032. As such, it is seeking to further expand and modernise its fleet, with the state assets ministry last year announcing plans for the airline to acquire 84 new aircraft.

Main image credit: Romain COUPY/Wikimedia Commons (under CC BY-SA 4.0)