The Ministry of State Assets has announced that in the near future LOT Polish Airlines (PLL LOT) is planning to send out a request for proposals for “the acquisition of 84 regional aircraft from two manufacturers who have machines on offer that meet the requirements”. It was indicated that these are Embraer and Airbus.

One of the basic objectives of LOT Polish Airlines’ strategy is to “secure up to 110 aircraft by 2028”.

“This is why the company is in dialogue with aircraft manufacturers. It is facing a strategic decision as to whether to continue cooperation with the current aircraft supplier (Embraer) or to switch to a competing platform (Airbus) in the regional segment”, the ministry said.

According to the information, deputy minister of state assets Jacek Bartminski has already held talks with Embraer vice-president João Pedro Taborda, and Airbus vice-president for Europe Johan Pelissier.

“The talks of the deputy minister, responsible for supervision LOT Polish Airlines, concerned the definition of potential areas of cooperation between the aforementioned companies and the State Treasury companies. After the crisis caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, LOT is rebuilding its position in the market and is pursuing a strategy of further development and increase in the scale of operations”, says a statement from the Ministry of State Assets.

The ministry indicated that the Polish national air carrier currently has a fleet of 75 aircraft, comprising Embraer machines (over half of the fleet) and Boeing planes (B737 and B787).

In accordance with announcements made in October 2023, LOT Polish Airlines was scheduled to close last year with the carriage of 10 million passengers, and by 2028 this number is expected to rise to nearly 17 million people.

The main shareholder of LOT Polish Airlines is the State Treasury, which has a 69.30 % stake in the company. The other shareholder (30.7 %) is the Polish Aviation Group (PGL), which is 100 % owned by the State Treasury.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński