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National airline of Poland and member of IATA since 1930 and Star Alliance since October 2003. LOT was founded as Linje Lotnizce by government decree where all private air carriers at that time were replaced by one state-owned airline. Operations commenced in January 1929 on Warsaw-Katowice and Warsaw-Bydgoszcz routes. International operations followed in May 1930 when flight from Warsaw to Buchurest via Lvov took off. Before the war LOT operated fleet of DC-2, Lockheed L10 Electra and L14 Super Electra, Junkers 52 and Junkers F-13, and Fokker F.VII. Airline stopped operations during the war. Operations resumed in 1946 with Warsaw - Gdansk flights using Lisunov LI-2s aircraft. Lisunovs were supplemented in 1949 with Ilyushin IL-12 and in 1955 Iarger Ilyushin IL-14s. In 1957, LOT purchased Convair CV-240s. It was first pressurized cabin type in LOTs fleet and rarity among Eastern European Airlines. First turboprop arrived in 1961 when LOT took delivery of Ilyushin IL-18. The type allowed LOT to open flights to the Middle East, namely Beirut, Cairo and Baghdad in 1963. LOT received its first pure jet in 1968 when it took delivery of Tupolev Tu-134. Fist long-haul jet, Ilyushin IL-62, arrived in 1972 enabling LOT to operate long-haul network. Year later in April, LOT inaugurated its first transatlantic flight from Warsaw to New York, followed in 1976 with Bangkok and Bombay via Dubai routes. Because of the of political situation in 1981, LOTs network was cut dramatically, however by 1984 most routes were restored and new destinations are added, namely Chicago. In 1989 LOT became first Eastern Block airline to operate Boeing 767 aircraft. Flights to Beijing and New Delhi are inaugurated. With the arrival of democracy in 1990s, LOT began fleet modernization. Beginning in 1991 ATR regional turboprops started to replace aging An-24s and Tupolev Tu-134s, then in 1992 first Boeing 737 arrived. In 1997 regional subsidiary EuroLOT is formed. In 1999 Embraer ERJ-145s joined the fleet. In March 2004, LOT became first airline in the world to operate new Embraer ERJ-170 regional jet. From Warsaw LOT serves most European capitals and industrial centers and Poland's secondary airports, Middle East destinations as well as transatlantic flights to New York, Toronto and Chicago. Seasonal flights to Beijing and Bangkok are also served.
founded - demised (age)
December 29 1928 - present (97years)
headquarters
Ul 17 Stycznia 39, Pl-00906, Warsaw
web
base airports
related operators
current /stored fleet (85)
