LOT Polish Airlines
is Poland’s flag carrier, and connects the nation to destinations across Europe and the world. The carrier deploys a mixed fleet of narrowbody and long-haul aircraft, and aims to continue expanding its fleet and global network in the coming years. However, as the 
Star Alliance
carrier sets lofty goals for itself, it also faces some difficult challenges that clip the airline’s wings.
The biggest issue LOT is facing is a lack of long-haul aircraft. Without new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the airline is severely constricted in terms of long-haul growth and network expansion. Because of a lack of available delivery slots, LOT has been forced to turn to alternative strategies to maintain and expand its long-haul flight schedule.
Wet leasing from EuroAtlantic
In light of lengthy delivery waits for new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, LOT needs a temporary solution to its aircraft shortage. As a result, the airline will be wet-leasing a Boeing 777-200 from EuroAtlantic to help the carrier expand its frequency on services between Warsaw and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport
.
Photo: Boeing
According to Cirium, an aviation data analytics provider, the wet-leased 777-200 started service this month. In January 2025, it will operate 27 flights and offer a total of 7,911 seats within the market. This is accompanied by four 787 Dreamliner flights, three of which are operated by LOT’s larger Boeing 787-9.
In February 2025, 777 flights will be reduced to 24 flights and the 787-8 Dreamliner is exclusively used on the four flights not operated by the leased aircraft. By March, 777 flights will increase to 26 flights and 7,618 available seats, and April has the same number of monthly flights and available seats using leased aircraft.
Until September 2025, the last month of the year the Boeing 777 is deployed between Warsaw and JFK, there are typically around 25 monthly flights using the aircraft, though additional Dreamliner services spike during the busy summer season. The leased Boeing 777 will play an important role in maintaining LOT’s New York service.
Simple Flying reached out to LOT for comment on the wet-lease but had not heard back at the time of writing.
Related
Iceland’s Keflavík Airport To Welcome LOT Polish Airlines With Warsaw Route
The flag carrier of Poland has announced the latest route to join its network will be Reykjavik-Keflavik, with Boeing 737 flights beginning in April.
LOT has a major widebody problem
In the past year, LOT has been able to expand its short and medium-haul network to include new destinations across Europe. According to money.pl, the carrier had added cities like Tashkent, Athens, and Riyadh. Additionally, the Warsaw-based airline will soon begin serving Lyon, Larnaca, Innsbruck, and Tenerife. LOT will use its narrowbody fleet of Embraer E-Jets and Boeing 737 MAX jets on the routes.
Photo: Adam Szczepkowski | Shutterstock
Despite growth in key European markets, LOT’s long-haul network has failed to grow at the same speed and scope. Many of the carrier’s international aspirations have been canceled or put on hold, and an ongoing aircraft shortage means a quick solution to the problem cannot yet be addressed.
LOT performs most of its long-haul flying from its hub in Warsaw, Poland. From the Polish city, the carrier flies directly to 11 long-haul destinations. These destinations include, Los Angeles, New York JFK and Newark, Miami, Delhi, and Tokyo. In addition to these routes, LOT offers service to New York and Chicago from Krakow, and a small handful of long routes from other Polish and European cities.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, LOT was aiming to begin new direct service to San Francisco and Washington, DC. However, as a result of the demand shock and unpredictable nature of the health crisis, these routes were canceled and still have not been launched. The airline also has not yet resumed service to Beijing and Singapore, making the airline’s international presence smaller than before.
However, there is currently little LOT can do to bolster its international presence given its lack of long-haul aircraft. The airline currently operates a small fleet of 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners. The carrier operates two variants of the aircraft: the 787-8 and the larger 787-9. The 787-8 can seat 252 passengers, while the -9 seats 294.
LOT cannot receive other 787 Dreamliners for at least another five years given the long wait list for Boeing’s newest airliner. CEO Michal Fijol explained:
“Of course, we would like to have more wide-body aircraft right now and we are looking for them. But new Dreamliners are not available at the moment. Boeing has free production slots only after 2030. LOT needs them faster. We have already identified places where these aircraft could be obtained earlier. However, we are talking about complicated processes and huge amounts, so there is no need to rush.”
Now in its 96th year of operations, LOT is clearly looking forward to the future, and aims to expand its international footprint. According to VietnamNet Global, among the airline growth plans is restoring service to Vietnam. The carrier previously operated Warsaw to Hanoi routes from 2010 until the pandemic’s start.
