Disciple of helicopter designer Igor Sikorsky, Hawaiian Air Lines maintenance official Clarence M. Belinn assembles a group of businessmen in Los Angeles in 1944 to create a rotary-wing airline. Los Angeles Airways (LAA) is incorporated on May 11, 1944. Belinn files two petitions with the CAB, one for the operation of a helicopter airline and the other for a combined air and ground service that would operate in the Los Angeles area until rotary-wing aircraft become available.
Actual start-up will need to wait until after the conclusion of World War II. In 1945, the CAB rejects the air and ground concept.
In 1946, LAA is chosen by the U. S. Post Office to implement an experimental helicopter airmail route. A temporary CAB certificate is granted on May 22, 1947 and Belinn and his vice president-operations, Arthur G. Tobey, begin to search for flight equipment and crews, as well as write a handbook of procedures for their new enterprise. All of this is quickly accomplished and on October 1, LAA, employing 3 Sikorsky S-51s, begins the world’s first regularly scheduled helicopter mail operation, flying from the roof of the downtown post office building to Los Angeles (LAX).
In 2 months, 21 tons of mail is carried between the roof of the downtown Post Office and Los Angeles (LAX).
The unique airline’s route network spreads out from the Los Angeles hub in 1948 to Newport Beach, the San Fernando Valley, and San Bernardino. Mail tonnage for the year reaches 1,250.
On June 11, 1951, the company receives a CAB permit to open the world’s first helicopter passenger service. More than three years will be required to make the transport of customers a reality. Express is added in 1952.
In July 1953, the CAB renews the pioneer’s certification, while again agreeing to the transport of passengers to, from, and between the area’s airports. Meanwhile, in December, the first scheduled helicopter air express services are launched. The enplanement of travelers does not begin until its newly ordered Sikorsky S-55s are ready to enter service on November 22, 1954. At year’s end, records show that mail tonnage carried has risen to 3,050.
Passenger flights in the Los Angeles metropolitan area commence on March 1, 1955 and in 1956 the company is making 72 daily S-55 flights (17 with passengers) between 16 California cities. Among the destinations visited are communities in the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the coastal area south of Los Angeles via Whittier and Long Beach to Santa Ana, and the original shuttle route between the Post Office and Los Angeles (LAX). The latter will reach an eventual peak of 85 daily roundtrips.
By 1958, LAA possesses 7 Sikorsky S-55s and on March 15, 1959 the company orders 2 turbine-powered S-62Ls, followed by 5 S-61s on October 22. On June 14, 1960, an S-55 with nine aboard crashes on takeoff at Anaheim; all aboard are hurt. A taxiing S-55 with eight aboard hits a ground service vehicle near Gate 18 on July 17. On December 21, Los Angeles Airways introduces its first S-62L.
An S-55 crash-lands at Whittier, California, on January 6, 1961; all three aboard are hurt. On March 1, 1962, the helicopter carrier inaugurates the world’s first multiengine, turbine-powered transport helicopter service when it places the 28-passenger Sikorsky S-61L into flight operations.
San Francisco-Oakland Airlines (SFO-1), having petitioned the CAB for a permanent, nonsubsidized operating certificate, argues in its hearings before the CAB in the spring of 1963 that government support is not necessary for a helicopter line to be successful. In its arguments, company officials cite LAA as a prime example of waste and inefficiency. True or not, the charges will lead to an eventual end of Congressional funding for all of the rotary-wing airlines. On July 15, an S-61L with three aboard on a training flight crashes at Los Angeles.
Enplanements for the year total 161,282.
Airline employment in 1964 stands at 194 and the carrier operates 7 helicopters. Groundwork and proving flights are undertaken for instrument operation of the four S-61Ls and Whittier, California, becomes a scheduled destination.
On May 8, an S-61L with 17 aboard crashes while landing at Anaheim, but there are no serious injuries. Instrument Flight Landing (IFL) certification is obtained from the FAA late in the year. Passenger boardings climb 18.5% to 197,891 and revenues are up by 19% to $3.41 million.
The workforce in 1965 is increased by 12. Over the years, LAA has taken in considerable operating revenue from the mail subsidy acquired at its birth, but on April 11, Congress terminates the support program citing the company’s high costs. Still, the CAB grants the company a permanent operating certificate.
Service is expanded as new frequencies are started between Los Angeles (LAX) and West San Fernando Valley, Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, and Ventura. Service to Whittier is reinstated and the Van Nuys heliport is relocated to an upgraded facility. Scheduled passenger instrument flight rules (IFR) flights by the carrier’s four Sikorsky S-61Ls are inaugurated with great publicity.
Passenger boardings increase 22% to 245,192 and air express is up by 19%.
A fifth S-61L is received in 1966. In order to avoid closure of the pioneer, the CAB agrees when American Airlines and United Air Lines
Step forward with an offer to acquire coequal control via a $3.2-million loan arrangement. All mail and express services are suspended and the two begin to operate the carrier as an airport shuttle.
LAA operates nine helicopters in 1967, its peak year. A total of
396,000 passengers are transported and 40,000 freight ton-miles are flown.
The employee population in 1968 numbers 251. On May 22, the worst accident in U. S. civil helicopter operations to date occurs. A chartered chopper’s crew of 2 is returning 21 children and adult passengers to Los Angeles after a day at Disneyland. The chopper develops a runaway rotor that cuts into the craft, causing it to crash at Compton, California, and burn; there are no survivors.
The carrier ceases operations while a review is made. A defective rotor is found in aircraft wreckage and the fleet’s other four machines are examined and receive replacements. Service resumes on August 20. This fatal Sikorsky crash brings much adverse reaction and a downturn in traffic and profits. Two de Havilland Canada DHC-6-100 Twin Otters are now leased and on December 22 an S-61L is involved in an accident at Paramount, California.
Passenger boardings for the year decline to 327,879 and revenues are $3.84 million.
In 1969, as potential customers not only turn cautious but switch to fixed-wing air taxis, LAA reacts by acquiring four more Twin Otters, in addition to a scheduled S-61L. When these Twin Otters begin to arrive, they join the earlier units in flying from Los Angeles (LAX) to Ontario and San Bernardino. The company’s pilots, members of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), now strike for higher pay on October 20, crippling LAA for six months.
The job action, finally settled by mutual agreement on April 24, 1970, proves fatal as the company, unable to recoup financially, is forced out of business in October. Its assets are purchased by Golden West Airlines in 1971.
LOS ANGELES-SAN DIEGO AIR LINE (RYAN AIRLINES): United States (1925-1927). Late in 1924, California aircraft engineer Claude Ryan obtains six war surplus Lincoln Standard J biplane trainers, which he converts into five-seat airliners, equipping each with the then-new Hispano Suiza 150-hp engine. Although Congress passes the Kelly Air Mail Act in February 1925 that provides subsidies to be administered by the U. S. Post Office, that executive agency does not speedily offer awards. Desirous of putting his Standards to work, Ryan elects to open an air passenger transport service on his own, without government sponsorship.
To that end, he begins a scheduled San Diego to Los Angeles frequency on March 1. It will enter the record books as the first regularly scheduled passenger operation flown year-round over the U. S. mainland (this fine point separates it from Pacific Marine Airways’ over-water service started in 1921-1922). Tariff for the hour-and-a-half, 120-mile, one-way service is $17.50 ($26.50 roundtrip), with ground fare to the airport included.
LA-SDAL is very popular with customers during its inaugural year— so much so that Claude Ryan purchases Donald Douglas’ first aircraft, The Cloudster, the first flying machine able to lift a load exceeding its own weight. Designed with David Davis as a transcontinental airliner in the back of a Los Angeles barbershop and first flown on February 24, 1921, the large biplane is employed over the commercial route as well as in the transport of prospective real estate purchasers to San Clemente Island. Late in the year, the aircraft’s propeller and upper wings are damaged in a landing accident. During repairs, Douglas converts it into an 11-seat cabin airliner for use in the new season.
During 1926, the carrier transports 5,600 passengers between its two gateways. The Cloudster is occasionally employed on charter services, the last of which brings its end. In December, the aircraft is rented to fly a cargo of beer from Mexicali to American tourists in Tijuana who are avoiding U. S. Prohibition laws. During this airlift, the plane, piloted by J. J. Harri-gan, is diverted to fly a wealthy Chinese businessman to Ensenada where, arriving after dusk, the plane is crashed while attempting a beach landing.
Having proven the value of his air transport ideas, Ryan, in 1927, quits the airline business to concentrate on building aircraft. Among his creations are numerous mailplanes, including one upgraded model that will enter the history books as The Spirit of St. Louis.
LOT POLISH AIRLINES (POLSKIE LINIE LOTNICZE): 17 Sty-cznia Str. 3900906, Warsaw, PL-00-908, Poland; Phone 48 (2) 6068215; Fax 48 (2) 896-0909; Http://www. lot. com; Code LO; Year Founded 1929. On January 1, 1929, the government of Poland simultaneously nationalizes domestic air transport services and creates the state airline LOT Polish Airlines by merging Aerolot, S. A. and Aero T. Z., S. A. A special design competition to design a company logo is won by Tadeusz Gronowski, who offers a stylized flying crane. Domestic service is undertaken, starting the next day, with the Junkers F-13s formerly owned by Aerolot, S. A. Later in the year, additional F-13s and several single-engine Fokker F-VIIas are acquired, allowing the route network to stretch from Warsaw to Danzig, Lvov, Krakow, Poznan, and Vienna via Krakow.
During the first half of 1930, the company orders 10 Fokker F-VII/3ms. In November, the Podlaska Wytwornia Samolotow (PWS) builders of Warsaw deliver the first of two Model 20Ts, which begin flying from the national capital to Bucharest via Lvov and Czerniowce. Passenger boardings for the year approach 12,000.
In March 1931 , the carrier becomes a full member of the International Air Traffic Association, forerunner of the present IATA. The first four Fokker F-VIIb/3ms are received in late spring and beginning on June 27 are employed to inaugurate services from Danzig to Salonica via Warsaw, Bucharest, and Sophia. Also in June, the Lublin R-XI, built at Lublin by Plage & T. Laskiewicz, is delivered for testing. The company’s fleet now comprises the Lublin, 13 F-13s, 6 Fokker F-VIIas, and the 4 F-VIIb/3ms.
Service is started from Warsaw to Katowice and Bydgoszez. Flights between Warsaw and Bucharest are launched in early 1932 and are later extended to Sofia and Saloniki via Lvov, Czerniowce, and Bucharest, while in the north, Warsaw is connected to Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn. In April, the PWS 24 prototype is tested and orders are placed for five production models.
On May 3, 1933, the five Polish-designed PWS-24s are placed in service on the Warsaw-Poznan route. Later in the year, the PZL-44 Wicher is tested. LOT’s foreign network continues to grow in 1934, with Berlin added as a destination. Orders are placed for two Douglas DC-2s, to be powered by British-made Bristol Pegasus VI engines.
Seven upgraded PWS 24bis are placed in service in the spring of 1935; unsatisfactory, they will be withdrawn in a year. Following various demonstrations in the U. S., the two DC-2s arrive at Amsterdam from New York by ship in July and August. Reassembled by technicians from Fokker, Douglas’s European sales agent, they enter service on the route from Warsaw to Berlin via Posen on September 5, cutting its scheduled time from three plus hours to two. Orders are placed for Lockheed Model 10A Electras, the first of which arrives crated from the Untied States on November 22.
A second Electra arrives on January 4, 1936 and with Bristol Pegasus engines, two Douglas DC-2Bs are acquired during the year. A bilateral air agreement is signed between Poland and Finland in midyear, with CEO Waclaw Makowski signing for Poland.
One of the new Douglas transports is employed on October 3 to extend the Salonika leg from Warsaw down to Athens. The premier Electra crashes at Tomaszow on December 28.
The DC-2 Taunus is sold to LOT in February 1937 by Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. (DLH). On April 29, service is pushed from Helsinki and Warsaw to Beirut, Lebanon, and to Lydda, Palestine, via Lvov, Cz-erniowce, Bucharest, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Athens, and the island of Rhodes. At 4,300 km., the route is the longest meridional route opened in Interwar Europe. Whereas the conventional train and ship service over this route requires ten days, the flights are made in just 34 hours.
Two more Lockheed Model 10As arrive on May 17 and 24, respectively, but another Electra is destroyed in a crash on November 11, this time at Warsaw. On November 28, the former German airliner Taunus crashes in the Rhodopa Mountains of Bulgaria (six dead).
During the year, orders are placed for 10 Lockheed Model 14-H Super Electras.
As part of preparations for the hoped-for start of transatlantic services in 2 years, a 25,600-mile test and delivery flight is made to Warsaw from Burbank in May 1938 by General Manager Makowski with the first of 10 new Lockheed Model 14H Super Electras. The 85-hour aerial voyage is routed via Mazatlan, Mexico City, Panama, Lima, Santiago de Chile, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Natal, Dakar, Casablanca, Tunis, and Rome.
The newsworthy event marks the first transatlantic delivery flight of an airliner from a manufacturer to a customer and LOT’s first delivery of mail from South America. A total of eight Super Electras enter service during the spring and summer, with several on the service to Romania. Two are lost in Bucharest crashes; one each on July 22 and August 13.
Airline employment at the beginning of 1939 stands at 694 and LOT operates 26 airplanes to 25 cities.
In January, two new Lockheed L-14 Super Electras are placed in service, joining a fleet modernized over the decade and now comprising 3 Junkers Ju-52/3ms, 3 Douglas DC-2s, and 12 Lockheed L-10/14 Electras and Super Electras. Four more of the latter are acquired between March 20 and May 2. Service is started to Helsinki and to Copenhagen via Gdynia.
As the summer of disaster approaches, the LOT network covers Western Europe with connections to 21 cities in 13 nations. The company now serves six international multistop flight connections, with one of the most important being that from Helsinki to Budapest via Tallin, Riga, Kovno, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Krakow.
Following the announcement of the Russo-German nonagression pact on August 23, the company begins to transfer units of its fleet to Great Britain, including six of its Super Electras that will be operated by British Airways, Ltd. (1). Prior to the outbreak of war on September 1, approximately 65,000 passengers and 1,400 tons of cargo have been carried on the year.
On the day World War II begins, Luftwaffe Stukas destroy an L-10A Electra on the ground at Wiszenka. At the same time, Germany’s Romanian ally captures two Super Electras, one after crash landing at Bucharest, while Estonia takes over a third, which will crash at Riga. One of the DC-2s is lost on September 5, while the other is taken over by the Romanian government on September 10. In southeast Poland, one L-10Ais damaged at Horondenka on September 12 and abandoned. When Soviet Red Army forces roll into the nation five days later, another is captured at Kolomyja. Both are turned over to Aeroflot Soviet Airlines.
LOT now ceases operations for five years. Of the 26 aircraft on hand on September 1, only 5 are lost to enemy action; although taken over by their recipients, the remainder escape destruction. All ground facilities and other property are destroyed.
With Poland still a combat zone in 1944, certain LOT activities are resumed under auspices of the Polish Committee of National Liberation. On August 24, Duda Roman becomes the first passenger of the reconstituted airline, which begins conducting courier, liaison, and passenger flights with rebuilt ex-Luftwaffe Junkers Ju-52/3ms from Lublin to Bialystok, Rzeszow, Jaroslaw, and Przemyal.
A Polish Inspectorate of Civil Aviation is formed in February 1945. On March 6, a resolution of the Council of Ministers recreates LOT as a state enterprise. The decree is published as Item #1 in the Polish Monitor (March 16, no. 1).
Destroyed hangars and buildings at Warsaw’s Okecie Airport are reconstructed. Twenty Li-2s are acquired from the Soviets, allowing regular domestic services to be resumed to nine major Polish cities on March 30: Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Rzeszow, Lublin, Poznan, Katowice, Olsztyn, and Bydgoszcz. Flights to Gdansk (as Danzig is now renamed) begin on May 14, followed by a service from Warsaw to Wroclaw (formerly Breslau) that starts on June 18.
London service begins toward the end of the year. Poland thus becomes the first East European country to reestablish its air transport industry.
Warsaw-Berlin services are restarted in May 1946 and orders are placed for nine new Douglas DC-3s. Ju-52/3m roundtrip service from Warsaw to Paris via East Germany begins on July 4. Five days later, roundtrips are inaugurated from Warsaw to Stockholm. As the result of the new August 7 bilateral air agreement between Poland and Czechoslovakia, LOT is able to inaugurate direct air services from Warsaw to Prague on August 27.
Enplanements during the 12 months total 54,489 and 2,537 FTKs are operated.
In 1947 routes are also initiated to Paris and Stockholm. The fleet now includes 5 Polikarpov Po-2s, 25 Li-2s, and 9 DC-3s.
Services start to Bucharest, Budapest, Belgrade, Copenhagen, and Brussels during 1948-1949, with several routes, such as Warsaw to Belgrade, Paris, and Budapest flown by five French-made Sud-Est SE-161 Languedocs, the first Western airliners sold to a Communist nation in the postwar era. Service to Stockholm is now withdrawn.
A Lisunov Li-2T is lost near Popow on May 26, 1948. There is no information on passenger or crew loss.
During April of the latter year, five Ilyushin Il-12Bs are received from Russia and will form the backbone of the Polish fleet for a decade. On April 29, an Li-2 en route from Gdansk to Lodz with 16 passengers is seized by 4 of the passengers and diverted to Stockholm.
On August 25, the company is able to claim a perfect four-year safety record. On December 16, 16 of the 18 people aboard an Il-18B en route from Warsaw to Gdynia participate in its takeover. The Ilyushin is flown to Bornhom Island, Denmark, where the pirates receive political asylum. The plane is claimed by and returned to the Polish Aviation Ministry two days later.
In 1950, LOT is a signatory to the Berlin Agreement that links the airlines of the Warsaw Pact countries into a confederation; emphasis is placed on service to domestic locations and Socialist capitals during the next six years.
An Li-2P with 16 passengers is lost at Lodz on November 15; there are no survivors.
The fleet in 1951 includes 24 Li-2s, 6 C-47s, and 4 Il-12Bs.
Customer bookings reach 113,176, while 5,187 FTKs are operated.
Although services will be maintained in mid-decade, losses continue to occur. An Li-2T is lost near Siwina on May 19, 1952; there is no information on casualties. An Ilyushin Il-12B is lost while landing at Warsaw on July 18.
Under unclear circumstances, a DC-3 is lost at Katowice on March 13, 1953. An Li-2P is lost under unclear circumstances at Limanova on March 19, 1954.
Thrice-weekly services to Moscow begin on April 4, 1955. Orders are placed for 13 Il-14s and flights to Vienna commence.
An Li-2P is lost under unclear circumstances at Katowice on April 14. The one-millionth passenger (cumulative) is transported.
The first Il-14 is registered on June 20, 1956. The workforce stands at 1,424 and enplanements are 199,561.
In 1957, flights begin to Athens and during the summer are extended to Tirane via Belgrade.
En route from Warsaw to Moscow on June 14, Flight 232, an Il-14P with five crew and eight passengers is lost near Vnukovo Airport, Moscow (nine dead).
Late in the year, three Convair CV-240s are received from the U. S.
Enplanements during the 12 months total 224,276.
In early 1958, the carrier begins flying to London and Zurich. While on an April 11 training flight over Warsaw, a CV-240 with four crew loses a propeller in flight; although the aircraft must be written off following the subsequent crash landing, there are no fatalities.
Ordered earlier from the Flugzeugwerke Dresden, the VEB-152 II four-engine jetliner makes its maiden flight on December 4.
Flights to Rome begin in 1959 and in cooperation with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) to Amsterdam. The last Il-12Bs are withdrawn.
A Lisunov Li-2P is lost near Tcz, Poland, on August 25, 1960; there are no other details.
A total of 175,700 passengers are flown on the year as the company’s 40 aircraft visit 24 cities.
The workforce in 1961 totals 1,571. On May 24, the first of eight new Il-18 turboprops enter service on a Warsaw-Moscow route.
Among the 201,600 customers transported on the year is the two-millionth traveler (cumulative). A total of 8,350 FTKs are also operated.
Three more turboprops, British-made Vickers Viscount 804s, join the fleet in 1962. One of the new Viscount 804s with 5 crew and 28 passengers, crashes while on final approach to Warsaw from London on December 19; there are no survivors.
Bookings for the year increase to 245,700.
The first postwar service to a destination outside of Europe is opened in 1963 to Cairo.
An Li-2 with 3 crew and 12 passengers is destroyed on December 16 as the result of a bad landing at Warsaw; there are no fatalities.
Passenger bookings are 237,900.
In 1964, the routes to Stockholm and Helsinki are reopened and in 1965 new routes are introduced to Milan—the airliner inaugurating Warsaw-Milan service on May 1 lands at the wrong Italian airfield— and Frankfurt.
While on a positioning flight, a Vickers Viscount 804 with four crew crashes near St. Truiden, Belgium, on August 20; there are no survivors.
The Frankfurt service is opened by the fourth new Il-18 on September 7.
Enplanements are 368,200.
Airline employment at the beginning of 1966 stands at 2,756. A further step in carrier development comes when a new stop at Beirut represents initial deployment into the Middle East. Flights to Baghdad, Beirut, Benghazi, and Damascus follow. The first 3 of 10 Antonov An-24s ordered for domestic flights are received in March, allowing the inauguration of Warsaw-Wroclaw return service on April 20.
Passenger boardings are 493,700 and 35,544 FTKs are operated.
The 1967 fleet includes 8 Il-18s, 11 An-24s, and 10 Il-14s. Orders are outstanding for 6 Tupolev Tu-134s and 5 more An-24s.
The airline joins with Aer Lingus-Irish International Airlines on January 22 to announce the initiation of weekly roundtrip services from Poland to North America; the Irish line will fly the transatlantic leg and connect with LOT at Shannon. On May 1, the carrier joins with Trans World Airlines (TWA) in opening a one-stop service from New York to Warsaw.
Customer bookings jump to 696,900.
With the support of Aeroflot Soviet Airlines, Warsaw is linked to Leningrad and Kiev in 1968 while the airline, simultaneously, introduces its first jetliners, the Tu-134s. The fleet now comprises 34 aircraft and new routes are opened to Kiev. Enplanements are 773,800.
On final approach to Warsaw on January 24, 1969, Flight 149, an An-24V with 4 crew and 44 passengers, strikes trees, a pair of 30,000-volt power lines, and electric railway cables, before hitting the ground. The aircraft skids to a halt on a road; although it is damaged beyond repair, there are no fatalities.
Coming in from Warsaw, an An-24V with 5 crew and 48 passengers crashes into Polica Mountain, near Krakow, on April 2; there are no survivors.
Also in April, service to Istanbul is introduced. The opening of a modern international airport at Warsaw’s Okecie Airport now greatly improves LOT’s passenger capabilities.
En route from Warsaw to East Berlin on October 19, an Il-18 with 74 passengers is seized by two East Germans, who force it to land at Tegel Airport in the French sector of West Berlin, seeking political asylum. During the hijacking, the craft is buzzed by Soviet MIG fighters, which also buzz the airport in an unsuccessful effort to keep the plane from landing. The plane will be allowed to return and the pirates will be tried; each will receive a two-year prison term.
Armed with toy pistols and a fake bomb, two skyjackers take over an An-26 with 20 passengers en route from Warsaw to Bratislava on November 20 and divert it to Austria. As in the October incident, the aircraft is allowed to return and the perpetrators are put on trial. They will receive prison sentences of 24 and 27 months, respectively.
The fleet grows to 38 aircraft and enplanements for the year are 856,200.
In May 1970, a LOT Tu-134 touches down for the first time at Madrid, launching services from Warsaw via Geneva.
En route from Stettin to Gdansk on June 5, an An-24 with 23 passengers is hijacked to Copenhagen by a man holding a hand grenade; in Denmark, the man seeks political asylum. Instead of freedom, he will be tried and sentenced to a Danish prison for 3 1/2 years.
The airline will now be subjected to a string of attempted and successful skyjackings.
On June 10, the crew of an airliner foils an armed hijacking attempt by two men during a Katowice-Warsaw flight; authorities later report the pirates had planned a diversion to Vienna. The would-be pirates will be tried and sentenced to jail for four and five years, respectively.
Wanted for rape and blackmail, a criminal armed with a grenade seizes an An-24 on an August 7 domestic service and orders it to divert to West Germany. The pilot covertly manages to land in East Berlin, where the hijacker is captured. Tried, he will be sentenced to separate prison terms for air piracy, blackmail, and rape.
Three men and two women armed with grenades take over an Il-14 domestic flight between Gdansk and Warsaw on August 19 and force it to fly to Bornhold, Denmark. All are granted political asylum.
On August 26, an attempted hijacking to Vienna of an Il-14 on a Katowice-Warsaw flight with 27 aboard is foiled when the bomb carried by the hijacker explodes prematurely. Although the pirate and 10 others are hurt, the pilot is able to land safely. When he recovers from his wounds, the pirate will be tried and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
LOT acts as host to the director general of IATA, Knut Ham-marskjoeld, during his official visit to Poland. Passenger bookings are 958,600.
At the beginning of 1971, the carrier orders three Ilyushin Il-62s and opens an office in Montreal.
Bookings reported at year’s end total 1,085,700, the first time that the one million-mark is surpassed. A total of 71,734 FTKs are also operated.
In January 1972, service is begun to Hamburg. On March 16, the first Il-62 is delivered and is christened Nicholas Copernicus; the second arrives on April 27 and is named Tadeusz Kosciuszko. Both Russian-made jetliners begin service on May 15 over routes from Warsaw to Moscow,
London, Paris, and Rome. A series of charter flights are undertaken in May and June from Warsaw to such destinations as Chicago, New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, and to Tashkent, Calcutta, and Hanoi.
Offices are opened in New York and Amsterdam and regularly scheduled service begins to Baghdad. On December 13, President Nixon approves a permit for LOT to begin flights between Poland and New York, thrice weekly, until October 1976.
Passenger traffic rises to 1,342,900.
The employee population in 1973 is 4,500. Transatlantic service is opened on April 16, Warsaw-New York twice weekly. A new route is opened to Damascus the same month. Another Il-62 is received. On June 15th, American Harvey Reisman becomes the 10 millionth passenger carried since 1945.
Bookings advance a staggering 116% to 1,563,700 and cargo traffic is up by just 11 percentage points less.
The New York frequency is increased to three-per-week in April 1974; simultaneously, two additional Il-62s, the Kazimierz Pulaski and the Henryk Sienkiewicz, are placed in service. On April 26, Cologne becomes the third West German stop and on May 5, routes are initiated to Tunis and Algiers.
In July, joint services commence with Iberia Spanish Airlines (2) (Lineas Aereas de Espana, S. A.) over a route from Warsaw to Madrid. Destinations now total 47 international and 10 domestic. Flights to the Leipzig Trade Fair begin in September.
Boardings decline 26% to 1,162,000, but cargo is up by 20%.
Airline employment in 1975 stands at 4,739. Early in the year, the airline and Polish Ministry of Communication introduce overnight airmail service, called POSTLOT. Routes are stretched to Benghazi (April 4) and Lyon (April 21). The corporate identity is changed and comes to feature a new logo, new aircraft livery, and new uniforms for all. In September, the carrier goes on line with the reservations system LOTAR.
On September 26, a LOT Il-62 becomes the first Polish airliner to cross the equator since World War II when it flies a charter group of Dal-mor Shipping Line employees from Gdansk to Lima, Peru. In October, Dalmor sends fishermen by LOT from Gdansk to Tijuana, Mexico. In November, LOT opens a Tokyo office and hosts a conference of Warsaw Pact (“Berlin Agreement”) airlines.
Systemwide enplanements drop to 1,596,000, but freight traffic climbs a healthy 39.4%.
The number of employees is increased by 4.3% in 1976 to 4,943. Beginning in April, LOT undertakes several charters to Montreal, including a number for the Olympic Games. The domestic network is extended with the opening of services to Slupsk on May 3. A second transatlantic service is started on June 4 from Warsaw to Montreal.
En route from Copenhagen to Warsaw on November 4, a Tu-134 is taken over by a lone hijacker, who orders the Tupolev diverted to Vienna, where he surrenders and seeks political asylum. The man will be tried and sentenced to four years in prison.
Also in November, the carrier engages Aeroflot Soviet Airlines in a “friendly” competition concerning customer service satisfaction. Late in the year, new gates are opened at Warsaw and the carrier begins international services from Gdansk, with flights to Berlin, Budapest, Burgas, and Varna.
Passenger traffic declines 2.3% as 1,560,773 passengers are carried. Freight, on the other hand, grows by 18% to 30.36 million FTKs.
Preparing to depart from Krakow on April 24, 1977, on a charter to Nuremberg, West Germany, a Tu-134 is subjected to an attempted skyjacking by a lone assailant. Before the aircraft can depart, the would-be pirate is overpowered by police.
En route from Warsaw to Beirut via Varna on May 13, an An-12BP freighter with nine crew, strikes power lines and trees and crashes eight km. S of its destination; there are no survivors.
During the summer, the number of weekly flights is increased from 418 to 603. An office is opened in Sydney, Australia. Anew livery is introduced domestically and on June 24, Zielona Gora is added to the domestic network.
LOT begins a new Far Eastern route on September 14, flying twice weekly from Warsaw to Bangkok via Baghdad, Dubai, and Bombay. The crew of an An-24 with 50 passengers overpowers a lone assailant who has taken over a domestic service from Katowice to Warsaw on October 18.
In February 1978, Capt. Damian Zuchowski completes 10 million kilometers in the air, an airline record. Director General W. Wilanowski oversees a workforce of 5,211 and the operation of a fleet comprising 7 Ilyushin Il-62s, 9 Il-18s, 5 Tupolev Tu-134s, 5 Tu-134As, and 16 Antonov An-24s.
Scheduled domestic passenger and cargo services now link Warsaw with Gdansk, Slupsk, Bydgoszcz, Koszalin, Szczecin, Poznan, Wroclaw, Katowice, Krakow, and Rzeszow. International markets outside of Europe, Africa, and the Middle East include Bombay and Bangkok in Asia and New York and Montreal in North America. Charter flights reach out to Manila, Vancouver, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro.
In June, the new livery of 1977 is painted on all Tu-134s and Il-62s and introduced throughout the remainder of the system.
On August 30, using an unloaded starter’s pistol, Detlef Alexander Tiede hijacks a Tu-134 with 70 other passengers en route from Gdansk to East Berlin to Templehof AFB, West Berlin, where he and 7 East German passengers ask for political asylum. Put on trial, Tiede will receive an eight-month jail sentence.
In November, Kuwait is added as a stop. On December 5th, LOT carries its one-millionth international passenger in a single year.
The workforce in 1979 totals 5,324. The company marks its fiftieth anniversary with a yearlong celebration. During the first quarter, a joint-venture agreement is signed with Air France under which the two companies agree to timetable coordination and revenue-sharing on their routes from Poland to France.
Service is started to Luxembourg on April 6. On May 1, daily nonstop flights are introduced from New York during the summer season, with the frequency increased to five per week during the year’s remainder; the Montreal connection is increased to two per week.
Lot’s first English-language in-flight magazine, Kaleidoscope, is introduced in May and in June, Pope John Paul II completes his Polish visit and departs the country aboard a LOT Tu-134A. It is the first of six times that he will fly with the airline. July sees the 20-millionth (cumulative) postwar passenger boarding.
Overall bookings for the year total 1,997,000 as the company’s 46 aircraft visit 56 cities. Freight traffic is up by 8.5% to 257.8 million FTKs.
The number of employees is increased another 7.2% in 1980 to 5,891.
A Tu-134 overruns the runway while landing at Warsaw on January 23 and catches fire; all aboard are safely evacuated before the aircraft is destroyed.
On final approach to Warsaw after a flight from New York (JFK) on March 14, an Il-62 with 10 crew and 77 passengers experiences last-minute engine problems, overshoots the runway, crashes, and explodes; there are no survivors. Among the victims are 22 members of the U. S. amateur boxing team.
On May 19, a direct route is opened between Warsaw and Bombay. Two Il-62Ms are received.
Charter flights are undertaken to Chicago during the summer while in June nonstop flights are launched to Manchester, England.
On a December 4 domestic flight from Zielena Gora to Warsaw, an An-24 with 25 aboard is commandeered by Andrzej Perka, who orders it flown to West Berlin. At Templehof Airport, Perka asks for political asylum. Instead, he will be tried and sent to prison for four years.
Passenger enplanements this year decline 8.4% to 1,826,000.
The employee population climbs again in 1981, rising by 3.7% to 6,109. The fleet overseen by Director General Jozef Kowalski includes 4 Il-62s, 2 Il-62Ms, 9 Il-18s, 7 Tu-134As, 4 Tu-134s, and 16 An-24s.
A January 10 escape to the West goes awry for four pirates who take over an An-24 flying between Katowice and Warsaw. The four are nabbed at the Polish capital by police as they attempt to move to another aircraft that can fly them to Germany.
An An-24B with 5 crew and 47 passengers crashes near Redzikowo on March 26 after losing a propeller (1 dead).
Employees threaten to strike on July 9 over the government’s rejection of Bronislaw Klimaceswski as the company’s new director general. Strike talks will continue throughout the month, but a job action will be narrowly averted on July 23 when Klimaceswski takes office.
Meanwhile, on July 21, a lone assailant, claiming to have a hand grenade (which is really a fake), takes over an An-24 on a domestic service and causes it to be diverted to West Berlin. There, police take him in hand; he will be tried and sentenced to a prison term of three years.
August and September will be remembered as the months of skyjackings. On August 5, an An-24 with 49 passengers is taken over during a service from Katowice to Gdansk; when the plane arrives at its destination, the pirate surrenders.
While on an August 11 domestic flight, another An-24 is taken over by a “dissatisfied customer” who demands to be flown to West Germany. The pilot is able to trick the pirate into believing that the aircraft has arrived in the West when it arrives at its destination. The man is taken in hand by Polish police when he reaches the bottom of the air stairs.
En route from Wroclaw to Warsaw with 50 passengers and a crew of 5 on August 22, another An-24 is hijacked to West Berlin, where the pirate surrenders to authorities. Tried, the freedom-seeker will receive a prison term of 5 1/2 years.
On September 18, 12 Poles, aged 17 to 24, hijack an An-24 operating between Katowice and Warsaw. Seeking asylum, they order it to fly to the U. S. air base at West Berlin. The 8 pirates over age 18 are tried and sentenced to prison for terms of 1 to 4 years.
While en route from Warsaw to Koszalin on September 22, an An-24 is subjected to a skyjacking attempt by three men and a woman demanding to be flown to West Germany. Instead, the pilot returns to Warsaw, where police capture the pirates.
Seven days later, on September 29, a lone assailant attempts to take over an An-24 at Warsaw as it is preparing for departure on a domestic service. Threatened into putting down his razor blade by other passengers, the pirate surrenders to police who have boarded the aircraft.
The government issues a declaration of martial law on December 13 and closes its airspace to western overflights two days later. Meanwhile, President Ronald Reagan suspends Poland’s civil aviation privileges in the U. S. on December 14. On December 17, Warsaw television reports that eight LOT aircraft have been able to fly during the day, the first departures permitted since the imposition of martial law.
Enplanements for the year total 1,711,000, a drop of 6.4%, while cargo falls by 21.5% to 23.62 million FTKs.
Beginning on January 11, 1982, the carrier begins flying a reduced, but regular, schedule of flights to certain foreign capitals, with three to four frequencies per day. Following the lead of Austria and France, the U. K., as of January 30, refuses LOT landing privileges at London.
On April 30, a LOT pilot diverts a domestic An-24 flight from Wroclaw to Warsaw, with 52 aboard, to West Berlin, bringing his wife, two daughters, and several other relatives along as passengers. There, asylum is sought for all and although the copilot, his relatives, and a 19-year - old man elect to remain in the West, 14 others return to Poland.
En route from Katowice to Warsaw on June 9, an An-24 is subjected to an attempted takeover by two armed men; when the turboprop lands at its destination, the two pirates are captured by police.
Throughout the remainder of the year, political turmoil severely impacts upon the carrier’s traffic, frequencies, and personnel activities. The surge of hijackings continues.
While en route from Warsaw to Budapest on August 25, an Il-18 with 55 passengers is taken over by two men who order it diverted to West Berlin. Once the plane lets down, the pirates are taken in hand by German police; the Il-18, its crew, and other passengers are released to return to Poland. The perpetrators will be tried and sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.
One of three company security guards aboard an An-24 with 38 passengers en route from Wroclaw to Warsaw on November 22, takes over the aircraft and orders it flown to West Germany. Although hurt in a gun battle that erupts with the other guards after the plane lands, he is able to jump out and run into American hands.
A total of only 575,120 passengers are flown this year.
The workforce is increased by 3.5% to 5,559 in 1983 as the calming political unrest leads to traffic recovery. Still, not all are happy. Ryszard Kuzminski, a LOT mechanic, flees to Canada for asylum on March 6 by hiding in the baggage compartment of an Il-62 for 14 hours.
Although freight is off 1.9% to 14.34 million FTKs, boardings skyrocket 60.5% to 1,455,524.
The workforce is increased to 5,643 in 1984 and the fleet now features 7 Il-62Ms. Passenger boardings climb 27.3% to 1,852,000, as freight advances 5.4% to 10.53 million FTKs.
Eight Tu-154Ms are purchased in 1985. Even though passenger bookings are off 0.56% for the year to 1,587,000, freight is up 29.29%.
The payroll grows 2.6% in 1986 to 6,163 as the company decides to retire all of its Il-18s and Tu-134s.
During the spring, the in-house tour operator Air Tours Poland is established. It will offer inclusive-tour services for foreign travelers wishing to see the sights of Warsaw (particularly the Old Town), the palaces and castles of Krakow, the religious significance of Czestochowa, and the shipyards of Gdansk, home of the revolutionary movement. The company coordinates every aspect of travel to and from Poland, including currency exchange, hotel reservations, and tour guides.
En route from Wroclaw to Warsaw on August 28, a Tu-134 with 56 passengers is captured by a lone assailant, who holds a straight razor to the throat of a female flight attendant. He will be captured by security police, tried, and sent to prison for five years.
Passenger boardings are up by 1.7%, to 1,819,896. Cargo continues to grow by 21.8% to 19.19 million FTKs.
The workforce is reduced by 2.5% in 1987 to 6,006. Weekly Il-62M return service from Warsaw to Beijing via Moscow is inaugurated on March 25. A new downtown Warsaw air terminal begins construction as service is also inaugurated to Larnaca and Kiev.
Less than an hour after takeoff from Warsaw on May 9 on a service to New York (JFK), Flight 5055, a chartered Il-62M with 11 crew and 172 passengers, suffers the loss of its No. 1 and No. 2 engines. The aircraft attempts to return to its point of origin, but crashes into a forest 6 km. from the end of the runway and catches fire. There are no survivors from Poland’s worst-ever commercial air accident.
Bound for Iraq with 110 people aboard on May 12, a Tu-154M makes a safe emergency landing at Warsaw after the pilot finds a malfunction in the plane’s hydraulics. A company Il-62M transports Pope John Paul II from Krakow to Rome following his third Polish visit.
While flying between Warsaw and Krakow on September 6, an An-24, with 30 passengers, is hijacked by a lone assailant, who demands to be flown to West Germany. The perpetrator is quickly overcome by the plane’s other passengers.
Customer bookings rise 2.1% to 1,858,418, but freight slides 5.3% to 13.19 million FTKs.
The fleet in 1988 includes 8 Il-62Ms, 1 leased DC-8, 7 Tu-134As, 4 Tu-154Ms, 2 leased Tu-154Bs, 12 An-24s, and 10 Il-18s. Late in the year, the airline approaches a group of Western banks, led by Citicorp, to raise a $160-million, 12-year loan; 15 will subscribe $220 million.
Orders are outstanding for 11 Tu-154Ms and in November orders are placed for three B-767s, two Dash-200s, and a Dash-300.
While en route from Warsaw to Rzeszow on November 2, Flight 703, an An-24B with 4 crew and 25 passengers suffers engine failure and attempts to return to Warsaw to make an emergency landing. The plane goes out of control and crash-lands in a field at a point 170 mi. SE of the city, rolls into a ditch, and catches fire (one dead).
Passenger boardings jump 8.6% to 2,017,781 and freight swells 19% to 15.69 million FTKs.
The payroll grows 1.4% in 1989 to 6,089. The unduplicated route mileage is 78,750, as service is provided to 44 cities in 36 countries. LOT becomes the first East Bloc airline to fly the B-767 wide-body when the two Dash 25DERs, having arrived in April and May, are christened Gniezno and Kracow and enter service in late spring.
During the summer, the four Il-62s are withdrawn from North Atlantic service as the 2 new Boeings offer 12 nonstop roundtrip flights per week to the U. S., including 6 to New York, 4 to Chicago, and 2 to Montreal. The Il-62s are assigned to other long-haul routes and charter work and in September the carrier begins to offer its first-ever supersaver and youth fare programs.
In October, lATA convenes its annual meeting in the new 42-story hotel, air terminal, and convention center built by the airline in Warsaw as its headquarters and reservations heart. The facility, Poland’s first joint stock venture with foreign investors, has Marriott and Austria’s Ilbau as its other partners.
Customer bookings surge 14.2% to 2,305,118 (the largest total in company history to date) while cargo skyrockets 94.8% to 30.58 million FTKs.
Company employment is increased by 15.6% in 1990 to 7,296. In February, nonstop service is inaugurated from Gdansk and Krakow to Moscow and a weekly roundtrip is begun from Warsaw to Sharjah, UAE. Weekly nonstop roundtrips commence on April 6 from Warsaw to Newark. Later in the month, a maintenance agreement is signed with SAS (Scandinavian Airline System) covering technical support of two new Boeing 737-59Ds leased from the Stockholm-based major.
In May, frequencies between Warsaw and New York (JFK) are increased from four to six; a B-767-35DER, given the name Warsaw, arrives at Warsaw’s Okecie Airport for service in June, under charter from Air New Zealand, Ltd.
The new wide-body is employed to launch nonstop roundtrips to Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, Bangkok, and Singapore. The company suffers a passenger traffic decline not only after Iraq’s August invasion of Kuwait, but throughout the year as Communism fails in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
Overall enplanements decline 25.6% to 1,714,968. Freight, on the other hand, increases 69.8% to 51.94 million FTKs. Revenues total $344.7 million, but expenses are higher and a net $43.1-million loss is suffered.
The payroll is sliced 16.4% in 1991 to 6,100. In an adroit marketing coup, the company sells 7 of its Soviet-made Il-62s and 10 An-24s in January to the new Ukrainian airline Avialinie. The $15 million obtained from the sale is employed to help pay for the two Boeing 767-25DERs and B-767-35DER, the latter chartered from Air New Zealand, Ltd. The Kiwi carrier dispatches maintenance personnel to Warsaw, under contract, to oversee the care of its airliner, while two LOT officials are posted to Auckland to review various service, marketing, scheduling, and route planning operations. Also during the year, the first of five Avions de Transport Regional ATR72-202s arrive for service on the domestic network.
On March 8, Director General Klimacesski announces that the airline will be partially privatized; under a government plan, 49% shareholding will be offered to private investors. First, however, all Soviet-made aircraft will have to be replaced by Western planes before the airline can offer shares to foreign investors.
Joint venture discussions are held with Sweden’s Linjeflyg, A. B. covering domestic and regional services. These negotiations, however, which include creation of a shared airline subsidiary, collapse when markets during this recession are judged to be too soft to sustain the operation.
On May 17, weekly nonstop B-767-35DER charter flights are launched from Warsaw to Los Angeles. A majority of the Sejm votes on June 14 to gradually transfer ownership of the carrier from the public to the private sector.
In July, in addition to five flights per week from New York (JFK), new daily service is started from both JFK and Newark to Warsaw.
An exchange-of-seats pact is signed with Alitalia, S. p.A. in July covering services from Warsaw to Milan and Rome.
Passenger boardings fall 29.7% to 1,208,355 and freight declines 19.4% to 41.89 million FTKs. The net loss is cut to $43.14 million on top of an operation loss of $20.07 million on revenues of $361.4 million.
The number of employees continues to freefall in 1992, dropping 29.6% to 4,403. The fleet now includes 5 ATR72-202s, 4 B-737-55Ds,
2 B-737-59Ds leased from SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System), 2
B-767-25DERs, 1 B-767-35DER chartered from Air New Zealand, Ltd., 7 Tu-134As, and 14 Tu-154Ms.
During the spring, Banker’s Trust and its affiliate, BT Securities, is contracted to provide advice in arranging a $264-million, 12-year U. S. Export-Import Bank loan necessary for the purchase of 9 B-737s. Oke-cie International Airport II is opened at Warsaw as the airline’s international hub. It features new passenger and cargo terminals and a catering facility. New services are inaugurated to Vilnius, Kiev, Minsk, and Lvov.
The American Airlines subsidiary, AMR Services, signs a five-year contract with the airline in July to provide ramp and cargo handling services at the new Warsaw airport facilities. A contract is signed with Lufthansa Consulting, a subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G., to provide general management training for 20 of the airline’s senior officials.
Poland’s prime minister, Hanna Suchocka, endorses a new bill regarding the company’s future from the Sejm on November 16.
On December 16, LOT is transformed from a government owned and operated operation into a joint stock holder company, as a transitional move toward hoped-for privatization two years hence. PLL LOT S. A. is capitalized at ZL 2072 billion (approximately $149.5 million).
A new nine-seat supervisory board is formed, with Poland’s undersecretary for civil aviation, Boguslaw Liberadzki, as chairman; Director General Klimaceswski, an old-line Communist, is dismissed and his departure is acrimonious.
Four B-737-500s, covered by a commercial note arranged by Banker’s Trust, are delivered on December 17, tying the manufacturer’s record for the largest number of deliveries of the same model on a single day. The company’s new status is registered with the appropriate Warsaw court on December 29.
Customer bookings recover and ascend 3.8% to 1,254,324 as freight bounces upward by 14.2% to 48.4 million FTKs. Revenues are up 5.5% to $277.7 million and expenses rise 1.8% to $288.45 million. As a result, the operating loss is $12.07 million and net loss is $9.4 million.
In 1993, the new president/CEO, Jan Litynski, the 21-year veteran who served as commercial director of the airline, and his executive vice president, Zbigniew P. Kiszczak, oversee a workforce of 4,511, down 0.8% from the previous year. The fleet is increased by the addition of the
3 B-737-45Ds, 3 ATR72-202s, and 1 B-737-55D delivered in December; 4 of the 7 Tu-134As and all 14 Tu-154Ms are now withdrawn.
The company undergoes a restructuring designed to convert the company from a socialist form of management to a profit-oriented Western approach. The number of operating divisions is reduced from eight to four: operations, finance, technical, and marketing and sales. A block-space agreement between the new LOT Polish Airlines, S. A. with Balkan Bulgarian Airlines takes effect in March covering frequencies between Warsaw and Sofia.
In April, Banker’s Trust is appointed adviser for additional equity maneuvers, strategic planning, and a search for foreign investment. Claiming the existence of procedural irregularities, the nation’s transport ministry does not approve the arrangement, which is left in limbo. New routes are opened to Riga, Oslo, Dusseldorf, and Kuwait. LOT and Air Tours Poland expects to handle 15,000 visitors for the first time.
In August, a block-space agreement is inked with CSA (Czechoslovak Airlines) covering a route from Warsaw to Prague, which will be flown by ATR72-202s 12 to 13 times per week. New routes are opened from Warsaw to Riga and to Stockholm via Oslo and from Katowice to Frankfurt and Wroclaw via Poznan to Dusseldorf.
Talks with British Airways, Ltd. (2) aimed at increasing frequencies between the two airlines’ capitals are suspended on November 1 when LOT demands compensation for the fares it will lose if the number of flights grow. Direct services between Warsaw and London are temporarily terminated.
Passenger boardings swell 10.7% to 2,388,848 while cargo ascends 5.7% to 54.9 million FTKs. Revenues jump 7.7% to $296.3 million, but expenses are up by 6% to $304.1 million. The operating loss is cut to $7.8 million while a $3.42-million net profit is generated.
Airline employment falls by 4.7% in 1994 to 4,300. Early in the year, another B-767, a Dash-204, is leased from Air New Zealand, Ltd. At the same time, a DC-10-30 is wet-leased from Finnair O/Y. Over 1,400 employees are in training to raise the level of passenger services to meet Western standards.
The dispute with British Airways, Ltd. (2) is settled in March when the British airline is allowed to increase its weekly flights to nine per week. Flights to Zagreb begin during the second quarter as three flights per week are shared between the carrier and Croatian Airlines. Split, Beirut, and Nice also join the company’s expanding Western network.
As of April 1, LOT is the first central European carrier to operate a fleet of all-Western aircraft, which is certified by the Australian consulting company BDW Aviation Service (Pty.), Ltd. to be the youngest fleet with any airline worldwide. Also in April, block-space flights commence with TAROM (Transporturile Aeriene Romane, S. A.) on a service from Warsaw to Bucharest.
On May 10, a 60-day, nonbinding memorandum of understanding, without financial links, is signed with American Airlines. Under its terms, the two pledge to share communications, reservations, and technical support systems while working toward a code-sharing agreement. Limited frequent flyer and training program collaboration will also begin.
Finding that it requires additional summer capacity, the DC-10-30, which had been returned to Helsinki at the end of the first quarter, is chartered once more in June. Flights begin from Krakow to Vienna. During this quarter, a company that had previously been of service to KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) is retained to train employees in customer services.
Pooled flights commence with Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA) in July over a route from Moscow to Warsaw. Also during the summer, block-space service begins with Austrian Airlines, A. G. between Warsaw and Vienna.
During the summer, dual-designator service begins with Croatia Airlines employing a Polish ATR72-202 over a route from Warsaw to Zagreb.
An additional marketing and code-sharing agreement is signed with American Airlines in September for forthcoming services linking Warsaw with New York (JFK) and Chicago (ORD). An advertising and promotion campaign, which will win prizes the following year, is undertaken in the American market; the principal slogan, often proclaimed in elegant white and red posters in travel offices, is “Poland Is Free. . .The flight very reasonable.”
In November, twice-weekly service is inaugurated from Warsaw to Tallin, capital of Estonia. A month later, service is inaugurated to The-salloniki, Zagreb, and Nice. A nonequity agreement is reached with Air France for creation of a passenger and cargo cost and revenue - sharing program.
Customer bookings this year accelerate 13.9% to 1,495,955, while freight balloons 11.9% to 56.1 million FTKs. Revenues move up 3.7% to $307.36 million, but expenses jump 5% to $320.53 million. Consequently, there is an operating loss of $13.16 million. Net gain plunges to $916,000.
Airline employment in 1995 stands at 4,079, a 5.6% drop over the previous year. All seven of the Tu-134s are now out of service and the last of seven Ty-154Ms, the final Soviet-made aircraft in the inventory, will go by fall. Another B-767-35DER is received; christened Gdansk, it will be employed to open several new international routes.
On January 17, under a code-sharing agreement with Austrian Airlines, A. G., the company inaugurates daily ATR72-202 roundtrips between Krakow and Vienna. The service complements one provided by a Tyrolean Airways, A. G. Fokker 50 since the previous November.
Also in January, a block-space arrangement begins with Deutsche Lufthansa, A. G. on frequencies between Warsaw and Berlin. The German terminus is moved from Berlin’s Schoenfeld Airport to the larger
Tegel Airport. ATR72-202s that LOT had previously operated to Schoenfeld are replaced by the German flag line’s B-737s.
A block-space service begins in cooperation with Swissair, A. G. in March on a route from Krakow to Zurich. The daily roundtrips are also operated by Crossair, Ltd. SAAB 2000s.
On April 20, the Polish government announces plans to sell a 29% stake in the carrier by the end of next year. A cargo division is established in August to handle the carrier’s freight in a more professional manner. All GSA and sales agreements for freight are revised, marketing research is undertaken, and a wide-ranging advertising campaign is undertaken to emphasize the new cargo service.
At year’s end, it is noted that service on the Warsaw-Prague route has grown by 60% in the last 12 months.
Enplanements jump 16.2% to 1,839,376 and cargo climbs 19.4% to 67.7 million FTKs. The Journal of Commerce will report in its December 30, 1996 issue that LOT Cargo has carried 7,700 tons of goods from Poland during the year, while importing 9,100 tons.
Operating revenues also move ahead by 19.4%, rising to $367.12 million. Even though they are up 21.1%, expenses total $363.85 million, leaving a $3.26-million operating gain and a $2.48-million net profit.
The workforce is cut 1.2% in 1996 to 4,030 and the B-767-35DER Warsaw is leased to Air New Zealand, Ltd. The company, in conjunction with Air Tours Poland, releases a 26-page pamphlet in February designed to attract tourists to traditional and not-so-traditional destinations around the country.
In April 1, the company begins to code-share with Air France on 14 weekly frequencies from Warsaw to Paris, Lyon, and Nice and from Krakow to Paris. On May 31, the carrier launches low-cost “Flying Bus” fares for tourists wishing to visit Poland and surrounding countries through the end of August.
On July 26, a marketing and operations agreement is concluded with DHL Worldwide Express; at this point, the Polish line becomes general sales agent in the country for the Brussels-based cargo carrier. The next day, ATR72-202 service, 14 times per week, begins from Warsaw to Szczecin; passengers wishing to travel on to Kolobrzeg and Koszalin are now able to connect to that city via a new Ivecoturbo Minibus.
DHL Worldwide Express launches B-727F freight service on August 1 from Copenhagen to Katowice via Warsaw. At Prague on August 27, grand ceremonies are held to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of lot’s Warsaw-Prague air service.
Under terms of the July 26 agreement, a B-727F painted in DHL Worldwide Express colors with LOT markings introduces roundtrip service from Brussels to Warsaw on September 8. The B-727F that had previously operated through Warsaw from Copenhagen to Katowice is sent to Berlin to fly from the German city to Katowice.
After two years in a holding pattern, the code-share agreement with American Airlines finally takes off on September 16. Six weekly flights are inaugurated from Miami to Warsaw via New York (JFK) while daily service is initiated from Los Angeles to Warsaw via Chicago (ORD). The U. S. carrier performs the domestic segments while LOT handles the international service with one of its B-767-35DERs.
Reworking the plans originally proposed for a joint-venture regional airline with Linjeflyg, A. B., LOT establishes its own fully owned feeder subsidiary, Eurolot, S. A., at Warsaw in December. Also in December, the company spins off its fuel business into Petrolot, which it will jointly own (49%) with the Petrochemia Plock oil refinery (51%).
During the year, the company has flown over 650 charter flights that transport some 120,000 passengers. Meanwhile, no privatization advisor is yet appointed because the bidders have demanded excessive fees for their consulting services.
Passenger boardings surge 10.6% to 2,033,352, passing the 2 million-mark for the first time; a total of 75.07 million freight FTKs are operated, an 18.9% increase. Overinvestments lead to a net loss of approximately $13 million.
The number of employees inches up by 0.5% in 1997 to 4,050. A new code-sharing agreement with Alitalia, S. p.A. takes effect on March 30.
World History
