LOT Polish Airlines: Wings of Central Europe (Airlines Series)

Aerolot was the first regular airline in Poland. It was formed in 1922 by three co-owners of the largest oil producing company in former Austria-Hungary with the main intention being to offer transportation between the different oil fields. In 1928, Aerolot, together with two other Polish airlines (Silesian Air Society and Aero), was nationalized and merged to form LOT Polish Airlines. Before the start of the World War II, the airline had carried 218,000 passengers. Services were suspended after the outbreak of the war and many aircraft were evacuated to Romania, Baltic States and Great Britain. After the liberation of Poland by Soviet troops, the Polish Air Force maintained some basic transportation in the country, and in 1945, LOT was recreated by the government as a state-owned enterprise. In 1997, LOT established its subsidiary Eurolot to take over domestic routes, and in 2003, the airline would join the Star Alliance. By that time the airline carried some 3 million passengers per year. In 2004, LOT created a low-cost subsidiary Centralwings but after just five years of operations, the subsidiary was dissolved and reincorporated in LOT. In 2010/2011, the airline started its 'East meets West' policy, adding many destinations in Asia to its network, thus taking advantage of increased passenger numbers of flights between Europe and Asia. Since then, the airline has obtained modern equipment like the Boeing 737Max 8 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Illustrated with over 140 photographs, this book details the history of LOT from its inception to the present day.