LOT Polish Airlines is close to deciding how the renewal and expansion of its fleet of regional jets will take place. Currently made up of Embraer E-Jets, the Polish carrier is evaluating both the new E2 family and the Airbus A220.
On Friday, March 15, Polish government representatives met with executives from Embraer and Airbus to discuss a future order for 84 aircraft.
According to a statement from the Ministry of State Assets, the strategy is to guarantee up to 110 new aircraft in 2028.
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“(LOT) faces the need to make a strategic decision between continuing cooperation in the regional segment with the current supplier (Embraer) or switching to a competitive platform (Airbus),” the government said.
The Polish flag carrier currently has a fleet of 74 aircraft, 41 of them Embraer E-Jets, of which it was the launch customer in 2004.
Despite having one of the Brazilian manufacturer’s largest fleets, LOT may establish a broader agreement with Airbus, going beyond the A220.
In addition to the Embraer, the Polish carrier has Boeing 737 and 787 jets in its fleet, but is using an A330-900neo on wet-lease from Air Belgium.
Talks have been ongoing for at least two years
Studies to renew its fleet of regional jets have been going on for more than two years. In 2021, LOT stated that it was evaluating a possible order for at least 50 A220 or Embraer E2 aircraft.
However, despite rumors that it had opted for the Airbus aircraft, the airline did not announce any order in the meantime.
