LOT, the largest Polish airline, is a special customer for Embraer. In addition to being the launch customer of the E-Jet family in 2004, upon receiving the first E170, the carrrier currently operates a fleet of 40 aircraft from the Brazilian manufacturer.
But apparently not even the long relationship between the two companies was enough for LOT to decide to replace the first-generation E-Jets with the E2 family. At least that’s what Bloomberg’s sources indicates, which said the Polish airline is close to an order for up to 60 Airbus A220 aircraft.
The jetliner has been a thorn in Embraer’s side because of its immense range and capacity, but in the case of LOT it seemed to weigh in the Brazilian company’s favor the fact that the company’s crews and ground personnel were well acquainted with their jets.
One of the factors that can weigh in favor of Airbus is already known, to unify the fleet with a single supplier. That’s because another possible loser if the deal is closed is Boeing. The US manufacturer is responsible for supplying 787 and 737 aircraft to LOT, including the MAX model.
In short, the Polish airline has not operated Airbus planes so far and the option for the A220 could be the spearhead of other agreements for aircraft from the European planemaker.
Bloomberg says the order announcement could take place during the Farnborough Airshow, which runs from July 18 to 22 in England.
