Cleared for takeoff

Krzysztof Kapis, the president of Lot, has announced that the Polish national carrier will soon undergo some changes concerning cost cutting and the profitability of its subsidiaries, Centralwings and Eurolot. The company is preparing for privatization, which might take place in the near future. According to Kapis, the changes need to take place due to Lot's falling market share.

"We have to stop looking at the problem in an emotional way and start treating it as a business. The position of Lot on the market or its share in the market has to be reviewed in a rational way. There is a long line of carriers eying up this piece of the pie, so looking at it from a mathematical point of view, [Lot's market] share is decreasing. We are not interested in just being present on the market, but also developing through the modernization of our connections network, not only with European but also long-distance destinations," says Leszek Chorzewski, a spokesperson for Lot.

The Polish carrier recently opted to strengthen its fleet with Boeing Dreamliner 787 planes in the fall of 2008. According to Chorzewski, this will mean changes in the long-distance destination network, as the planes are economical, which will increase Lot's competitiveness on the market. Currently, Lot is considering new destinations in North America, China and India.

"We also have to take care of the cooperation between Lot, Centralwings and Eurolot. It has to be coherent. The results of the whole group are essential but we have to avoid doubling the same connections and  competing within the group," says Chorzewski. He says this problem should be easy to solve, now that Centralwings has a new president in the shape of Maciej Kwiatkowski.