LOT finally makes up its mind
LOT will become the first airline in Europe to have Boeing's new 787-8 Dreamliner passenger jet when the first aircraft are delivered in the second half of 2008.
Initially LOT will buy seven of these planes, take options on two 787-9 models and purchase rights for another five jets. The deal for the original seven is estimated at $910 (zł.2,900) million according to list prices. The new Boeing was chosen over the Airbus A350 and will replace the 767 models, which currently serve on the trans-continental connections.
The long-delayed decision was made after strong lobbying from US and European political circles, but both the Polish government and LOT had stressed that the final decision would be based on purely commercial grounds.
"LOT was choosing the model for use in the next 10-15 years. Over a hundred criteria were prepared for the model among them financial, exploitation parameters, a potential flight connection network and expected number of passengers. We decided that Boeing's offer best suited our development model," LOT's press officer, Leszek Chorzewski, said. He underlined that both offers were very good and the fact that LOT has been flying Boeing aircraft for the last 15 years was of secondary importance.
The carrier established a special team to analyze the offer. Independent consultants Sabre Airline Solution cooperated with the team, while the final result was verified by independent auditor Ernst& Young.
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry passengers up to 16,000 km. "It will give us an opportunity to strengthen our position on current trans-continental flights and develop new connections. The new aircraft will make this more advantageous from the economic point of view," Chorzewski said. According to Boeing, the Dreamliner uses 20 percent less fuel than planes of a similar size currently in service and can take up to 45 percent more cargo.
It seems this is not the end of the Boeing vs. Airbus duel, however, as LOT also plans to replace its ageing fleet of short-haul Boeing 737 aircraft. This time planes for LOT's low-cost carrier Centralwings will be chosen as well. "We are beginning to work on this project, which has absolutely no relation to the one just finished. I do not want to give any specific dates for the final decision, but it might be made next year," Chorzewski said.
