LOT planning increase in domestic business in Japan, possibly China

According to a report in Gazeta Prawna on Monday, Polish airline LOT will sell flights not only from Warsaw to Tokyo, but also, through its Star Alliance partners, it will offer flights within Japan, including to Sapporo and Fukuoka. The expansion in service to additional Japanese cities came after negotiations with Star Alliance partners Lufthansa and All Nippon Airways (ANA). LOT negotiated with Lufthansa for several months in order for the pair to win approval to enter the market, the report said. The president of ANA, Osamu Shinobe had said earlier in the year, “We are interested in cooperation with LOT, but we condition it to the approval of Lufthansa.” The report indicated that during negotiations LOT succeeded in convincing Lufthansa to change their minds about key issues. “Lufthansa made concessions,” said LOT spokesman Adrian Kubicki. The spokesperson also indicated that it is possible that LOT, in cooperation with Air China, will soon begin selling tickets for domestic flights in China. In addition to ANA in Japan and Air China, in Asia Star Alliance includes Thai Airways, Shenzhen Airlines, and Singapore Airlines. With its expansion plans in Asia, LOT hopes to overcome recent financial difficulties (declining revenue, for example) in recent years by adding passengers this year. The airline will see 5.5 million passengers in 2016, which is 1.2 million more than the year before, according to airline president Rafał Milczarski.