Manufacturers find friends in high places
High-profile European leaders including Tony Blair, Jaques Chirac and Gerhard Schroeder, wrote letters to Prime Minister Marek Belka last week, lobbying him to influence Polish flag carrier LOT to purchase new aircraft from Toulouse-based Airbus instead of its American competitor, Boeing. LOT hopes to replace its aging transatlantic fleet of Boeing 767s with five to eight new aircraft before 2008.
"We can confirm the Prime Minister has written to the Polish government, just as he has written to other governments promoting the marketing of Airbus in key markets," said a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Belka is said to have received the letters, but has not taken any action. "Such political marketing, even on the top level, is nothing special in the world," said Arkadiusz Godun, of the Prime Minister's Chancellery.
Indeed, Belka admitted that he had received a similar letter a few months earlier from US President George Bush, touting the benefits of Boeing.
"I received the letter, not only from Chancellor Schroeder, Prime Minister Blair and President Chirac but also President George Bush has written to me about the issue of Boeing," he said.
While both the Polish government and LOT insist that the decision will be made on commercial rather than political grounds, the letters cast light on Poland's struggle to remain loyal to both its American and European allies. Many Europeans accused Poland of disloyalty when it made the decision two years ago to buy 48 F-16 fighters from American Lockheed-Martin instead of purchasing Dassault's Mirage or BAE Systems' Gripen.
Belka insists the decision is LOT's to make, and will not be based on political favoritism.
"The choice will of course have political repercussions, but LOT cannot afford to choose the worst and most expensive offer" he said.
LOT had said that it would announce its decision on whether it would replace its fleet with Boeing's 7E7 Dreamliner or Airbus's A330 by the end of 2004, but delayed the decision while continuing to implement its cost-cutting program. An announcement is now expected within the next two to three months.
Both aircraft cost around $150 (zł.448) million, but according to Rzeczpospolita, Boeing has offered to sell LOT six of its 7E7s in a package deal for a total of $500 (zł.1,494) million.
"I am confident the decision will be taken purely on merit ... that quality and price will decide," said Belka. (Reuters)
"We can confirm the Prime Minister has written to the Polish government, just as he has written to other governments promoting the marketing of Airbus in key markets," said a spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Belka is said to have received the letters, but has not taken any action. "Such political marketing, even on the top level, is nothing special in the world," said Arkadiusz Godun, of the Prime Minister's Chancellery.
Indeed, Belka admitted that he had received a similar letter a few months earlier from US President George Bush, touting the benefits of Boeing.
"I received the letter, not only from Chancellor Schroeder, Prime Minister Blair and President Chirac but also President George Bush has written to me about the issue of Boeing," he said.
While both the Polish government and LOT insist that the decision will be made on commercial rather than political grounds, the letters cast light on Poland's struggle to remain loyal to both its American and European allies. Many Europeans accused Poland of disloyalty when it made the decision two years ago to buy 48 F-16 fighters from American Lockheed-Martin instead of purchasing Dassault's Mirage or BAE Systems' Gripen.
Belka insists the decision is LOT's to make, and will not be based on political favoritism.
"The choice will of course have political repercussions, but LOT cannot afford to choose the worst and most expensive offer" he said.
LOT had said that it would announce its decision on whether it would replace its fleet with Boeing's 7E7 Dreamliner or Airbus's A330 by the end of 2004, but delayed the decision while continuing to implement its cost-cutting program. An announcement is now expected within the next two to three months.
Both aircraft cost around $150 (zł.448) million, but according to Rzeczpospolita, Boeing has offered to sell LOT six of its 7E7s in a package deal for a total of $500 (zł.1,494) million.
"I am confident the decision will be taken purely on merit ... that quality and price will decide," said Belka. (Reuters)
