Polish Airlines free to chose which alliance to join

According to Rzeczpospolita and Puls Biznesu, the State Treasury has already made a decision to join LOT Polish Airlines (LOT) with the Star Alliance group, which is led by German air carrier Lufthansa. The official decision is expected to be announced today. The Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek, who said the decision has been already taken, was not willing to reveal any details, referring journalists to tomorrow's press conference, where LOT will make a statement about "signing an agreement with a strategic partner". Bearing in mind both Star Alliance and the British Airways led OneWorld, Kaczmarek stressed that it would not be LOT who would choose the alliance, but rather LOT could only submit an application to join one of them. As both groups earlier declared their willingness to accept Polish Airlines, LOT's application will in fact mean that it will join the alliance it chooses. In the meantime, companies interested in developing Warsaw's Okecie airport, such as, Strabag, Hochtief and the Budimex Ferrovial consortium told the Infrastructure Commission that they would submit their offers in time in spite of changes in the tender procedure. (Rzeczpospolita, pp. B1, B3; Puls Biznesu, p. 8), M.T.