LOT Polish Airlines, officially joined Star Alliance yesterday, October
26. With the addition of LOT as its 15th member, Star Alliance further
extends its worldwide network, particularly into Eastern Europe.
LOT Polish Airlines can look back upon a history that started in 1929.
The airline serves 12 domestic and 48 international destinations out of
Warsaw with a fleet of 51 aircraft. Some 3.4 million passengers were
carried in 2002, a five per cent increase on the previous year. LOT
Polish Airlines has 4,355 employees. It was also recently voted by the
readers of the prestigious British magazine Business Traveller as Best
Central and Eastern European Airline.
The Star Alliance network spans 680 airports in 127 countries. Its fleet
of over 2000 aircraft makes almost 11,000 daily departures. This year
Star Alliance airlines were expected to carry well over 300 million
passengers.
Star Alliance was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline
alliance to offer customers global reach and a smooth travel experience.
The members are Air Canada, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines,
Austrian, bmi, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Mexicana Airlines,
Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Spanair, Thai Airways
International, United, and VARIG Brazilian Airlines. US Airways is
scheduled to join the alliance in 2004.
——-