The forthcoming Poland/LOT airline order

Ah, politics and business…let the dancing begin.

EU pressure on Polish airline

Feb 23 2005
By David Jones Daily Post Staff

BRITAIN, France and Germany are reported to have put political pressure on Poland to get state-owned airline LOT to buy new aircraft from European manufacturer Airbus and not its US rival Boeing.

LOT said last year it planned to buy five to eight planes to replace the Boeing 767s it leases for its long distance, mainly transatlantic routes.

A Polish newspaper says French president Jacques Chirac, German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and UK prime minister Tony Blair sent letters to Poland’s prime minister Marek Belka in December setting out the advantages of Airbus’ offer.

Belka is said to have read the letters but not to have taken any action, while an official from his office is quoted as saying that such political marketing, even at the top level, is nothing unusual.

The Polish airline has insisted it will choose the best offer commercially, but some analysts say politics will inevitably play a role with the new EU member state.

Sources say Boeing has offered LOT six planes for about £260m and, while no details of Airbus’ offer have been made public, it is thought to be roughly comparable on price.

Wings for the Airbus jets would be made on Deeside and earlier this week the company denied reports that its A380 superjumbo jet had run into problems during stress tests ahead of its first flight.

Airbus spokesman David Voskuhl insisted no serious problems had been identified with the A380 and it was still the plan to give the plane its maiden flight at the end of March, although it has previously been stated this could slip back into April.

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