Budapest, 21 June 2018 – LOT expands in Hungary. After successful launch of long-haul flights to New York City and Chicago as well as between Budapest and Kraków, now it is time for LOT’s flights to London City Airport (LCY). Starting from 18 February 2019 LOT will offer up to two flights a day to be operated by the newly acquired Embraer 190s. Tickets are going on sale now

New flights will be operated based on the following timetable: morning departure from Budapest is scheduled at 7.00am with arrival to LCY at 8.45am daily (except Sundays). Second flight will leave Budapest at 5.15pm, arriving at LCY at 7.00pm (except Saturdays). The departing flights from LCY are scheduled at: 9.15am and 7.30pm and arriving at Budapest at 12.45pm, and 11.00pm respectively.

Such convenient schedule allows passengers travelling mainly from Budapest for business to take a round trip without an overnight stay. Located in the Royal Docks, the LCY is the closest airport to the financial and business center of London (The City is only 9.6 km away).

Moreover LOT’s new flight is an excellent alternative to other flights offered on London-Budapest route using airports located farther away from the center of London (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Southend). LOT’s new flights are targeted at corporate passengers and will also help tighten business and economic relations between Hungary and the Great Britain.

“Being a modern and most dynamically growing airlines in Europe, we are very proud we are able to fast-track our development in Hungary. We have opened a new chapter in our history: after the launch of the flights to New York City, Chicago, Cracow, the two daily flights to London City are now added. The annual passenger traffic on the Budapest-London route approximates 1.4 m. London City Airport is the most conveniently located airport for those passengers who want to reach London’s business district in a shortest and most convenient way. I am certain that Hungarian passengers will appreciate the new connection thanks to the elevated quality of services” says Rafał Milczarski, LOT’s CEO.

„I am extremely happy to have another innovative product introduced into the Hungarian aviation market by our friends from LOT Polish Airlines. The start of operations between Budapest and London City Airport marks another important milestone in our joint efforts to present high quality service to passengers at both ends of this destination” said Jost Lammers, CEO of Budapest Airport.

Owing to a relatively short runway and a steep approach angle of 5.5° the flights to London City require complicated maneuvers and only a few aircraft models meet the LCY’s landing and takeoff criteria. To be able to fly to and from London City Airport, LOT decided to acquire four new Embraer E-190s to be delivered on or before the end of 2018 directly from the manufacturer’s plant in Brazil. The new Embraer E-190’s seating capacity is 106.

Robert Sinclair, CEO of London City Airport, said: “The addition of Budapest to London City Airport’s route map for the first time epitomises our determination to offer passengers the very best links between London and major European cities. We know more destinations and more choice is what our passengers want, especially as we invest 480 million pounds in our facilities, and a Budapest connection offers a further foothold for tourism and trade in Central Europe and a convenient link with this buzzing city on the banks of the Danube. In addition to the recently announced Warsaw service, LOT Polish Airlines’ latest route provides a positive indication of their growth ambitions at London City Airport.”

To Hungary it means the release of its potential of passenger travel on the new routes and the development of its transport arm, with improvements to the airport infrastructure, ground handling and new jobs to follow. Currently LOT’s headcount in Budapest is 60 (onboard crew on the Budapest-New York City/Chicago routes). The carrier announced that by the end of 2019 it will have hired 300 pilots from the Central and Eastern Europe with some of them to be permanently stationed in Budapest. LOT’s business lounge is to be opened at the Budapest Airport soon.

Apart from London City, LOT offers its passengers direct connections between Budapest and three destinations: flights New York City and Chicago operated by wide-body Dreamliners, and flights to/from Cracow operated by Bombardier Q400s, resulting in the annual passenger traffic passenger on those routes at 400,000. LOT offers more than 100 scheduled flights in total including direct flights from Warsaw to New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and from Budapest to NYC and Chicago.

Strategy of profitable growth being implemented by LOT since 2016 enabled the airline to develop its Hungarian operations. Based on its underlying assumptions, LOT intends to become the first-choice airlines in the CEE countries. LOT is currently the fastest growing airlines in Europe. In 2017 its passenger traffic totaled over 6.8m which means that the figure went up by nearly 25% year-to-year. This year it has plans to reach the threshold of 9m and exceed 10m in 2019 to be able to continue its momentum.

LOT has 55 modern aircraft (adding all aircraft leased from Estonian Nordica and Romanian BlueAir which are being used o LOT network LOT’s total fleet comprises nearly 70 machines). By the end of 2019 five more B787 Dreamliners shall be added to LOT’s fleet, upping their total number to 15. LOT has also been waiting for the delivery of narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX 8s that have been ordered; by the end of 2019 its fleet will have comprised twelve such machines (via-a-vis four at present). July 2018 marks the completion of the deliveries of six Embraer 195s whereas by the end of this year four Embraer 190s will be added to LOT’s fleet.

Tickets for the flights on the Budapest-London City route are already available via all channels, including the www.lot.com website, the LOT Contact Center, the LOT Travel offices, and travel agents.