Warsaw, 29 June 2018 – After a 10-hour flight from Everett our newest Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with a special exterior painted on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland’s independence has landed in Warsaw yesterday. The same day it took off to Toronto. Today a white-and-red Boeing 737 MAX 8 arrive in Warsaw at 09:45 UTC

Delivery flights of B787-9 and B737 MAX (no. LO9787 and LO9737) turned out to be special: new jetliners were accompanied in Polish territory by F-16 fighter aircraft from the 31st Tactical Airbase in Poznań Krzesiny. Before the landing at the Chopin Airport, the fighter jets of the Polish Air Force and later both LOT airplanes made a low pass, which means flying over the runway at a low height.

Boeing 787 no. SP-LSC is already the 11th Dreamliner available in the fleet of the Polish carrier, and at the same time the first plane with a white-and-red exterior painting. Apart from the Dreamliner, the occasional colors also appear on the Boeing 737 MAX 8 SP-LVD the newest narrow-body LOT aircraft.

The look of the machine is inspired by a waving Polish flag moved by the take-off momentum. An outline of the Polish border is located on the front doors. At one side it stands “Dumni z niepodległości Polski”, meaning “Proud of Poland’s Independence” placed on the other side of the aircraft body. On nose of the Dreamliner, the carrier has placed a logo of the Niepodległa (“Independent”), which is an element of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of regaining independence.

“This is an exceptional moment: two of our newest, the most advanced aircraft of its kind, the B787-9 Dreamliner being the pillar of the long-haul fleet and the newest Boeing Commercial Airplanes narrow body B737 8 MAX commemorates the 100th anniversary of Poland’s regaining independence. As a national carrier, we naturally act as a Polish ambassador abroad. For the first time in history our plane has been painted white and red and it will keep its colors for the entire service at LOT” – says Rafał Milczarski, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines.

Both airplanes were incorporated thanks to the agreement with Air Lease Corporation.

The white-and-red Boeing 787-9 is the third larger-variant Dreamliner acquired by LOT. The jet’s seating capacity is 294 (42 more compared to its smaller variant of the 787-8). The B787-9 is nearly 63 meters long, which means that it is over six meters longer than its predecessor. In the “nine”, passengers are offered one of the three classes: > 24 seats in business class > 21 in premium economy > 249 in economy.

The maximum range of the wide-body 787-9 (in its variant for LOT) is over 13,350 km, i.e. approx. 700 km more compared to the 787-8. Based on Boeing’s analyses, the new B787-9 Dreamliner has lower fuel consumption per passenger in comparison with the “eight”.

The white-and-red B737 MAX , registered as SP-LVD, arrived in Poland from the Boeing factory in Renton near Seattle. In the next few days, it will fly to London (Heathrow), Madrid, Barcelona, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Moscow, Frankfurt, and Zurich.

As of now, LOT has four B737 MAX planes at its disposal, two of which were supplied in December 2017, with the third one (SP-LVC) being commissioned on LOT routes since Monday. MAX offers 186 seats. Thanks to new-generation engines, these planes are not only more efficient than other machines from this segment, which translates into lower operating costs borne by the carrier, but they are also more economically friendly, which is why LOT is able to decrease the amount of airport fees, e.g. at Heathrow.

“Our passengers will see the white-and-red Boeing 737 MAX 8 at many European airports, whereas the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will be used on long-haul flights, reaching the most distant places of the world. This way, the promotion of Poland’s national colors, and Poland as an attractive travelling destination have now a global dimension” – says Rafał Milczarski from LOT.

LOT is currently the fastest growing airline in Europe. The carrier offers 101 scheduled flights. Since the beginning of 2016, LOT announced the launch of more than 60 direct flights, including from Warsaw to Los Angeles, Newark, Seoul, Tokyo, and Singapore, from Budapest to New York City and Chicago, from Cracow to Chicago and from Rzeszów to Newark.

TodayLOT has more than 70 modern planes at its disposal (counting own machines as well as those owned by Nordica, a partner airline, and leased under short-term contracts, e.g. from Blue Air). Last year, LOT carried 6.8 million passengers, i.e. 25% more than the year before. This year, it plans to reach the level of 9 million passengers and exceed the 10 million threshold in 2019. Today, LOT has nearly 3,000 employees in dozens of countries around the world. The expansion of the flight network and an increase in the number of passengers is an element of LOT 2016-2020 profitable growth strategy that is implemented consistently by the Polish carrier.

Tickets for LOT’s flights are available via LOT Contact Centre, at www.lot.com, and from sales agents.