LOT Polish Airlines reopened its European routes on 1 July, connecting Brussels and Nice but not Paris. Why not?
Yann Saint Sorny - It may come as a surprise that we are taking up the line Nice-Warsaw at a rate of 4 flights a week rather than our link to Paris. In fact, this route is part of the "Holiday Summer" programme, which encourages Polish tourists to travel to destinations along the Mediterranean coast. This programme includes numerous destinations in Croatia, Spain, Greece and Italy. As for Brusselsthe town benefits from its status as a European political capitalThis explains the immediate need for a line from Warsaw.
What is the planned Warsaw-Paris programme?
Yann Saint Sorny - I confirm the resumption of the line between Paris CDG and Warsaw at 15th JulyFlights can already be booked. Initially, we will operate a daily Embraer 190 flight with a capacity ranging from 95 to 110 seats, depending on the model. The flights will operate provisionally from terminal 2A at Paris CDG. According to information from Aéroports de Paris, I don't think we will be back in terminal 1 - which is currently closed - before the end of the year. This capacity on the Paris-Warsaw route currently represents a quarter of our usual capacity before COVID, we operated three daily flights, two of which were by 180-seat Boeing 737-800. In addition, on 15 July we will be resuming a daily service on the Geneva.
How is the French market in Poland faring?
Yann Saint Sorny - I have to say that flights are full throughout July, mainly due to the return of the Polish diaspora to France, but also to a timid recovery in business travel and tourism. We should be back to the schedule of three daily flights from September departing from Paris with the possibility of adjusting our schedule in August with the potential of an additional daily flight. On the other hand, we have postponed the idea of serving on a short-term basis a new Lyon-Warsaw line.
What will the LOT network look like on 15 July and how does the Warsaw hub function in the post-COVID era?
Yann Saint Sorny - We are once again serving around twenty destinations in Europe as well asa dozen domestic lines. From 15 July, 15 routes will be reopened, bringing our Europe network to 35 routes. If there are simplified border crossing protocols, we should also be resuming our routes to Ukraine, Istanbul, Belgrade and London. With our daily flight, our passengers can once again travel via Warsaw to all the other Polish cities, as well as to the Baltic States, Moscow or destinations in Central Europe. All these destinations can be reached in a transit time of between 45 minutes and three hours on average.
Will it soon be possible to use LOT on the intercontinental network?
Yann Saint Sorny - We look forward to the resumption of our lines on the United StatesThis is an important network for us. Our routes to North America were also attracting a significant number of French passengers, particularly with their attractive fares. Our goal is to have 70 of the 98 destinations scheduled for the 2020 summer timetable back by September.
