LOT Polish Airlines (LO, Warsaw Chopin) has ordered twenty A220-100s and twenty A220-300s, with purchase rights for another 44 aircraft of the family. The contract, signed during the Paris Air Show, will allow the airline to move ahead with its long-awaited regional fleet renewal and the phase-out of its Embraer aircraft.
Deliveries of the aircraft are set to begin in 2027 and conclude in 2031. LOT has also signed a contract with Pratt & Whitney Canada to supply PW1500 engines.
The A220s will be the first Airbus aircraft LOT has operated in-house. Recently, local media reported that Poland could take a stake in the European manufacturer as a part of the ongoing reindustrialisation and decoupling from United States policies in the European Union.
The Polish flag carrier began talks about its regional fleet renewal before the COVID-19 pandemic. Negotiations continued after the crisis and the Polish government officially confirmed an RFP for 84 aircraft was issued in early 2024. In mid-2024, the airline added three E195-E2s on dry leases from Azorra as an interim measure, but without prejudice for the eventual order.
The A220s will over time replace the existing regional jet fleet comprising five E170s, fifteen E175s (including two operated for the government), eight E190s, sixteen E195s, and the three E195-E2s. LOT was the global launch customer for the E-Jet family, taking the first E170 in March 2004. It is the largest European operator of the E1 family and the eighth-largest globally, ch-aviation Commercial Aviation Aircraft Data shows.
