LOT Returns to Croatian Skies with Ambitions Greater Than Ever

The Polish airline LOT, after a brief absence from the Croatian market (flights were suspended in June due to a restructuring obligation imposed by the European Commission), is returning with flights on the Zagreb-Warsaw route starting in January next year.

The ambitions of the Polish airline this time are broader and include the desire to become the leading air carrier in Croatia, develop a flight network, and be the first choice for passengers, as explained at a working breakfast for journalists at the Polish Embassy in Zagreb. LOT will initially operate up to 4 times a week, but the plan is to increase the number of flights to daily in the summer, and one of the company’s advantages is cited as very convenient transfer options from Warsaw to other destinations in Europe, America, and Canada. The cheapest ticket, explained regional director Jolanta Grala-Bednarčik, will cost 79 euros, while more expensive tickets will range from 139 euros.

The company, which is 100% state-owned, currently flies to 60 destinations across four continents and boasts the most modern and youngest fleet in Europe with six Boeing Dreamliners and 86 years of experience, and is part of the growing economic cooperation between the two countries. As Ambassador Maciej Szymanski explained, when he arrived in Croatia, there were not many companies collaborating, but things have started to change, although he is still not satisfied with the current level of cooperation. Croatian exports to Poland have grown by 60%, while Polish exports to Croatia have jumped by 43% this year, suggesting that trade will convincingly exceed half a billion euros. In the first three quarters of this year, Polish companies sold goods and services worth 414 million euros in the Croatian market, primarily in the agricultural food and electromechanical sectors. Given the growing interest of Polish companies in Croatia, the embassy expects an increase in Polish investments, with some recent examples including the investment of Press Glass in a plant in Varaždin (200 employees, exceptionally good results, and an expected increase in employment to 400) and OT Logistics in the Port of Rijeka (a significant shareholder), noting that the logistics company C.Hartwig also intends to start operations. Previous investments include Inter Cars, Pol-Mot Holding, Asseco, GTC, LPP, and CCC. Significant investments in the opposite direction include Orbico, which has very ambitious plans in Poland, Dalekovod, and Pliva. The goal, said Marek Lyzwa, head of the Trade and Investment Promotion Department at the Embassy in Zagreb, is to soon reach a trade volume of one billion euros.

Poland is the only country in the European Union that has not recorded a decline in GDP since the outbreak of the crisis and is often cited as the best example of successful economic policy management. The average salary is around one thousand euros, the cumulative GDP growth from 1990 to today is 238%, and in the next three years, the average growth will be 3.5%. This growth and the reduction of the gap with wealthy EU countries (according to purchasing power parity, Poland has reached 55% of Germany’s GDP per capita and 70% of Spain’s) is primarily due to the export-oriented nature of the economy (165.8 billion euros last year), a well-conceived economic policy crafted by experts during the transition to a market economy (the policy still largely leaves economic decisions to experts), and skillful use of EU funds. The ambassador also noted that Poles do not perceive EU funds as a goal, unlike some other member states, but rather as an additional reward, given that their approach to the EU and the use of pre-accession funds began much earlier.