Airlines #: LOT Polish Airlines: Wings of Central Europe

- Blurb -

The first traces of Polish aviation can be found in 1910. However, one of the first fully domestic airlines, under the name of Aerolloyd, was formed in 1922 by Polish oil barons and operated from the Free City of Danzig, with the help of German investors. Aerolloyd, or Aerolot in Polish, initiated a merger with some smaller competing Polish airlines in 1927 to form LOT Polish Airlines, which was owned by the Polish state. During World War Two, when Poland was occupied by German troops, the airline ceased all operations. After the war, and under Soviet control, LOT was forced to use Russian-built aircraft, though in certain cases, some Western aircraft were also used. In general, however, LOT remained a loyal customer of the Russian aviation industry until the fall of the Berlin Wall. By that time, more Western equipment was entering the fleet, and the airline was gradually expanding its route network. Although LOT has had to face numerous problems, including the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet, a failed privatisation and the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline has managed to become the leading airline in Eastern Europe. Illustrated with over 150 photographs, this book tells the history of this fascinating airline from its beginnings to the present day. AUTHOR: Jozef Mols was born in Antwerp on May 28, 1951. He studied applied economics with emphasis on marketing, consular sciences and economics of Third World Countries. At the end of his studies, he organized an expedition with 26 co-students (economics of the Third World Countries) to Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. Subsequently, he lived in the Persian Gulf as an analyst and visited Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi-Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman on assignment. Afterwards, he continued the same work but based in Paris and, subsequently, Rome. In 1987, he returned to Belgium to start teaching at several institutes for higher education. Upon this return in Belgium in 1997, he continued to teach. In 2002, he retired from education and started a full-time career as a writer and speaker. Jozef has had been writing magazine articles for over 40 years and has been published in numerous travel, lifestyle and aviation magazines, including Pilot Club, Airliner World, Airports of the World, Aviation News, Piloot en Vliegtuig and Ambassadeurs.