LOT Polish restructuring [and other armchair CEO comments]

Old Jun 6, 2020, 4:23 pm
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LOT Polish restructuring [and other armchair CEO comments]

Originally Posted by ISTFlyer
Just wondering, does anybody have any recent experience where LOT accepted to rebook passengers on another airline when your original LOT flights are cancelled.
LOT is the cheapest to my intended destination in July and has a great fare on Premium Economy. However, I find it unlikely that IST-WAW would be x2 daily during July.
Polish media currently speculate that LOT will file for bankruptcy and change the owner. Therefore, all refunds may be voided, and new bookings may be not honored.

Currently, it looks like LOT does not have the money to resume international flights (which is why the resumption has been postponed until July 1).

Last edited by oliver2002; Feb 2, 2024 at 5:09 am
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Old Jun 6, 2020, 4:32 pm
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Originally Posted by smartytravel
Polish media currently speculate that LOT will file for bankruptcy and change the owner. Therefore, all refunds may be voided, and new bookings may be not honored.

Currently, it looks like LOT does not have the money to resume international flights (which is why the resumption has been postponed until July 1).
What does this mean for those who currently have tickets for cancelled flights?
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Old Jun 6, 2020, 4:35 pm
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Its speculation. Owner to what? Polish Government to whom? Theyre owned by the Sejm!
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Old Jun 6, 2020, 5:18 pm
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Basias pot of beans is empty. Bereft. Theres no money to rebook to OAL.

It seems its now all up to Comrade Kaczek raiding his mattress.

Thank goodness I never took the vouchers. Id imagine my entire value of tickets would be instantly liable to the U.K. credit card firms and Ill get every penny back.
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Old Jun 6, 2020, 10:29 pm
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Originally Posted by smartytravel
Polish media currently speculate that LOT will file for bankruptcy and change the owner. Therefore, all refunds may be voided, and new bookings may be not honored.
Unless they will behave (as good) as AZ who always honored previously issued tickets... But AZ has a lot of experience with bankruptcies
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Old Jun 8, 2020, 8:30 am
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Aerotelegraph picked up the news:
https://www.aerotelegraph.com/myster...olen-klont-lot

It seems PGL has created a new LOT clone and is looking for a AZ style rebirth to renogiate obligations and cut costs:

https://www.pasazer.com/news/44040/p...c,pll,lot.html
https://www.pasazer.com/news/44026/t...rlines,sa.html
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Old Jun 8, 2020, 9:52 am
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I had a cancelled booking with LOT but opted to wait rather than request a refund or voucher. Looks like I should request a refund and file a credit card chargeback...
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Old Jun 8, 2020, 9:57 am
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With 5 billion EUR spare, perhaps Spohr can help out a fellow Star and M&M partner with a wee loan?
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Old Jun 8, 2020, 12:28 pm
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What does this mean for longer term bookings? I have a JFK-BUD flight scheduled for November on MileagePlus points. Don't think it'll be an issue with them, but I'm worried for my traveling companions who booked cash.
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Old Jun 8, 2020, 12:54 pm
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Id be very surprised if the RP let pax lose their ticket values. No one gains from a brand where pax have no confidence. Compared to LH Group theyve had a pax friendly rebooking policy from the beginning of the Chinese flu crisis.

In any case, a bankruptcy would make it easier to chargeback.
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Old Jun 8, 2020, 2:17 pm
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Originally Posted by Ranelagh
What does this mean for longer term bookings? I have a JFK-BUD flight scheduled for November on MileagePlus points. Don't think it'll be an issue with them, but I'm worried for my traveling companions who booked cash.
I would be concerned about the flight operating as booked. According to the source of the news (in German), LOT's 787 leases have been a major financial burden. One goal of bankruptcy would be to get out of these leases, which would inevitably mean cutting back on some long-haul flights.

You might find yourself doing JFK -> WAW -> BUD or EWR -> WAW -> BUD.

Originally Posted by hugolover
I’d be very surprised if the RP let pax lose their ticket values. No one gains from a brand where pax have no confidence. Compared to LH Group they’ve had a pax friendly rebooking policy from the beginning of the Chinese flu crisis.

In any case, a bankruptcy would make it easier to chargeback.
This is true. I guess I am concerned about getting anything of use out of my ticket value. It sounds like LOT will cut a significant number of long-haul routes. Vouchers aren't useful if the route network is significantly reduced.
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Old Jun 8, 2020, 3:35 pm
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Originally Posted by Sleepy_Sentry
You might find yourself doing JFK -> WAW -> BUD or EWR -> WAW -> BUD.
That would be unfortunate since that was the reason I booked with LOT in the first place.
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Old Jun 9, 2020, 5:48 am
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I found this that was posted today, but it’s behind a paywall so I can’t see the details.

Gov't pledges to support LOT Polish Airlines
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Old Jun 9, 2020, 6:33 am
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Employee morale has hit rock bottom and then kept going in the direction of the Earth's core. 30% of full-time employees have so far refused to switch to the new 'garbage contracts', which would see many of them on minimum wage levels. LOT is burning through all its capital - economic, social and political - but it's a safe bet that nothing drastic will be allowed to happen before June 28 (the date of the first round of the presidential election).

Everyone here can recite a myriad of problems with LOT. Problems which were longstanding even before COVID compounded them. The over-expansion of routes (driven by political tailwinds), the total reliance on Boeing for long-haul and all the attendant problems (787, MAX), the lack of any mid-range offerings or strategy, the hopeless website which actively discouraged bookings and the worthless app... the list goes on.
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Old Jun 9, 2020, 6:48 am
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Swissair turned into SWISS. Olympic went through several iterations (including 'Olympic Aviation').

Maybe LOT can rechristen itself (LOT) Phoenix Airlines?
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