Poland's Lot Polish Airlines to start Warsaw-Delhi direct flight from Sept

Poland's flag carrier LOT Polish Airlines will start direct flights between Warsaw and Delhi from September as it views India as a "strategic market" for its growth opportunities, a senior official said Monday.

One of the oldest airlines in the world, LOT Polish would commence operations to India with five weekly services and the first flight from Warsaw to Delhi would take off on September 17.

"We have a fairly large vision as far as our operations to India are concerned... There is strong business activities between the two countries... India is a strategic market for LOT Polish Airlines," the airline's Regional Director DACH and India markets Amit Ray said.

Based on market research, the carrier sees high demand from both sides for corporate and leisure travellers, among others.

The carrier, which began services in January 1929, flies on 110 routes and connects 90 destinations.

In an interview to PTI here, Ray said LOT Airlines would like to give the Indian consumers another destination to look at in Europe as well as provide indirect connectivity beyond Warsaw.

Currently, the airline has a fleet of 76 planes, which is expected to rise to 90 by the end of this year.

Ray said the carrier would operate Boeing 787-8 aircraft, with three-class configuration for services to India.

There would be 18 business, 21 premium economy and 212 economy seats.

Emphasising the importance of Indian market, Ray said that usually the airline starts service to a new destination with three or four weekly flights.

"Based on the Indian aviation growth, customer demand, we have decided to start with five weekly flights ... Based on the forecast for Indian market, that is the kind of confidence and potential in the Indian market," he noted.

To a query about two foreign carriers recently deciding to stop services to India soon after launching them, Ray said LOT Polish Airlines' business model is different and that it has made its business case very conservatively.

"It is always unfortunate if an airline starts and then withdraws from a particular city pair. I understand what happened here recently...," he said.

India is one of the fastest growing domestic aviation markets in the world.

"We see a lot of opportunities for destination Poland and can also be an additional gateway to central Europe. It will be an ideal transit point.

"Definitely, we are looking at the potential of higher frequencies from Delhi... We are open for additional opportunities in India," he said.

According to Ray, the pricing of tickets would be very attractive and competitive for the product being offered.

LOT Polish Airlines would also look for codeshare opportunities, among others, with Air India as both are part of Star Alliance.

Codeshare allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence.