LOT Polish Airlines : LO ! LOT !

Today (5/11) at the Polish Embassy in Washington Marcin Piróg, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines, Fred Hochberg, Chairman & President of Export-Import Bank of the United States and Jon Byron, Vice-President of Apple Bank for Savings signed the agreement for financing of the first of five Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, covered by the export guarantee program.

The aircraft will join the fleet of the Polish carrier already in mid-November this year.

Thus LOT Polish Airlines completed the final stage of the process of aircraft purchase and obtained approvals necessary to receive relevant loan guarantees.

LOT Polish Airlines successfully completed the process of obtaining approval from the American export credit insurance agency – Export Import Bank of the United States ("US Ex-Im Bank") regarding loan guarantees to finance the purchase of the first five new Boing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The Polish carrier was also completing the process of obtaining commercial financing connected with the abovementioned loan guarantees.

In cooperation with the London advisor DVB Bank SE Aviation Division, the company selected in the course of the request for proposal process and negotiations a commercial bank: Apple Bank for Savings of New York, collaborating with the financial institution and broker – KGS-Alpha Capital Markets, L.P. to finance the abovementioned transactions.

We are pleased that LOT Polish Airlines has been endowed with trust and support of US Ex-Im Bank as regards financing of Boeing 787 aircraft, and we are also satisfied due to preferential guarantee terms – says Marcin Piróg, CEO of LOT Polish Airlines. We have planned to sign financial documents on the day preceding the delivery of the first Dreamliner, which will land in Poland already in 10 days.

Congratulations to the finance and legal team of LOT Polish Airlines for achievement of the set goals – adds Marcin Piróg.

Apple Bank for Savings has offered us very flexible financing conditions for various strategic scenarios. We count on cooperation that will be productive and rewarding for both parties – says Zbigniew Mazur, Member of the Management Board of LOT Polish Airlines S.A. for Financial and Economic Affairs.

To further reduce financial costs we plan in the near future to use instruments presented to us based on the issue of bonds, the so called "Ex-Im Bonds" – adds Zbigniew Mazur.

LOT Polish Airlines is phasing out its Boeing 737 classic and 767 aircraft, LOT sales director Tomasz Dakowski told ATW on last week’s Boeing 787 Vienna-Warsaw flight.

Dakowski told ATW that by the end of the year, its last three 737-300ERs will be phased out. LOT’s final 767 flight will be completed March 3.

One 767 has already undergone redelivery checks and will be transferred back to the lessor.