Eurolot ‘has to be flexible’ to continue growth

Eurolot CEO Tomasz Balcerzak. Photo: Eurolot.com press materials

Eurolot, an airline founded as a subsidiary of LOT Polish Airlines, is Poland’s largest regional airline, serving the vast majority of Poland’s regional airports.

Reporter John Beauchamp interviews Eurolot’s CEO Tomasz Balcerzak, who says that thankfully, since the airline is now independent from LOT Polish Airlines (though still majority controlled by the State Treasury), it does not share the state carrier’s problems.

“We cooperate with LOT Polish Airlines based on an ACMI [aircraft lease] agreement,” Balcerzak said, adding that while he has a positive attitude towards the outcome of the Polish national carrier, “we have to be flexible, so we are also looking for other opportunities.”

The airline has its own problems, and with growing competition from low-cost carriers and other national airlines, it is trying to find a niche market.

“I think that [low-cost] carriers are focussed mainly on legacy carriers to create competition, especially for LOT Polish Airlines and others,” Balcerzak says, adding, however, that “we choose […] destinations where we can avoid those competitors”.