The Polish flag carrier, LOT Polish Airlines, signed a contract with Menzies on April 14th to double the number of airports where the two companies cooperate. LOT used to employ Menzies for cargo services at six airports, but this number will now go up to 12.
LOT Polish expands its partnership with Menzies
Menzies is an Edinburgh-based ground and air cargo services provider that is already supporting LOT Polish Airlines at airports like Prague (PRG), Nice (NCE), and Budapest (BUD).
Their partnership also covers knowledge sharing, developing efficiency improvement initiatives, and the integration of services support systems, according to Insider.co.uk.
LOT and Menzies have now signed a new five-year contract that significantly expands their current partnership by increasing the range of airports covered under the agreement. Instead of six airports, Menzies will now support LOT Polish at 12.
There are different support arrangements at different airports. For example, in Prague, Budapest, and Cluj (CLJ), Menzies provides LOT with passenger, ramp, and cargo services. Meanwhile, at Nice, the contract covers ramp and passenger services. At Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Menzies provides ramp handling, and at London Heathrow (LHR), it provides de-icing, passenger, and cargo services.
The new airports included in the new five-year contract are Los Angeles (LAX), Toronto Pearson (YYZ), Iasi (IAS), Oslo (OSL), and Bucharest Henri Coandă (OTP).
The new contract covers passenger and ramp services at all these airports, and it will also include air cargo services at Toronto Pearson International.
Menzies and LOT Polish are both happy
Miguel Gomez, who is the Executive Vice President at Menzies for Europe, celebrated the signing of this contract by saying:
“The extension of our partnership demonstrates Menzies’ trusted reputation as ground handler of choice for the airline at these locations, and we look forward to further strengthening our partnership over the years to come.”
Meanwhile, Maciej Wilk, Lot Polish Airlines’ Chief Operating Officer, said:
“We are very happy to open a new chapter of our relationship with Menzies, which is a world-class aviation services company - it required a lot of effort on both sides to break the daily routine and look beyond simple contractual obligations.”
Menzies in recent news
Menzies was in the news earlier this year when news broke that long delays would be expected at Heathrow at the start of the UK's February half-term holiday over a ground crew strike. Find more aviation news from Simple Flying here.
Industrial action was due to start on 11th February, but it was called off just one day prior after a deal was made via Unite the Union. Unite secured a 7% pay increase, backdated to January 1st this year. British Airways' refueling staff also received a £3,000 lump-sum payment.
Some 400 Menzies workers undertake Heathrow's ground handling, and these workers voted to strike over outstanding pay increases for 2020 and 2021.
Menzies was also criticized for using "fire and rehire" tactics during the pandemic, resulting in a pay cut for hundreds of employees.
What do you think of Menzies providing LOT Polish Airlines with air cargo and ground support at even more airports worldwide? Have you ever flown with LOT Polish? Let us know in the comments below.