LOT Polish Airlines is set to wet-least four Airbus A320 aircraft. The carrier has reached an agreement with narrowbody ACMI operator Avion Express for the planes, which will begin in the new year. 

Short-term deal

The lessor shared a press release to announce the deal. The agreement is signed until May 31st, 2020 and two of the planes will be in service from January 14th. The remaining two will start flying from February 1st.

These A320s will be based out LOT's hub in the Polish capital of Warsaw. From here, they will be used on both domestic and international operations.

LOT Boeing 787
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Ongoing talks

Avion Express CEO Darius Kajokas shared that his company had been in talks with the flag carrier of Poland for a while. He is happy that a suitable agreement for both parties has now been reached.

“We were discussing potential business opportunities with LOT for the past several months and it is great that these talks came to fruition," Kajokas said.

"LOT is one of the most experienced and rapidly growing carriers in the current market. It will be our pleasure to provide ACMI services to this carrier."

Experienced partner

Avion Express claims to be the largest narrowbody ACMI operator in the world. Some of its partners include VietJet Air, Condor, and Norwegian. It has clients across four different continents, which the company offers its fleet of 22 Airbus A320 family aircraft to. 

United Airlines A320
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The company is a subsidiary of Avia Solutions Group. This business is one of the largest aerospace groups based in Central and Eastern Europe, with 67 different offices and production hubs.

Currently, LOT doesn't hold any Airbus aircraft of its own. The airline prefers to operate Boeing and Embraer models. According to Planespotters, the carrier holds 16 Boeing 737s, 15 Dreamliners, 12 De Havilland Dash 8s, 16 Embraer ERJ-170s, and 19 Embraer ERJ-190s.

The A320 family is one of the most popular commercial aircraft types. It was first introduced in 1988 and has gone on to be a staple in several fleets across the globe. The success of these planes spurred Airbus to revamp its engine with the introduction of the NEO range in 2016.

By going for a wet lease option, LOT is able to trial the aircraft without having to invest in many of the expenditures involved in fully acquiring them. If the firm sees success following its arrangement with Avion Express, it could consider committing to firmer deals for the aircraft in the future.

Simple Flying reached out to LOT Polish Airlines for comment on its agreement with Avion Express for the Airbus A320s. However, we did not hear back before publication. We will update the article with any further announcements.

Do you think this is a positive move for LOT? Let us know your thoughts on the arrangement in the comment section.