Polish national carrier LOT has signed a codesharing agreement and memorandum of understanding with Lufthansa as its first step towards full membership of the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance.
LOT was formerly a member of Swissair's Qualiflyer group, which was reduced to a frequent-flyer programme after the collapse of Sabena and Swissair.
The expected move towards Star membership was first revealed in (Flight International 7-13 August 2001).
But Lufthansa says full membership of the alliance is still a long way off. LOT's standard of service is well below other alliance members, the German carrier adds. "To get to this level, LOT needs a little help," says Lufthansa. LOT's next step will be to get the rest of the alliance behind its bid for membership - with which Lufthansa has undertaken to help the Polish airline. But approval of its membership by alliance chief executives will not happen soon - the alliance has not even set a date to consider LOT's application.
Star Alliance includes Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), which held talks with the Polish government earlier this year about acquiring the 25.1% stake in LOT held by Swissair. SAS declines to comment on the progress of the talks.
Late last year, SAS chief executive Jørgen Lindegaard described SAS's "domestic market" as the entire Baltic area, including Denmark, Finland, northern Germany, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Around 68% of LOT is still held by the Polish government.
Source: Flight International
