LOT Polish Airlines has decided to discontinue its long-haul route from Budapest to Seoul Incheon, reallocating resources to strengthen its North American operations. This move comes as the airline aims to increase flights to cities with significant Polish communities such as Chicago, New York, and Toronto.
The decision is not necessarily permanent but will allow LOT Polish Airlines, a Star Alliance member, to focus on expanding its transatlantic network. The airline plans 788 one-way flights between Europe and North America in the third quarter of 2025, marking a nearly 3% increase over pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
“According to the latest Cirium Diio data,” LOT Polish Airlines is experiencing a record number of North American flights during this peak summer period. The airline’s fleet consists entirely of Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft. To meet demand, it will also utilize wet-leased aircraft like the EuroAtlantic 777-200ER.
Several routes have seen increased frequencies compared to previous years. For instance, Warsaw-New York JFK will now operate double daily flights using a mix of Boeing models. Other routes such as Warsaw-Toronto and Kraków-Chicago O’Hare have also seen an uptick in frequency.
Due to changes in market dynamics following the Ukraine war and other factors, LOT Polish Airlines now commands two-thirds of all non-stop flights between Central and Eastern Europe and North America. This represents a significant rise from just one-third in 2019.
Passenger data indicates that nearly all travelers on non-core routes are point-to-point passengers. High load factors are reported for routes like Chicago O’Hare-Kraków and Newark-Rzeszów.
In terms of transit traffic through Warsaw, approximately 44% of passengers flew directly between North America and Warsaw with LOT Polish Airlines over the past year. A larger share connected through Warsaw en route to other destinations.
LOT Polish capitalizes on its strategic geographic position by serving markets with limited direct flight options. Key transit routes include Toronto-Delhi via Warsaw and Los Angeles-Yerevan among others.
