LOT records huge loss

18th February 2012

LOT airlines recorded a loss of PLN 145.5 mln last year according to reports by TVN24.

The company’s president Marcin Pirog made the announcement on Wednesday, highlighting a number of reasons for the figure.

The key factors behind the loss was the large increase in the cost of aviation fuel which rose about 30 percent (an increase of PLN 275 mln compared to 2010), a slowdown in passenger traffic during the final quarter of the year and the surge of the dollar against the zloty.

However the figures were up on 2010, which saw the airline record losses of PLN 163.1 mln.

“Excluding the effects of jet fuel price increases and exchange rate differences, the effective improvement of our operating performance over the last three years is down to the restructuring and development of the company,” he said.

Last year, a total of 4.3 million passengers flew with LOT - more than 9 percent up on the previous year.