LOT adds new routes to JFK and EWR

[SP-LPB]

LOT will launch a new route from another city in Poland. The third city after Warsaw and Krakow to gain connection with NYC area is Rzeszów. Flights will begin June 3rd and will of course be operated on a 767. Rzeszów is a city in south-eastern Poland with a population of 164,000.

Rzeszów 16:55 - New York (JFK) 20:55 (------7)
Rzeszów 17:10 - Newark (EWR) 21:00 (---4---)
New York (JFK) 23:00 - Rzeszów 14:00 (-----6-)
Newark (EWR) 23:25 - Rzeszów 14:25 (--3----)

Yet to be confirmed, but LOT will lease an ex-KLM 763 which will be the 8th 767 in the fleet.

I'll throw in the official press release once it becomes available.

[FlyingColors]

Great, thank you!

[cancidas]

wonder how the newest 767 will be painted. i remember a time when 5 767s were more than enough for LO's capacity... my how times change! i really hope that this one will not be in the star alliance colors!

[T-Bird76]

Hmm do I smell a Hybrid paint job soon?

[Matt Molnar]

Interesting. Rzeszów is a small city...what's the point of this route?

[tipek]

HA! Finally flights from my hometown :)
Rzeszow is a small city (biggest in that region if you don't count Krakow) but 60% of all pax to USA are coming from that region. Right now, people have to drive 4-5 hours to WAW or 2 hours to KRK to take direct flight to USA.
Right now RZE airport offers 4 daily flights to WAW and 1 daily to London Stansted. This year Ryanair is adding Dublin Ireland, and Liverpool England. They also want to add Barcelona Spain and Rome Italy.
On the top of that, Centralwings and SkyEurope saw potential to serve other European markets from Rzeszow.
The only airlines serving that airport are LOT, EuroLOT and Ryanair. That airport serves as a base for Border Protection Patrol, and has the only one in Poland school for ATP pilots.
In 2004 plans for new terminal were approved and construction begun in early 2006. The terminal was designed with 2 gates, and with possibility of adding aditional 5 gates if they ever need them.
I was invited by director of Rzeszow airport to tour the facilities and take a ride on the new runway in Jeep Cherokee :)
Early in 2005 RZE airport completed runway extension, and now we have second longest runway in Poland at 3200 meters (which is roughly 10 000+ feet long).
DHL and Polish Postal Service wants to build sorting facility on the airport grounds.
Here you can see shots that I took back in Nov 2004.

Check in area

Check in area

Old terminal interior

Airside shot of the ramp and terminal building

Boarding ATR72 to WAW



Airside view of the old terminal

Fire station

Runway extension underway

Aviation Training Center for ATP

Old old old terminal building from the 70s. Right now its used as a hotel for student pilots

General overview of the airport grounds

New terminal mockup

New terminal drawing

And the director of the airport who gave me great tour of the entire airport



In Rzeszow there is a factory that makes F-16 engines, and plus a lot of American companies have presence in my city. LOT wont have problems filling up biz class seats from NY to RZE.

Take care,
Rafal

[Matt Molnar]

Great stuff, Rafal. Thanks for the info.

[SP-LPB]

Some other renderings of the new terminal:

[cancidas]

it would be awesome to see that new terminal built, but i still prefer walking down the airstair and across the ramp. just more nostalgic...

[SP-LPB]

LOT launches new flight connection between Rzeszów and New York.

Warsaw, March 30, 2007 - Advertising campaign for LOT's new flight service between Rzeszów and New York is about to be launched.

The "Let's Link Rzeszów with New York" campaign promoting LOT's new transatlantic service between Rzeszów and New York City starts on April 1. The inaugural flight is scheduled for June 3. Ticket sales have already started. The purpose of the campaign is to publicize the new offer of Poland's national air carrier which is the first to open this regional flight service designed specifically to meet the passenger's needs.

The creative idea behind the campaign is based on presenting the landscape as imagined by passengers. The results of the campaign will be presented on the radio, Internet, Polish, Slovakian and Ukrainian newspapers and displayed on outdoor advertising media. In the United States the adverts will be appearing on the Internet, radio, and several Polish newspapers and TV stations. On the Polish market the campaign is going to last until the end of April, in the US until mid-May.

The campaign has been developed by the McCann Erickson advertising agency and its implementation on the Internet is the responsibility of MRM Worldwide. On the part of PLL LOT the campaign is coordinated by the Department of Advertising

http://www.lot.com/Portal/EN/aspx/About ... _6943.aspx

[tipek]

And thats how LOT is advertising in the old town. NY sky scrapers and Polish fields.

It says "Connecting Rzeszów with New York"




Rafal

[Matt Molnar]

Nice. I'd like to take a walk around Greenpoint and find one of these signs on this side of the world. :)

[SP-LPB]

I read today that LOT sold 5,200 tickets on the RZE-NYC routes. Also LOT is planning to add another weekly flight.

[G-BOAD]

That's clever!

BTW, how much would a ticket from Warsawa to Rzeszow cost (flying EuroLOT ATR-42/72)?

[tipek]

I paid few times $32 for round trip from RZE to WAW. It was purchased 14 days in advance. Once I bought ticket from RZE to WAW 2 days before departure and I paid $50 one way.

Rafal