LOT Polish Airlines (LO, Warsaw Chopin) has once more deferred accepting a second tranche of European-sanctioned state aide as its financials continue to improve. The Polish carrier was originally due to accept PLN381million (USD113.68million) in funding from its primary backer, the Polish government, in August of last year, but has continually deferred doing so.

"September was a very good month. We succeeded in making profit at the level expected in the budget. Following an initial summary, we know that we are now a few dozen million Zloties in the black on a cumulative basis," Sebastian Mikosz, CEO LOT Polish Airlines told the European Forum of New Ideas in Sopot. "Therefore, with the cash flow being better than expected, we are still able to finance the challenging restructuring process ourselves, and still refrain from requesting the public aid. This is why we are postponing our decision on whether to apply to the owner for the payment of the second tranche of aid at least till the end of October."

In June 2013, the Polish government informed the European Commission of its plan to extend the carrier EUR200million in capital to help LOT finance the restructuring. Thus far, the plan has produced positive results with LOT improving its figures posting an operating loss for 2013 of just PLN4 million (USD1.03million); an improvement from a PLN138million loss the previous year. Overall, LOT expects to post a PLN70million profit this year.

LOT added that should the second tranche be requested, it would "certainly" be less than the amount initially stipulated.

Overall, airline management has attributed the improvement in its finances to its restructuring plan which, among other aspects, has seen the quality of its services improve, new products such as its new LOT Economy Plus class developed and launched, and the targeting of new potential customer groups. The economic efficiency of its B787-8 fleet has also begun to make itself felt, a year after they were first introduced into commercial service.

The carrier also attributes its improvement to its new philosophy of creating a "map of routes", introduced this summer and which has already resulted in a 40% increase in the number of its transit capacities. “It means that passengers traveling via Warsaw will be able to change more comfortably on their way to other cities in Poland and destinations in the Central and Eastern Europe,” it said.