Editing LOT Polish Airlines (section)

===Post-1989 LOT Polish Airlines===
After the [[History of Poland (1945-1989)#End of Communist rule (1980–1990)|fall of the communist system in Poland]] in 1989 the fleet shifted back to Western aircraft, beginning with acquisitions of the [[Boeing 767|Boeing 767-200]] in April 1989,<ref>{{cite web|website=rzjets.net
|url=https://rzjets.net/aircraft/?reg=41426|title=Boeing 767-25DER|access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref> followed by the [[Boeing 767|Boeing 767-300]] in March 1990, [[ATR 72]] in August 1991, [[Boeing 737 Classic|Boeing 737-500]] in December 1992 and finally the [[Boeing 737 Classic|Boeing 737-400]] in April 1993. From the mid-1980s to early 1990s LOT flew from Warsaw to Chicago, Edmonton, Montreal, Newark, New York City and Toronto. These routes were primarily inaugurated to serve the large Polish communities ([[Polish diaspora|Polonia]]) in North America.

LOT was among the first Central European airlines to operate American aircraft when the Boeing 767 was introduced; the 767s were used to operate LOT's longest-ever connection, to Singapore. By the end of 1989 LOT had hosted that year's IATA congress and reached a milestone annual load-factor of 2.3 million passengers carried over the year.

[[File:LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767-200; SP-LOB@ZRH;11.05.1997 (4848440276).jpg|thumb|left|LOT's acquisition of long-range Boeing 767 allowed it to reposition itself as a transit airline. Seen here is a [[Boeing 767-200]] arriving at [[Zurich Airport]] in 1997.]]

In 1990 LOT's third Boeing 767-300 landed at [[Warsaw Chopin Airport]] and not long after Boeing 737 and ATR 72 aircraft were acquired for use on LOT's expanded route network, which began to include new international destinations such as [[Kyiv]], [[Lviv]], [[Minsk]] and [[Vilnius]]. In 1993, LOT began to expand its Western-European operations, inaugurating, in quick succession, flights to [[Oslo]], [[Frankfurt]] and [[Düsseldorf]]; operations at Poland's other regional airports outside Warsaw were also duly expanded around this time.

In 1994 the airline signed a [[codesharing agreement]] with [[American Airlines]] on flights to and from Warsaw as well as onward flights in the United States and Poland operated by both companies; flights to Thessaloniki, Zagreb and Nice were inaugurated, and according to an IATA report, in this year LOT had the youngest fleet of any airline in the world. After years of planning, in 1997 LOT set up a sister airline, EuroLOT, which, essentially operating as its parent airline's regional subsidiary, took over domestic flights. The airline was developed with the hope that it would increase transit passenger-flow through Warsaw's Chopin Airport, whilst at the same time providing capacity on routes with smaller load factors and play a part in developing LOT's reputation as the largest transit airline in Central and Eastern Europe. By 1999 LOT had purchased a number of small [[Embraer 145]] regional jets in order to expand its short-haul fleet, and had, with the approval of the Minister of the State Treasury, begun a process of selling shares to the Swiss company SAirGroup Holding; this then led to the airline's incorporation into the then-nascent Qualiflyer Group.

[[File:LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737-500, SP-LKE@LHR,05.08.2009-550an - Flickr - Aero Icarus.jpg|thumb|LOT became the eleventh full member of [[Star Alliance]] in 2003. Pictured is a [[Boeing 737-500]] in the alliance's special livery (2009).]]

Expansion of LOT's route network continued in the early 2000s and the potential of the airline's hub at [[Warsaw Chopin Airport]] to become a major transit airport was realised . In 2000 LOT took delivery of its largest-ever order of 11 aircraft, and by 2001 it had reached a milestone passengers-carried figure of 3 million customers in one year; the expansion led to the reconstruction of much of LOT's ground infrastructure, and by 2002 a new central Warsaw head office was opened on Ul. 17 Stycznia. On 26 October 2003, LOT, after the collapse of the [[Qualiflyer Group]], became the 14th member of the [[Star Alliance]]. By 2006 a new base of operations, with the reconstruction of [[Warsaw Chopin Airport]], had opened, thus allowing LOT's full transit airline potential to be developed for the first time. The new airport was much larger than any previous airport in Poland. In that same year, Pope [[Benedict XVI]] returned to Rome on a LOT flight following his pilgrimage to Poland.

LOT created low-cost arm [[Centralwings]] in 2004;<ref name="FI">[[Flight International]] 5–11 April 2005</ref> however, the company was dissolved and reincorporated into LOT after just five years of operating due to its long-term unprofitability and LOT's wish to redeploy aircraft within its fleet.