Warsaw, 23 September 2019 – On Sunday LOT Polish Airlines took off on its first direct flight from Budapest to Seoul. Boeing 787 Dreamliners will be operating this route three times a week. It is the first long-haul service launched by the Polish airlines from the capital city of Hungary to Asia. The launch of new international flights from Budapest by LOT, is part of the implementation of another stage of building its second European hub.

LOT Polish Airlines, one of the fastest growing airlines in the Central and Eastern Europe launched regular flights on the Budapest-Seoul route on Sunday, 22 September. From now on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft will be operating this route three times weekly according to the following schedule:

LO 2001 BUD-ICN 12:25-6:05 (+1) Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays
LO 2002 ICN-BUD 07:30-13:15 Mondays, Wednesdays, Saturdays

“It is a milestone in LOT’s history and another stage of building our second homebase in Budapest. I am certain that our services will meet the expectations of Koreans and Hungarians. Tourism and business potential of the cooperation between Budapest and Seoul is huge - the annual passenger traffic on that route reaches 75,000, and the number of passengers travelling annually between the CEE region and Seoul exceeds 580,000. As a leader in the Central and Eastern Europe LOT responds to passengers needs offering them flights not to one but already to two European capitals, Warsaw and Budapest,” says Rafał Milczarski, LOT’s CEO.

The Budapest-Seoul flight takes approximately 11 hours. The new connection offered by the Polish airlines will allow the passengers to transfer to flights to Warsaw and London (LCY) and, starting from 30 March 2020, also to LOT’s flights from Budapest to: Brussels, Bucharest, Prague and Stuttgart.

Passengers travelling by Dreamliners can choose from three travel classes: LOT Business Class with flat-bed seats and the cuisine resembling the one of the best restaurants; LOT Premium Economy Class with larger, individual space and footrests, comfortable thigh support, cocktail tables and extensive menu as well as LOT Economy Class with modern seats and individual on-board entertainment screens as well as USB ports.

Especially for passengers travelling on the Budapest-Seoul route LOT has, inter alia, a Korean menu while the on-board entertainment system available in the Korean and Hungarian language versions features Korean and Hungarian movies. Ultimately LOT plans to ensure Korean- and Hungarian-speaking crew members on board each flight.

“Hungary is one of the key markets in the Central and Eastern Europe to LOT. To LOT, it is also a completely new chapter in leveraging our operations. For the first time in its 90-year history, LOT has launched a connection to Asia from outside Poland,” says Rafał Milczarski.

The launch of flights between Budapest and Seoul is another step in building LOT’s hub in Budapest. Starting from 30 March 2020, the number of flights operated by LOT from the capital of Hungary will total 12 – passengers will be able to fly directly to Warsaw, Krakow, London City, Bucharest, Brussels, Stuttgart, Prague, Belgrade, Sofia as well as New York City, Chicago and Seoul. To operate its newly announced European flights, three LOT’s Embraer 195s will be permanently stationed in Budapest. Starting from the next summer season, the carrier’s fleet in Budapest will amount to four short-distance aircraft and one Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Currently, LOT’s staff servicing its direct flights from Budapest totals 80 stewards and stewardesses and a dozen or so Hungarian pilots. It has been recruiting new candidates on a current basis and plans to have employed approx. 150 new pilots until the end of 2019 to work at its bases in Warsaw and Budapest. The launch of the new flights from Budapest is another element of the implementation of LOT’s profitable growth strategy the purpose of which is to build the position of leading airlines in the Central and Eastern Europe.Tickets to, among others, the new connections from Budapest to Seoul are available in all sales channels, including on lot.com

In 2018, LOT carried a record number of over 8.9 million passengers, up more than 2 million compared to 2017. This year the Polish airlines plan to carry over 10 million passengers. LOT uses more than 80 modern aircraft every day. The carrier's offer comprises as many as 111 scheduled flights all around the world.


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