The government is considering consolidating LOT of PKP Intercity, and perhaps PKP Cargo. It’s a curious idea – Politics

The fact that LOT has serious problems, we all know for a long time. It is true that for a moment it seemed that with the help of the public (more than half a billion of our pockets) and low oil prices finally goes to a simple, but it was futile hopes.

It turns out that the loss for the previous year despite very cheap fuel, it can reach up to 250 million zł. If you believe the leaks from the treasury to the media, the government is considering consolidating LOT of PKP Intercity, and perhaps PKP Cargo. In this way, the national carrier would get the money to survive. This is of course another form of public assistance, which officially, at least for the next ten years to get a LOT longer can.

The cooperation of air carriers and rail is standard in countries that have trains at a high level. In the case of high-speed rail airline does not pay to just compete with them. Therefore they offer its passengers in the ticket price rail access to the port hub and onward travel by plane. Such offers also said to be in Poland, unfortunately, without effect.

And they would have a lot of sense especially when you start Pendolino and shorten travel time between the capital and Krakow, Katowice and Gdansk. PKP Intercity and LOT should therefore start continued cooperation. Certainly you know it new CEO of LOT Rafal Milczarski, having considerable experience in the railway industry.

However, this does not mean in any way that these companies would merge. This curious idea has not yet been realized anywhere, and not without reason. Aviation and railways are two completely different businesses, fulfilling a different function. The airline has to cope alone, without the support of the state, offering services for those who depend on time.

Meanwhile, the railways should play an important social mission. Not coincidentally PKP Intercity receives a grant to run trains TLK and IC, so that tickets for these connections are much lower than those for the EIC (as coffee) and EIP (ie Pendolino).

Even hard to imagine how would operate a rail-air juggernaut. Our national carrier also does not help that he, just because PKP Intercity is not profitable company. Over the years he brought considerable losses. Now that the truth is a little bit better, but still the company needs lots of money for further investments to continue recovering passengers. If this puzzle make even PKP Cargo, to date, actually profitable, the result would be rather plunges the second European rail freight carrier than rescue LOT.

This line needs not utopian marriage to rail, but the investor – the best the industry, through which enters into one of the big airline companies. Sam is in fact doomed to be devoured, which is best shown by the results for the previous year. LOT has brought losses, while its main competitors – Ryanair, Wizz Air and even troubled by strikes Lufthansa – celebrate lavish profits.

However, we know that the reluctant foreign capital PiS will do anything to keep control of the LOT terminal em. Even if it means that patients considering scenarios like this with the air-rail merger.