LOT Polish Airlines has retired its last Embraer E170, ending a 22-year career that began when the Polish carrier operated the world's first commercial flight by an E-Jet.
The final aircraft, SP-LDH, completed its last passenger rotation between Warsaw and Vienna on October 30. LOT deliberately chose the same route used by SP-LDA on March 17, 2004, when the E170 entered commercial service for the first time.
LOT operated ten E170s during the period, configured with between 70 and 76 seats. According to the airline, the aircraft carried 13.8 million passengers on nearly 300,000 flights and accumulated more than 455,000 flight hours.
The E170 was more than a new aircraft for LOT. Its introduction marked the commercial debut of the entire E-Jet family, which would become one of Embraer's most important programs.
Almost every E-Jet
LOT's history with Embraer actually predates the E-Jet. The airline introduced the 48-seat ERJ 145 in 1999 and later operated all four members of the first-generation E-Jet family: the E170, E175, E190 and E195.
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The relationship reached the second-generation E-Jet in 2024, when LOT added three leased E195-E2s with 136 seats. The airline therefore operated every major E-Jet variant except the E190-E2.
The arrival of the E195-E2 came as LOT evaluated the E2 against the Airbus A220 for a much larger renewal of its regional fleet. Its familiarity with Embraer appeared to favor the Brazilian manufacturer: LOT already had crews, maintenance infrastructure and more than two decades of experience with its aircraft.
The outcome was different. In June 2025, LOT selected the A220 and placed its first-ever Airbus aircraft order, covering 20 A220-100s and 20 A220-300s. Purchase rights for another 44 aircraft could eventually take the fleet to 84 A220s.
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The 40 firm aircraft are scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2031, with the A220-300 expected to arrive first. LOT began removing E175s before the arrival of the first A220, while E190s, E195s and the three E195-E2s remain in service.
Even the recently delivered E195-E2s are expected to leave eventually as LOT moves toward an all-A220 regional fleet.
Geopolitics and the A220
Embraer publicly questioned the circumstances surrounding the decision. The manufacturer maintained that the E2 was the best technical option for LOT and said the airline could have saved millions of euros by retaining the same aircraft family.
After losing the competition, Embraer said it understood that the industry was living through an exceptional period in which “geopolitics play an important role”. LOT is state-owned, and the A220 announcement at the Paris Air Show was attended by government representatives from Poland and France, which had signed a mutual security and cooperation treaty a month earlier.
LOT, however, said the selection was based on economic considerations. The airline argued that the A220 offered the combination of capacity and range required for its expansion plans.
