Katowice Pyrzowice International Airport has welcomed LOTOS - Air BP Polska as a supplier of aviation fuels ‘at the wing-tip’. Diversification of fuel suppliers is another step on the path to demonopolising the Polish aviation fuels market. A similar process took place amongst the air carriers a decade earlier, which brought a variety of benefits to passengers.

“One more fuel distributor is good news, primarily for the airlines, but indirectly also for passengers,” said Artur Tomasik, President of the Management Board of Górnośląskie Towarzystwo Lotnicze SA, Katowice Airport’s operator. “Fuel is a significant item in the overall operating costs of any airline. LOTOS - Air BP Polska is the fourth fuel operator providing services at our airport, and the important thing for us is that we will be dealing with a reliable partner with a strong market position. Working with them will be a significant factor in improving the profitability of the airlines operating at our airport.”

“LOTOS - Air BP Polska’s entry to Katowice Airport is another step in developing the aviation fuels market, and also shows how important a region Silesia is for us. We have been offering liquid fuels, engine oils and road bitumens to clients from this region for many years,” said Maciej Szozda, Vice-President of the Management Board, Chief Commercial Officer at Grupa LOTOS SA.

Katowice Airport, which is an increasingly important transit hub on the air transport map of Central Europe, is also Poland’s busiest regional airport in terms of the number of charter flights and air freight traffic that it handles. Pyrzowice itself is one of the most heavily urbanised and industrialised regions of Poland. The Upper Silesia conurbation, comprising more than a dozen cities, has a population of between 2 and 3.5m (according to different sources), which is more than that of Warsaw, Kraków or Prague. Investment in Silesia is attracting more and more business every year and the region’s tourism is growing as well, which means that in addition to its own ambitious prospects, Katowice Airport also enjoys considerable growth potential.

Last year alone, the airport handled around 29,000 flight operations (take-offs and landings).

The diversification of aviation fuel supplies at Katowice Airport is also another step on the path to demonopolising this segment of the fuel market. In its report on the liberalisation of the Polish air transport market, the Polish Competition and Consumer Protection Office (UOKiK) notes that the opening of Poland’s air transport market 10 years ago has led to an increase in the number of airlines operating in Poland, which has in turn intensified the competition on particular routes.

And thanks to market deregulation, airlines enjoy greater leeway in choosing their fuel suppliers.

“We want to continue attracting customers by supplying top products and logistics services,” says Artur Warsocki, President of LOTOS - Air BP Polska. “We currently offer direct supplies of Jet A1 fuel ‘at the wing-tip’ at Warsaw, Kraków and Gdańsk airports, and since January, also in Katowice.”

By offering fuel supplies ‘at the wing-tip’, the company is able to shorten the supply chain and control the entire aircraft refuelling process. Moreover, timely fuelling operations play a significant role in reducing an airline’s costs and increasing its profitability.

Cezary Orzech, GTL press officer, Phone: (+48) 600 281 798, Email: corzech@gtl.com.pl

Communication Office, Grupa LOTOS S.A., ul. Elbląska 135, 80-718 Gdańsk, Poland, phone: (+48) 58 308 87 31, (+48) 58 308 83 88, (+48) 58 308 83 55, email: media@grupalotos.pl