LOT Polish Airlines has retired its last Embraer E170, closing a chapter that began when it became the first airline worldwide to put the aircraft into commercial service in March 2004.
The final aircraft, registered SP-LDH, completed its last passenger rotation between Warsaw and Vienna on 30 October 2026. The route mirrored the destination of LOT’s inaugural E170 passenger flight more than 22 years earlier.
Across their time with the airline, LOT’s 10 E170s carried 13.8 million passengers and operated nearly 300,000 flights.
Vienna links the first and final flights
LOT’s first E170, SP-LDA, arrived in Warsaw on 8 March 2004 after a delivery journey from Embraer’s manufacturing facilities in São José dos Campos, Brazil.
The aircraft made stops in Recife, Cape Verde and Málaga before reaching Poland. On 17 March, it carried its first passengers from Warsaw to Vienna, launching commercial operations for the E170 worldwide.
Configured with 70 seats, SP-LDA remained in LOT’s fleet until 2014.
“It is a symbolic moment that closes a specific chapter – for it was to Vienna, on 17 March 2004, that the first E170 in the LOT livery flew, marking the beginning of the global commercial service history for this model,” said LOT spokesperson Krzysztof Moczulski.
Regional fleet carried 13.8 million passengers
LOT operated the E170 on domestic and European routes, including services to Prague, Copenhagen and Budapest. Depending on the aircraft, cabins accommodated between 70 and 76 passengers.
The fleet accumulated more than 455,000 flight hours and travelled over 230 million kilometres, according to the airline.
For passengers, the aircraft’s two-by-two seating layout meant there were no middle seats. The E170 also introduced winglets and fully electronic fly-by-wire flight controls to LOT’s fleet.
Several aircraft carried distinctive promotional liveries during their service, including designs featuring the painting Lady with an Ermine, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity and Star Alliance colours.
Other Embraer models remain in service
The E170’s retirement does not end LOT’s relationship with the Brazilian manufacturer.
The airline continues to operate Embraer E175, E190 and E195 aircraft, alongside newer E195-E2 models, across its route network.
