LOT: UNKNOWN TRIVIA FROM THE HISTORY OF POLAND'S NATIONAL CARRIER
LOT Polish Airlines: Discovering unkown trivia from the history of Poland's national carrier. Interview with the son of LOT Polish Airlines' former CEO [VIDEO]
Wacław Makowski was the CEO of LOT Polish Airlines just before World War II as well as the first pilot to be trained from scratch in independent Poland. Makowski purchased the world’s most advanced passenger aircraft for LOT Polish Airlines. The former head of LOT Polish Airlines and skilled aviator effected a breakthrough in thinking about civil aviation – he turned an expensive toy available only to the elite into a means of transport. He was brave, charismatic, unstoppable and, on top of that, handsome. In a nutshell: a miracle of nature and all the rest. He was second to none in the military. He fought in the Battle of Britain, became the first pilot to be trained from scratch in independent Poland, and with his words: “It more than suits me!” he agreed to take the helm of command of LOT Polish Airlines. LOT’s biggest competitor wanted him, but as befits a military man – he refused in soldierly terms. There was a time of great crisis. No one even dared to think, dream or, most certainly, take action to turn civil aviation, considered an expensive toy, into a means of transport. Well, almost nobody. They would say it could not be done, but Wacław Makowski, the CEO of LOT, did not know it could not be done, so he did it – he bought the most modern passenger aircraft in the world. One of them – the Lockheed L-14-H Super Electra – he personally brought by air to Poland. And “only” the fact that World War II broke out meant that LOT Polish Airlines had not flown across the Atlantic for almost 90 years.
More tidbits in an exclusive interview with Wacław Makowski’s son, Jacek Makowski.