THY is buying LOT?

[hakan]

THY's Chairman Mr. Topcu has told CNNTURK that THY has started negotiations with LOT and Polish authorities to buy LOT Polish Airlines.

Source in Turkish: http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/ekonomi/19742406.asp

[kiwiandrew]

Presumably it would be to buy up to 49% rather than to buy LOT outright.

At the risk of getting flamed I can't see this being successful. To put it politely, in my limited experience, Poland is not a country which particularly embraces other ethnicities or cultures, and I can see any attempt by TK to make any serious investment in LOT quickly becoming sidetracked into a cultural/ethnic/religious debate rather than being a simple matter of business.

[ticketbuyer]

In English from Daily Zaman 22/01/2012
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-269276- ... quest.html

[earthman]

Yes I can already hear how they yell "we stopped the turks at Vienna in 1683 and now they buy our airline!".

On the other hand, Poland is one of the few EU countries supporting a Turkish EU membership, not in the last place because the Ottoman empire was about the only country who didn't recognize the division of Poland back in the 18th/19th century. Also unlike many Western countries, Poland has hardly any Turkish immigrants, and those that are there are certainly not the same kind of stereotype-generating immigrants from poor rural areas that are so common in Western countries. I would actually dare to say that the Polish view of Turkey and Turks is more positive than in most western countries.

Also, and this is probably more important, Turkey is not a neighbor of Poland. If LH were to take over LOT, they would try to move as many passengers as they could to one of their own hubs in Germany. THY might actually be more interested in expanding the network from WAW.

[chrisflyer]

To put it politely, in my limited experience, Poland is not a country which particularly embraces other ethnicities or cultures, and I can see any attempt by TK to make any serious investment in LOT quickly becoming sidetracked into a cultural/ethnic/religious debate rather than being a simple matter of business.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black... What kind of short-sighted, bigoted statement is that??

At least you mention that your experience is "limited" which your post indeed confirms.