Apr 5, 2002 The Polish national airline LOT will join the Star Alliance led by Germany's Lufthansa, newspaper reports said yesterday."The treasury ministry has decided to have LOT apply to join the StarAlliance," the daily Rzczpospolita reported, citing unnamed sources.The daily Trybuna, close to ruling Democratic Left Alliance party, said the choice had been made in mid-March by Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek.LOT has been seeking a new aviation alliance since the collapse ofQualiflyer, following the bankruptcy last year of LOT's strategic investor Swissair.Three airlines have expressed interest in LOT, including Lufthansa,Scandinavian Airline System (SAS), which is also a member of the StarAlliance, and British Airways, which is a member of the Oneworld alliance.Swissair bought a 37.6 per cent stake in LOT for USD$184 million in 1999, but its interest shrank to 25.1 per cent due to later share issues.The Polish government now owns 67.96 per cent of LOT, with employees holding a 6.94 per cent stake.For 2001, LOT posted an unaudited net loss of 639.1 million zlotys, compared to a profit of 28.2 million zlotys in 2000. Leo/ORD