newstodate.aero
Jan 18, 2010 (newstodate): The idea of setting up a joint pan-Baltic airline to serve the markets of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is still alive.
The project was on the agenda at a high-level government meeting in Lithuania on Monday, January 11, 2010, and while few details are yet available, it has been confirmed by a source in the Lithuanian Ministry of Transportation that it was decided to go forward with the initial preparatory work.
At a meting between the three Baltic transport ministers last summer, it was agreed to set up an expert working group to study the prospect for a joint pan-Baltic airline.
It is fair to assume the Lithuanian government meeting last week has been evaluating the findings and recommendations of the expert working group.
Lithuanian is especially keen to see a solution to this as its national carrier, flyLAL went bankrupt by the start of 2009, and aviation services by foreign carriers are only now beginning to return to the troubled market and its capital airport at Vilnius.
Also Lithuania has ruled out the possibility of setting up a new national carrier on state investments.
Estonia's Estonian Air is also at a turn-stile as SAS and the Estonian state are in talks over sale of SAS' stake in the carrier, and the carrier's future strategy is therefore shrouded in clouds.
Only Latvia's airBaltic is thriving and steadily expanding its network serving all three Baltic markets with a growing supply of international services.
The project was on the agenda at a high-level government meeting in Lithuania on Monday, January 11, 2010, and while few details are yet available, it has been confirmed by a source in the Lithuanian Ministry of Transportation that it was decided to go forward with the initial preparatory work.
At a meting between the three Baltic transport ministers last summer, it was agreed to set up an expert working group to study the prospect for a joint pan-Baltic airline.
It is fair to assume the Lithuanian government meeting last week has been evaluating the findings and recommendations of the expert working group.
Lithuanian is especially keen to see a solution to this as its national carrier, flyLAL went bankrupt by the start of 2009, and aviation services by foreign carriers are only now beginning to return to the troubled market and its capital airport at Vilnius.
Also Lithuania has ruled out the possibility of setting up a new national carrier on state investments.
Estonia's Estonian Air is also at a turn-stile as SAS and the Estonian state are in talks over sale of SAS' stake in the carrier, and the carrier's future strategy is therefore shrouded in clouds.
Only Latvia's airBaltic is thriving and steadily expanding its network serving all three Baltic markets with a growing supply of international services.