newstodate.aero

Nov 06, 2020 (newstodate): Lacking an own "national" carrier since the demise in May 2015 of the latest aborted attempt, Air Lituanica, Lithuania is keen to find ways to secure its air connectivity.
    The Minister of Transportation has repeatedly aired intentions for establishing a new state-owned virtual airline to start services already before the end of this year in cooperation with an existing airline providing flight operations and fleet.
   According to a release, the aim is to make Lithuania "independent of foreign air carriers' constantly changing strategies", and to reduce the country's reliance on foreign airlines.
   Refraining from naming the "foreign carriers" hinted at, the minister might have Latvia's airBaltic on his mind.
   Now, airBaltic is reportedly to set up a new Lithuanian subsidiary "to expand Lithuania's global connectivity" and to be managed by the carrier's Sales and Marketing Director for Lithuania, Yevgeny Kozyrev.
   Maybe the move by airBaltic is also prompted by the coming entry into Lithuania by two new ACMI carriers Heston Airlines and Global Airways that might potentially provide the operational capacity of a coming new purely Lithuanian virtual carrier, as hinted at by the country's Minister of Transportation.