Air Lituanica was founded following the bankruptcy of Lithuania’s first national carrier, flyLAL. While Air Lituanica created a sense of optimism that the country would finally have its viable airline, the carrier, however, operated only for a short period of time. So, what happened to the airline? Let’s take a look at the history Air Lituanica.

The establishment of Air Lituanica

After the bankruptcy of flyLAL-Lithuanian Airlines, the country’s capital Vilnius lost a significant number of direct flights to key destinations across Europe. This meant that Lithuania depended on foreign commercial airlines, namely low-cost carriers such as Ryanair or Wizz Air.

According to the Vilnius city government, Lithuania needed an airline not only to boost tourism but to attract more business travelers who spend more money and wish to avoid traveling with low-cost airlines.

Consequently, named after an interwar transatlantic odyssey by two Lithuanian pilots, Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas, a new airline called Air Lituanica was established as a business entity in May 2012.

While the Vilnius city government owned the majority stake in the airline, a group of private investors also invested in Air Lituanica. Almost 17% of the ownership belonged to 15 private investors who later dubbed themselves the Air Lituanica Club.

Air Lituanica started its operations between its base at Vilnius International Airport (VNO) and Brussels on June 30, 2013, more than a year after its establishment. The airline’s inaugural flight was operated by a 76-seat Embraer ERJ-170 jet leased from neighboring rival Estonian Air.

An Air Lituanica Embraer jet taxiing at VNO airport
Photo: Karolis Kavolelis | Shutterstock

In September 2013, the airline leased a larger-capacity jet, the Embraer ERJ-175, from Irish lessor ECC Leasing Company. Air Lituanica needed the new aircraft to open its second route between Vilnius and Amsterdam.

Get the latest aviation news straight to your inbox: Sign up for our newsletters today.

Declared bankruptcy and shattered dreams

The dream of having a major Lithuanian commercial airline was shattered when Air Lituanica declared bankruptcy and ceased operations on May 22, 2015, reducing the number of direct flights from Vilnius. The airline was not able to stay afloat due to financial difficulties.

In an interview with Delfi in 2015, Lithuanian travel expert Robertas Pogorelis indicated two significant reasons why the airline faced financial difficulties and subsequently failed. He said:

“First, there was a lack of investment funds needed to cover the operating losses of the first couple of years. Without a strategic investor, the authorized capital was increased in questionable ways - primarily with municipal assets.

“Second, from the very beginning, this company was seen as a political project of one person - Artūras Zuokas - which in itself caused huge risks. Competing politicians constantly scolded him, and there was a lack of support from the government.”

Meanwhile, Rimvydas Sirvinskas, a Lithuanian travel e​​xpert, told Delfi that for Air Lituanica to recover from the red, “it was necessary to wait, expand, and offer more destinations.”

Throughout its existence, Air Lituanica had a total of just three aircraft in its fleet, including an Embraer ERJ-170 jet, an Embraer ERJ-175 jet, and an ATR 42 turboprop, which was leased from Danish Air Transport (DAT), according to Planespotters.net data.

Up until its declared bankruptcy, Air Lituanica operated flights across ten destinations.

Sources: Air Lituanica, Delfi, Planespotters.net