newstodate.aero
OCT 21, 2004 (newstodate): We do not regret having acquired Air Lithuania, but we would of course have liked to have more time to adapt to the current challenges, says Armis Valiulis, Arijus general manager, that bought Air Lithuania from its former owner, Lithuanian Airlines, at a tender earlier this year.
-We are seeing fares down by 30 percent during the recent period, while passenger volumes have increased by another 30 percent, somewhat balancing the situation, he says.
-But we expect fares to drop even further, and we cannot expect passenger volumes to compensate in the time ahead. This leads to a difficult situation for civil aviation in a small market like Lithuania.
-As we operate at Palanga, we are only indirectly hit by the strong competition building up at Vilnius where SAS-owned airBaltic and Lithuanian Airlines are fighting for the market. There is not that far between Palanga where we fly to e.g. Hamburg, and Vilnius where our competitors fly to the same destination. So we do of course feel the impact here as well, says Mr Valiulis.
-Now rumours have it that British Airways is planning to come back to Vilnius from next spring, further adding to the competition if they really start operations which is not clear yet.
-Still, we do not regret our engagement in Air Lithuania. We would understandably have preferred to have more time to adjust to the new situation, but we never imagined that this would be a market without competitors, he says.
-We are seeing fares down by 30 percent during the recent period, while passenger volumes have increased by another 30 percent, somewhat balancing the situation, he says.
-But we expect fares to drop even further, and we cannot expect passenger volumes to compensate in the time ahead. This leads to a difficult situation for civil aviation in a small market like Lithuania.
-As we operate at Palanga, we are only indirectly hit by the strong competition building up at Vilnius where SAS-owned airBaltic and Lithuanian Airlines are fighting for the market. There is not that far between Palanga where we fly to e.g. Hamburg, and Vilnius where our competitors fly to the same destination. So we do of course feel the impact here as well, says Mr Valiulis.
-Now rumours have it that British Airways is planning to come back to Vilnius from next spring, further adding to the competition if they really start operations which is not clear yet.
-Still, we do not regret our engagement in Air Lithuania. We would understandably have preferred to have more time to adjust to the new situation, but we never imagined that this would be a market without competitors, he says.