Air Lituanica was a Lithuanian airline headquartered in Vilnius and based at Vilnius Airport. It ceased operations in May 2015.
History
Air Lituanica was registered in late May 2012. It was named after Lituanica, an aircraft commanded by Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas, two pioneer Lithuanian pilots that flew it on a transatlantic flight in 1933. The carrier sole owner, Air Vilnius Group, had an initial investment of LTL0.5 million. Air Vilnius Group was in turn owned by Šiaurės miestelis, which had been registered on May 21, 2012 as a subsidiary of the Vilnius City Municipality. Plans were to collect LTL43.5 million (EUR14 million) from a number of investors for the establishment of the new airline.
Air Lituanica was established in May 2013. The activation of the company was partly accelerated by the fact that Lithuania would take position in the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from July 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013. In May 2013 - when the airline's air operator's certificate had not yet been granted but it already had 27 employees – Air Lituanica announced Brussels as its first destination, with services to start on June 30, 2013.
Air Lituanica launched ticket sales in early June 2013 using Estonian Air's booking channels.[3]