On the same festive day this year, it already offers flights to Paris, Munich, Prague, Berlin, Billund and Tallinn to its passengers. Air Lituanica operated the total of approximately 2,000 flights per year.
The head of Dance and Movement Department at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, dance critic Ingrida Gerbutaviciute, who flied to Berlin on 29 June, became the airline's 100,000th passenger. "I often fly with Air Lituanica because I work between Vilnius and Berlin, so I was very lucky that direct flights to Berlin became available at a convenient time," says Ms. Gerbutaviciute, wishing the Lithuanian airline long years ahead and expansion to other countries.
Air Lituanica's aircrafts flew the total of around 2.5 million km per year, spent nearly half a year in the air, burnt over 6,500 tonnes of fuel and carried about 2,000 tonnes of baggage. Over that time passengers drank around 6,000 cups of coffee and were distributed about 600 kg of candies on board. 17 flight attendants take care of Air Lituanica's passengers; 11 pilots are in charge of aircraft control; 4 full-time aircraft maintenance technicians ensure flight security and all passenger questions are answered by 7 client service specialists.
The airline, which has met and exceeded its expectations for passenger numbers, expands its flight portfolio according to a certain plan: aircrafts currently rise from Vilnius Airport 43 times a week. Regular direct flights from Vilnius to Brussels, Berlin, Prague, Munich, Paris and Tallinn are operated by two aircrafts. The airline also flies to Gothenburg, Malmö and Billund during the summer season and is going to launch flights to Amsterdam from 31 August.
Next year the airline is planning to expand its fleet with new aircrafts and to add new destinations to the existing routes. During the upcoming year Air Lituanica also plans to carry over 150,000 passengers and be one of the leaders of traditional air carriers operating at Vilnius Airport. Over the next two years Air Lituanica expects to expand its flight portfolio to 13-16 routes and to carry 500-600 thousand passengers.
