Lithuania's Own Airline Takes to the Skies

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SOON after the breakup of the Soviet Union, scheduled flights on Aeroflot barely got off the ground.

Shortages of fuel and parts and poor employee morale left the airline stranded.

But in Lithuania at least, the privatization of part of what was once the world's largest air carrier has become a test run for competing in the open market.

With more than a dozen flight-worthy planes left by Aeroflot and a new Boeing 737 leased from GPA of Ireland, Lithuanian Airlines (LAL) now has 12 flights a week from Vilnius to Berlin, Frankfurt, Warsaw, and Copenhagen. London and Paris are on the near-term wish list. LAL will also continue to fly more than 1 million …