Latvian and Lithuanian airlines fight for market position

A court in Lithuania has confiscated the Latvian airline airBaltic's assets in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, triggering a wave of indignation in Latvia. The court action was brought by Lithuanian airline flyLAL which claims it is being put at a disadvantage by restraints of trade at the airport in Riga. The daily newspaper Latvijas Avize fears an escalation of the dispute: "This conflict would perhaps not have taken on such dramatic proportions had the battle between two competing companies for a free position in the market not once again turned into a political dispute between two sister nations. This is what happened with the disagreements over the milk buy-off and the curd cheese confectionary and also over the issue of unclear borders. But with airlines there's the additional problem that many of them are at least partially state-owned and therefore regarded as more than just companies offering transport services; they are seen as a country's visiting card."

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