RIGA — The transport ministers of the three Baltic states have begun preliminary discussions on the creation of a pan-Baltic airline, an outgrowth of meetings the three men held last week in Palanga, Lithuania.

The three countries considered creating an airline together in the 90s but the idea was scuttled in favor of national airlines for each of the small states. But in light of the shutdown of Lithuania’s flyLAL airline and Estonian Air’s recent financial problems, the idea has come back in vogue.

At a press conference Friday in Riga, Lithuanian transport minister Eligijus Masiulis said the idea would be analyzed by the three governments before any concrete proposals were put forth.

Estonian economy and communication minister Juhan Parts rubbished creating a state-owned airline. State support of Latvia’s airBaltic airline in the form of discounted tariffs at Riga International Airport was declared an anti-competitive business practice and ordered to stop by the country’s Competition Council. Meanwhile the now-defunct flyLAL has taken airBaltic to court for other anti-competitive actions, accusing airBaltic of price dumping.

Status quo OK with Latvia

Latvian transport minister Kaspers Gerhards said his government would only support a pan-Baltic airline if Riga International Airport maintained its current position as the dominant hub of the three countries.

Today Bertolt Flick, the president and CEO of Latvia’s state-owned airline airBaltic announced that his company would be open to becoming the pan-Baltic airline, should the three governments chose to pump the tax payer’s money into airBaltic instead of creating a competitor.

“If the airline’s capital base is expanded, airBaltic will expand even more rapidly than before in the Baltic states,” Flick said in a press release.