The official statement

The Lithuanian State Property Fund (SPF)officially confirmed that the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS)is taking part in a tender for the sale of 34 percent of shares in the national air carrier Lietuvos Avialinijos (Lithuanian Airlines, or LAL). According to the statement, the SPF sent a letter to Lars Lindgren, senior vice-president of SAS, saying that the potential buyer complies with the qualification criteria defined in the program for LAL' privatization. The Finnish air carrier Finnair had also expressed keen interest in LAL' privatization, but following the expiry of the deadline of Feb. 7 to submit applications for the privatization tender, Finnair announced to have cancelled its plans. SAS is the world's 15 biggest airline, owning about 200 airplanes and covering over 90 routes per day. Last year, SAS carried over 22 million passengers.