RUSSIA: S7 Airlines Starts New Flights

S7 Airlines has used the last week to commence flights on 13 new city pairs.

Two of the oneworld carrier’s routes will be flown at low frequency – its sectors from Novosibirsk (OVB) to Neryungri (NER).

From the same Russian airport to Tokyo Narita (NRT) will be operated just weekly – whereas it will offer a daily rotation from Novosibirsk to Krasnojarsk (KJA).

As a result of this recent network expansion, S7 will offer 94 non-stop destinations from Moscow Domodedovo (DME), 67 from Novosibirsk, and 17 from St. Petersburg (LED).

S7 Airlines has used the last seven days to start eight new routes from four different Russian airports to destinations in Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain and Uzbekistan.

The longest sector is the 5,256-kilometre route from Moscow Domodedovo (DME) to Tenerife South (TFS), whereas the shortest city pair is the domestic hop from St. Petersburg (LED) to Perm (PEE), at 1,485 kilometres.

The average distance for all eight routes is 2,723 kilometres.

S7 Airlines will begin operating direct scheduled flights from Moscow to the Icelandic capital Reykjavik ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, the company said in a statement published on the official website.

S7 Airlines, part of the Oneworld airline Alliance, will begin operating direct scheduled flights to Reykjavik on June 9, the statement said.

S7 Airlines will become the only Russian airline to offer direct flights to Iceland.

Iceland have qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history and will face Argentina, Nigeria and Croatia in Group D.

With a population of around 350,000, Iceland will be the smallest nation ever to play at the tournament.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums across 11 Russian cities.

S7 Airlines, legally PJSC Siberia Airlines, is an airline headquartered in Ob, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia with offices in Moscow.

It is Russia's biggest domestic airline, with its main bases at Domodedovo International Airport and Tolmachevo Airport.

S7 has operated scheduled passenger flights to destinations in Russia, as well as international services to Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, PR China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea (South), Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Montenegro, Spain, Sweden, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.

S7 codeshares with the following airlines:

- Aegean Airlines

- Aeroflot

- Air Italy

- Air Moldova

- Asiana Airlines

- Aurora

- Belavia

- British Airways

- Cathay Dragon

- Cathay Pacific

- Cyprus Airways

- El Al

- Emirates

- Etihad Airways

- Hainan Airlines

- Iberia

- Japan Airlines

- Montenegro Airlines

- Nordavia

- NordStar

- Qatar Airways

- Royal Jordanian

- Singapore Airlines

- TAP Air Portugal

- Ural Airlines

- Uzbekistan Airways

- Yamal Airlines

On 29 May 2007, the airline announced a proposed order for 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners scheduled for delivery in 2014, with an option for 10 additional aircraft.

However, the order was officially cancelled on 29 January 2009, with S7 stating that it was considering the possibility of taking the aircraft under a leasing scheme.

As of November 2008, all Soviet-made aircraft had left the fleet.

In April 2018, S7 renewed interest in the Sukhoi Superjet by planning to purchase 25 Sukhoi Superjet 75 aircraft, with an option of 50 more for the new modification of the Superjet family, and become the launch customer.

This choice is explained by replacing Embraer E-170 aircraft, due to their age. The airline plans to commence operations on this aircraft from 2023.

On 4 October 2001, Siberia Airlines Flight 1812, a Tupolev Tu-154M, registration RA-85693, en route from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk crashed into the Black Sea off Sochi.

This after being hit with a S-200V surface-to-air missile fired as part of a Ukrainian Air Defense exercise staged off Cape Opuk or Chuluk in Crimea.

All 78 people on board were killed.

On 24 August 2004, Siberia Airlines Flight 1047, a Tupolev Tu-154B2, registration RA-85556, en route from Moscow to Sochi exploded and crashed due to a terrorist bombing near Rostov-on-Don, Russia, killing all 46 people on board.

On 9 July 2006, S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310 carrying 193 passengers and 10 crew members, suffered a landing accident at the Irkutsk International Airport in Siberia.

The jet failed to decelerate on landing, overran the runway and crashed into a concrete barricade. 125 people died.


Tourism Observer

KAZAKHSTAN: SCAT Airlines Switching Destination Airport From Domodedovo To Vnukovo

Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines is in the process of switching the destination airport for its three Moscow services from Domodedovo to Vnukovo. The carrier performed its first flight into Vnukovo from Aktobe on September 6. By October 29, it will have similarly changed the Moscow destination for its other two routes, from Shymkent and Aktau.

This is our 20th year in operation, and we are currently working to develop our route network, SCAT Vice-President Marketing Alexandra Sytnik said. At the current stage, we find that Vnukovo offers convenient maintenance options, an appealing price policy, and a chance of concluding agreements with other airlines.

We have also received multiple requests from passengers to transfer to Vnukovo, which is located closer to the city and offers connection flights that are interesting to them.

Sytnik added that moving to Vnukovo should help the carrier keep its current prices despite the weaking Kazakhstani currency.

SCAT is the first Kazakh airline to launch flights to Vnukovo. The Russian capital city is a key destination for the airline, which expects traffic on its Moscow routes to grow further. In the first seven months of 2017 the figure stood at 33,800 passengers. up 16.5% year-on-year.

The carrier also plans to develop its route network through interline, code-sharing, and special prorate agreements.

We believe that Vnukovo will help us with this, Sytnik announced at the inauguration news conference for the Aktobe-Moscow route.

We will thus offer a great network of connection flights to Kazakh citizens, whereas Russian citizens will avail of our domestic route network, which is the most extensive in Kazakhstan.

This will give travelers the possibility to reach the farther corners of our country.

Sytnik said that SCAT is currently negotiating a possible interline and special prorate agreement, complete with full baggage transfer, with Russia’s UTair Aviation.

The latter uses Vnukovo as one of its bases, and performs about 160 flights per day from there.

SCAT Airlines currently operates 45 domestic and 22 international routes.

Its international destinations are in CIS countries and Georgia, as well as in China and Turkey.

The airline offers routes to several Russian cities other than Moscow, including Astrakhan, Krasnodar, Sochi, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, and Kazan.

At present, SCAT is not allowed to operate flights between Moscow and Kazakhstan’s two largest cities, Astana and Almaty: the current intergovernmental agreements permits the two countries to designate only one operator each for these routes.

For the same reasons, Sytnik said the carrier cannot fly from Astana to Zhukovsky, another airport serving Moscow.

The airline believes that Zhukovsky offers great potential for cargo transportation.

The carrier is considering launching flights to Russia’s Orenburg, Chelyabinsk and St. Petersburg, and might relaunch operations to Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Tomsk.


Tourism Observer

RUSSIA; S7 Airlines Opening New Flights From Moscow To Murmans

S7 Airlines, a oneworld® global airline alliance member, announced the opening of new flights from Moscow to Murmansk. Tickets are available now.

Starting 27 August 2017, there will be direct flights from the Moscow airport Domodedovo to Murmansk on Sundays and return flights on Mondays. Flights will depart from Domodedovo airport at 23:50 and arrive in Murmansk at 2:25. Return flights will depart from Murmansk airport at 5:15 and arrive in Moscow at 7:45. The flights will be carried out on modern and comfortable Airbus A319 airliners.

“A lot of people dream of seeing the northern lights. We are pleased to offer our passengers the way for their dreams to come true by taking direct flights of S7 Airlines to Murmansk, the real jewel of the Russian North. Besides, passengers from Murmansk will have the opportunity to travel to the cities of the expansive route network S7 Airlines with the connection at the Moscow airport Domodedovo,” says Igor Veretennikov, the Commerce Director of S7 Airlines.

Air tickets can be purchased at s7.ru, through the iPhone app or the Android app, and at any S7 sales office. You can also learn accurate flight information, book and buy tickets by calling our Contact Centre at 8 8008 700-0707 (free for Russia).

S7 Airlines (“Siberia” airlines brand, s7.ru) is a member of the oneworld® global aviation alliance.

The airline has a wide internal route network, created on the basis of air transport hubs in Moscow (Domodedovo) and Novosibirsk (Tolmachevo). S7 Airlines also performs regular flights to countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Europe, the Near East, Southeast Asia and countries of the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2007 the company received an official IATA certificate as an IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) operator, becoming the second air carrier in Russia to have successfully passed the full international audit procedure for compliance with operational safety standards.

S7 Airlines is one of the most reliable airlines of Russia, it implements latest achievements of the world's industry in passenger services and develops its own services dynamically.

Today S7 Airlines has the newest and one of the most modern aircraft fleets on the Russian air transportation market. All flights of the airline are performed by the aircraft of the world’s leading manufacturers.

S7 Airlines is in top 100 of the best airlines of the world and ranks third in the Eastern Europe, as indicated by the authoritative international rating Skytrax.

S7 Airlines was a multiple winner of the Wings of Russia National Aviation Awards in different categories.

S7 Airlines was a multiple winner of the Cannes Lions advertising festival awards for implemented projects, and My Planet National Awards for discoveries in travel sphere.

S7 Airlines won “Best Russian Airline” at 2015 National Geographic Traveler Awards.

At the end of 2016, S7 Airlines became the winner of Skyway Service Award aviation award in three categories: the best airline in category “Economy Class, Domestic Scheduled Services”, “Best Loyalty Program” and “Best Online Customer Services.”

The airline is a member of the S7 Group of companies. In 2016 Group member airlines carried more than 13.1 million passengers.



Tourism Observer

KAZAKHSTAN: Air Astana And Lufthansa Sign Codeshare Deal

Air Astana and Lufthansa have enhanced their cooperation with the signing of a codeshare agreement.

The codeshare agreement is valid on Air Astana’s flights between Astana and Frankfurt and Lufthansa’s flights from Frankfurt to Almaty and Astana.

The agreement allows for increased choice for the customers of both airlines. Passengers will now be able to choose from a combined total of 14 flights per week instead of the seven weekly flights between Kazakhstan and Germany by each carrier.

This is particularly convenient for connecting passengers, who now have the ability to choose the flight that suits their schedule best, with seamless connectivity.

Regardless of the operating carrier, passengers can fly a combination of Air Astana and Lufthansa services using the ticket and code of either of the two airlines.

I’m delighted that the longstanding co-operative relationship between Air Astana and Lufthansa is being further strengthened with the signing of the codeshare agreement.

Passengers flying from Almaty and Astana to Frankfurt can now enjoy a greater choice of flights to best suit their schedules and the convenience of simply using the ticket of either of the two airlines, said Peter Foster, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Astana.

This is a winning step for both airlines and their passengers flying between Kazakhstan and Germany.

Axel Hilgers, Senior Director Sales Russia, CIS & Israel, said: This code share agreement is great news for our customers as it makes Kazakhstan more accessible. Passengers of both Lufthansa and Air Astana will have a much greater choice in flight options.

Kazakhstan is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world and we highly welcome Air Astana as our new partner, and as the leading airline to and from Central Asia.

Besides improved connectivity of the combined network of the two airlines, customers will enjoy the seamless convenience of flying with a single ticket, using a single code of their airline that can provide through check in for both baggage and boarding pass/registration.

In order to provide an increased convenience for its passengers, Air Astana will move to Terminal 1 at Frankfurt Airport for ease of connectivity with Lufthansa and partner airline flights.

Meanwhile, Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s Skytrax award-winning national airline, returns to London Olympia with the announcement of a fifth weekly direct flight – on Sundays – from London Heathrow (LHR) to Kazakhstan’s capital city, Astana (TSE), effective 4th June 2017.

The new service departs T4 at 1715, arriving 0540 the following morning in Astana, a 6.25hr journey.

The return departs Astana at 1455hrs local time, arriving 1605hr the same day, a 7.10 flight.

The new service, conveniently timed ahead of the capital’s hosting of Expo 2017 (June 10th to September, 2017) complements existing departures to Astana on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Passengers flying direct with Air Astana, the only direct service between the two capitals, also benefit from seamless same-day connections to Kazakhstan’s second city Almaty and international destinations including Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital; Urumqi, northwest China; Tbilisi, Georgia; and the Russian cities of Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg.

Air Astana offers a three class product aboard its comfortable Boeing 757 aircraft – 16 seats in business; 108 in economy and up to 12 innovative Economy Sleeper Seats, which afford more personal space and privacy with a guaranteed row of three seats in the front of the Economy class cabin.

Return fares start from £498 for Economy Class, £1,505 for an Economy Sleeper, and £1,968 for Business Class. Fares include all taxes and are valid for year round departures from London including the peak season.

BELARUS: Belavia Acquires New Boeing 737-800

Belarusian flag carrier Belavia has finalized the acceptance of new narrow-body Boeing 737-800s under a contract inked in 2014. The airplane with the tail number EW-457PA turned out to be the last one in the batch of three aircraft, the airline reported on its Facebook page.

The newly arrived airliner received a revamped livery just like the two previous aircraft delivered in August and September.

The new look of the airplanes is the part of the airline’s branding project.

Belavia’s acquisition of all three aircraft is brokered by the Bank of Development of the Republic of Belarus.

The carrier underlines that the new airliners will allow it to reduce operational costs and, thus, bring down ticket prices.

The Boeings will replace company’s Soviet-era Tupolev Tu-154Ms.

Therefore, Belavia sticks to its previously announced plans of switching to Western-made aircraft operations only.

Belavia arrives in Zhukovsky.

Belavia launched daily flights between Minsk and Moscow's Zhukovsky in September 2016.

Belarusian flag carrier Belavia has launched a daily Moscow service from Minsk to Zhukovsky (IATA code ZIA) in September, with evening flights departing both capitals on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and morning flights on the other days.

"This odd-even timetable is deliberate," reveals Ihar Charhinets, the airline’s deputy general director for marketing. "As we develop the route we are planning to add three more morning flights and four evening flights per week to eventually operate twice-daily services each way; this winter's timetable will include an additional Friday evening flight.

“We are gauging the route's popularity with 76-seat Embraer E175s, with a view to increasing capacity as required. Several flights have already been performed with 148-seat Boeing 737-300s.

On certain days of the week we will be flying bigger Boeings instead of the Embraers," he adds.

The inauguration of the Minsk-Zhukovsky service may have strategic significance for Belavia.

Belarus and Russia enjoy a fairly liberal intergovernmental agreement on bilateral air services: there are no restrictions on the number of designated carriers, destinations served, capacities, or frequencies.

The only exception is the Minsk-Moscow route, on which either side has the right to operate seven flights per week, a concession currently being used to the full by both sides.

Belavia, which already operates to Moscow’s Domodedovo (DME), is the designated Belarusian carrier for the city pair, with Aeroflot and Utair the Russian operators, and even though it is located just outside of Moscow (some 43 km from the city centre), Zhukovsky is not formally regarded as a Moscow airport.

This affords Belavia access without any restrictions.

Although the new Moscow airport remains underserved by public transport, the regional administration promises this situation will improve as passenger numbers grow over time the Zhukovsky management plans to serve 350,000 to 400,000 passengers this year and up to two million in 2017.

For Belavia, adding the Zhukovsky service to its existing Domodedovo portfolio is of strategic importance especially with regard to developing its transit traffic through Minsk.

"The Zhukovsky flight connects passengers to virtually all our European services," Charhinets notes. "We make a point of developing transfer services. The population of Belarus stands at just 9.5 million, which is less than the population of Moscow, not to mention the entire Moscow region.

The demand for point-to-point out of Minsk is there, but it is limited. Our strategy, therefore, is to go with the transfer business model; at present, more than 30 per cent of our passengers take connecting flights."

The current economic situation in Belarus has been stifling demand for direct flights. More than 50 per cent of the Belarusian economy is linked to Russia, so we are affected by the same economic processes," Charhinets explains.

The population's purchasing power in dollar equivalent has shrunk and our costs, just like those incurred by all the other carriers, are denominated in dollars.

But we cannot adjust our fares directly by tying them to the euro exchange of the day, because this way we will not be able to sell any tickets. We have to look for alternative solutions."

Belavia has been lucky in a way: because of the soured relations between Russia and Ukraine, bilateral air services between the two stopped on October 25, 2015, thereby prompting a significant number of passengers to fly via Minsk instead.

As a result, from spring 2016, Kyiv-Minsk has been the busiest route linking Ukraine and Belarus. Furthermore, an intergovernmental agreement liberalising air services between Belarus and Ukraine has enabled Belavia to increase its frequencies between Minsk and Kyiv from two to five a day, and inaugurate services from Minsk to Odesa, Kharkiv and Lviv.

Charhinets dismisses the luck factor though. We first introduced our transfer business model five years ago and we have been working actively to evolve it.

It was because of this that we managed to get a portion of the Kyiv -Moscow passengers.

We have plenty of rivals, so it is not about us having been lucky, rather about us being best positioned to operate in this manner.

Charhinets reveals that Belavia, which does not enjoy a monopoly position on any single market, has done a lot to promote and modernise its products in a variety of countries.

Amongst other developments, the Belarus airline has introduced new information technologies, joined IATA's Billing and Settlement Plan system, made sure its layover times are minimal, and introduced through fares for transit passengers.

For example, there are a multitude of possible connection flights from Paris to Moscow, not to mention direct services,he says.

However, we carry some passengers traveling from Paris on virtually every flight to Moscow. We certainly need to keep working, but we are moving in the right direction.

An additional boost to the airline's transfer business model may come in the form of a simplification of transfer rules for foreign passengers transitting Belarus, but no relevant government decision has yet been made.

There is also potential for further growth in connecting Russian regional centres to European destinations via Minsk.

Belavia's convenient geographic location makes it possible for the airline to do what Kaliningrad-based KD Avia attempted in 2007: offer Russian regional passengers transfer flights to Europe bypassing Moscow.

A combination of factors forced KD Avia to cease operations in 2009, and this business model has not been tried by anyone since.

Apart from Moscow, Belavia currently serves Russia's St Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Sochi, and Krasnodar, and formerly served Samara, Yekaterinburg, and Novosibirsk.

Restraining further development of regional Russian operations though are the high service charges Belavia is forced to pay in Russia. Charhinets reveals that the Belarus carrier is charged five times more than Russian airlines for air navigation services.

Airport handling fees are also higher, although not drastically as steep.

This price difference persists despite both countries being part of the common union state and the Eurasian Economic Union – and renders Belavia's fares so uncompetitive that it is currently cheaper to fly with a Russian carrier from a regional airport to Minsk via Moscow.

There is a possibility that this price disparity will be eliminated by late 2016: a preliminary agreement to that effect was signed more than two years ago between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, but there has been no further progress, says Charhinets.

Meanwhile, a further increase in Belavia's passenger numbers may result from the company's substantial rebranding effort from mid-August of this year.

Apart from introducing an all-new livery for its airliners, the carrier overhauled the corporate style of its offices, launched new crew uniforms, refurbished its website and re-conceptualised its advertising campaign.

The management insists that with the new image Belavia will not only distance itself from its Soviet legacy but will also mark the airline's transition from a full-service business model to a hybrid concept incorporating low-cost elements. "We are not planning to turn into an low-cost carrier completely, but we are studying and introducing certain approaches along these lines," Charhinets reveals. "Last year we managed to bring our fares down by 20 per cent; this year, we aim to achieve a further 10 per cent reduction."

RUSSIA: Aeroflot Subsidiary Aurora Airline Traffic Up By 22%

Aeroflot subsidiary Aurora Airline—which serves Russia’s Far East—carried 276,827 passengers in the first quarter, up 22% year-over-year (YOY), as a result of network and fleet growth.

In the first quarter, Aurora carried 216,454 domestic and 60,373 international passengers. It carried 1,638 tonnes of cargo, up 33% YOY. Total flying hours for the quarter were up 19% to 8,297 hours YOY.

Aurora’s 20-strong fleet comprises 10 Airbus A319s, two Bombardier Q400s, four DHC-8 Q300s, two DHC-8 Q200s and two DHC 6-400 Twin Otters. The airline took delivery of the first Q400 last December.

Aurora operates international flights to Hong Kong, Beijing, Tokyo, Harbin and Busan as well as domestic flights to Khabarovsk, Magadan, Yakutsk, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk.

Aurora previously said that in 2018 its fleet will include 42 aircraft and will operate services on 120 routes. It plans to double the number of passengers to 2.5 million and triple weekly services up to 500 flights per week.

TURKEY: Turkey-Russia Flights Drop Almost 50 Percent After Jet Crisis

Scheduled flights between Russia and Turkey by the two countries’ flag carriers have dropped almost 50 percent along with the number of passengers after the downing of Russian jet by Turkey on Nov. 24, 2015, a tourism official has said.

SKY Tourism Company official Faruk Yılmaz said Turkish Airlines’ daily flights to Moscow dropped from four to three flights a week, while Russian carrier Aeroflot Airlines decreased its daily flights from four to two.

“There has been a great decrease in occupancy rates in flights after the Nov. 24 2015 downing of a Russian jet, almost 50 percent in the number of passengers and flights,” Yılmaz noted.

He also said Aeroflot dropped its number of daily Moscow-Antalya flights to one.

In addition, Yılmaz said Turkish Airlines aimed to boost its flights during the summer season, increasing the number of Moscow-Istanbul flights from 21 to 28 and organizing two flights between Antalya and Moscow.

Turkish Airlines holds 21 flights a week to Moscow from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport while Aeroflot organizes 14.

Low cost carrier Pegasus Airlines also organizes seven flights a week from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport.

Apart from Moscow, Turkish Airlines flies to many Russian destinations including Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Rostov, St. Petersburg, Ufa, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk and Astrakhan.

Pegasus also flies to Krasnodar and Yekaterinburg.

RUSSIA: Pobeda pops-up in St Petersburg

Touching down in Novosibirsk on the 23 October launch of services from Moscow Vnukovo was the ubiquitous Pobeda 737-800. The Russian domestic operation will be served on a daily basis.

Another airport, another Pobeda 737-800. Perhaps more significantly, this route launch was in St Petersburg, and marked the entry of Aeroflot’s LCC into Russia’s second city. Daily connections from Ekaterinburg and Krasnodar were the inaugural services.

Pobeda, Aeroflot’s in-house LCC, has commenced its first routes into Russia’s second city – St Petersburg (LED). The two routes from Ekaterinburg (SVX) and Krasnodar (KRR) are both inbound services, with no aircraft stationed at Pulkovo yet. All four of the routes would have faced direct competition, had it not been for the demise of Transaero Airlines, which operated on the Moscow Vnukovo (VKO) to Novosibirsk (OVB) route until its AOC was recently revoked.