RUSSIA: Pobeda Goes To Pulkovo Airport

Aeroflot low-cost subsidiary Pobeda Airline plans to launch three new international routes from St. Petersburg Pulkovo Airport in October, the airport said.

The carrier starts 3X-weekly Milan Bergamo service Oct. 11; 4X-weekly London Stansted service Oct. 12; and daily Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen service Oct. 28.

The Moscow Vnukovo-based airline will compete on the St. Petersburg-London route with another Aeroflot subsidiary, Rossiya Airlines, which operates flights to Gatwick, and British Airways, flying to Heathrow.

On the Istanbul route, Pobeda will compete with Rossiya and Turkish Airlines, which are connecting Pulkovo with Istanbul Atatürk Airport.

Pobeda launched flights from Pulkovo in October 2015.

During the first seven months of 2018, the airline carried 577,000 passengers from Pulkovo, up 136% year-over-year (YOY).

The airline’s St. Petersburg network included 11 domestic and five international destinations in the IATA 2018 summer season.

Moscow Domodedovo-based S7 Airlines, the second biggest carrier in Russia after Aeroflot Group, also boosts a network from St. Petersburg.


Tourism Observer

RUSSIA: S7 Airlines To Commence Flights To Omsk From Saint Petersburg

S7 Airlines, a member of the global airline alliance oneworld®, will launch a new flight route between Saint Petersburg and Omsk from 3 July 2018. Air tickets for this new flight are already on sale.

S7 Airline flights are scheduled for Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The flight from Pulkovo Airport leaves at 20:35 and lands in Omsk at 03:05 local time the next day. The return flight departs at 04:05 and arrives in Saint Petersburg at 05:10. The flights will operate on modern Airbus A319 aircraft.

We’ve noticed increased demand for flights between these two cities. The new flight route will appeal to passengers from Omsk who enjoy city breaks and excursions and plan to spend a few days of their summer vacation in Saint Petersburg.

The comfort and convenience of the new flight will be much appreciated by Saint Petersburg residents who need to take part in negotiations with business partners or visit relatives and friends in Omsk notes Igor Veretennikov, Commercial Director of the S7 group of companies.

Omsk is the second most populated city in Siberia and is an important center for refining crude oil and the chemical industry.

Flight time from St. Petersburg to Omsk is a little over three hours.

S7 Priority members will be able to receive from 800 frequent flyer miles per flight. Accumulated S7 Priority miles can be used to buy premium airline tickets, as well as additional services purchased on the web site s7.ru and at departure airports.

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 8 800 700–0707 (free for Russia).


Tourism Observer

NORWAY: Norwegian Air To resume Guadeloupe Islands Flights

Norwegian Air will resume its seasonal winter service to the Guadeloupe Islands for a third consecutive season. Nonstop flights from New York (JFK), Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Providence (PVD) to Guadeloupe (PTP) will begin on October 29th 2017.

Service will be significantly increased out of New York with six weekly flights (everyday but Wednesday). Flights will operate three times a week out of Fort Lauderdale and twice weekly out of Providence to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.

Tickets are now available for purchase at norwegian.com/us with fares as low as $79 one-way, taxes included.


New York (JFK): EVERY DAY BUT WEDNESDAYS – Departure time JFK – PTP: 2:10 pm
Fort Lauderdale (FLL): Tues. Thur. and Sat. – Departure time FLL – PTP: 3:35 pm
Providence (PVD): Thur. and Sun. – Departure time: 4:55 pm

S7 Airlines and Cyprus Airways have concluded an agreement for the performance of codeshare flights.

Now, passengers of S7 Airlines will be able to travel by codeshare flights of S7 Airlines and Cyprus Airlines from Saint Petersburg to Larnaca. The flights will be performed beginning from 8 June 2017 three times a week.

On Wednesdays and Fridays, the flights will depart from the Pulkovo airport at 05:05 and arrive at the Larnaca airport — at 09:45, on Sundays — departure at 01:50, arrival — at 06:30.

The flights from Larnaca will depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 20:10 and arrive in Saint Petersburg at 00:55.

This schedule will be convenient for passengers from Saint Petersburg travelling to Cyprus for a vacation.

An early arrival at the Larnaca airport and evening departure to Saint Petersburg will allow the passengers to get the most of their time in Cyrpus, without losing the day of departure and arrival.

The concluded codeshare agreement will also enable passengers from Saint Petersburg to travel to the Greek Islands of Rhodes or Crete with a connection at the Larnaca airport, the hub of Cyprus Airways.

The flights will be performed on the Airbus A319 modern aircraft of the Cyrprus Airways fleet. The aircraft is designed to carry 144 passengers in a comfortable economy class cabin.

The Icelandic airline WOW, on June 2, 2017, launched a direct route linking Reykjavik with Belgian capital, Brussels.

WOW flies from Reykjavik to Brussels seven times a week. Passengers will board an A321 aircraft for a flight that lasts 3 hour and 30 minutes. Roundtrip ticket prices start at 190$ including airport fees and transaction costs.

WOW air is a low-fare, long-haul airline based in Iceland. The airline was founded in November 2011 and serves 33 destinations across Europe, North America and Asia.

RUSSIA: Novaport Interested In Operating Belgrade Airport

The Serbian government is offering a 25-year concession deal for Nikola Tesla Airport.

Novaport, a Russian airport operator, has expressed interest in acquiring 100% in Serbia's Belgrade Airport.

The company has submitted a bid for the tender, Board chairman Roman Trotsenko said.

If it wins, Novaport is prepared to invest $250 million into the facility's development.

The airport, which serves Serbia's capital city, could be used as a connection hub for Russian tourists traveling to destinations in Central, Western and Eastern Europe, Trotsenko said: “Russians have always had warm feelings for Belgrade, and we expect the Russian tourist traffic to the city to continue growing.”

Also bidding for the deal is Russian airport operator Airports of Regions, which operates airports in Russia's cities of Yekaterinburg, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov, and Saratov.

Fraport AG of Germany, a partner in the Northern Capital Gateway consortium which runs St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport, is another bidder. The results of the tender are expected to be announced in two weeks.

The winner of the 25-year deal will run Belgrade airport jointly with its current operator, Nikola Tesla Aerodrome Belgrade. The partners will share the concession rights, financing and management of the facility.

According to Russian Aviation Insider's sources, Serbia is indeed quite popular with Russian tourists. It shared the 12th position with Montenegro among the most popular charter destinations in 2015. The two countries served over 113,000 Russian passengers that yeat.

Belgrade airport handled 4.925 million passengers in 2016, up 3% on 2015.

Novaport has been actively buying new airport assets across Russia. Last year it acquired a stake in Mineralnye Vody and added Kemerovo and Kaliningrad to its portfolio, which now comprises 12 airports. The company is also participating in the project to renovate Irkutsk airport.

CROATIA: Croatia Airlines Starts Flights From Zagreb To Pulkovo St. Petersburg Airport

Croatia Airlines has started regular air service from Zagreb (Croatia) to Saint Petersburg (Russia). The route will be launched for the first time in the recent history of Pulkovo airport. The carrier will operate the flights from 2 June to 23 October.

Travelers will be able to fly from the Northern capital of Russia to the capital of Croatia twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. Comfortable Airbus A319s with a capacity of 144 passengers will be operated on the route.

Before 2015, Pulkovo airport only had direct air service with Croatian resorts Pula and Split. In 2010-2014, over 62,000 passengers used direct flights between the two cities and St Petersburg. In addition, more than 21,000 travelers flew from Pulkovo to Zagreb and back via transfers in other airports, in 2010-2014.

“Every year many Russians choose Croatia, the country of rich history, magnificent nature and landscape, as their vacation spot. With the new route opening travelers will now be able to visit other points in Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina using convenient connecting flights via Zagreb. At the same time, St Petersburg remains one of the most visited cities in Europe, with cheap Russian ruble making traveling to Russia even more attractive. It is our strong belief that the new Croatia Airlines service to St Petersburg will be in demand both among Russian and Croatian tourists, say Evgeniy Ilyin, chief commercial officer at Northern Capital Gateway LLC, the operator of Pulkovo Airport.

The tickets are already available with promo rates starting from €199 for the round trip.

Other new routes planned for launching from Pulkovo in the summer season 2016 include Shanghai (China), Corfu, Zakynthos (Greece), and Batumi (Georgia). In addition, flights to Naples (Italy), Brussels (Belgium) and several other European cities will be renewed.

Croatia Airlines is the flag carrier of Croatia and a Star Alliance member. In the summer season 2016 the airline’s route network will include 34 points in 20 European countries.

RUSSIA: 11-year-old Boards Rossiya Airlines flight At Vnukovo International Airport Undetected

A Russian schoolgirl who had never been on a plane before managed to slip past security officials and board a flight from Moscow to St Petersburg.

Without any form of ID or a plane ticket, the 11-year-old passed through security at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport this week completely undetected.

A video of the incident shows her ducking beneath the barriers and mingling with a large crowd as other passengers go through security procedures.

From there, she was able to get on a Rossiya Airlines flight, where cabin crew failed to notice the unaccompanied minor.

When the 90-minute flight landed, she received a call from her parents, who became worried when she didn't return home from school.

They were stunned to learn she was at St Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport.

Airport staff were contacted, and the girl was handed over to child services who arranged for her return to the Russian capital.

The girl's mother said she planned to sue Moscow Vnukovo International Airport and Rossiya Airlines for failing to carry out proper checks.

Both the airport and airline are now facing a review of security procedures.

The curious young traveller reportedly said she had wanted to see the city and experience what it was like to fly.