Kazak airlines merge, but still face problems with fuel supplies

Published: 11/18/1999

Consolidation amongst the regional airlines, many of whom are struggling to survive, is continuing. On November 1st 1999, Kazak Irtysh –Avia (Pavlodar) and Ulba (Ust-Kamenogorsk) airlines formerly merged into a new company, called Irtysh-Avia and headed by Yury Pogozhev, formerly General Director of Irtysh-Avia. The headquarters of the new company will be based in Ust-Kamengorsk. Prior to the merger, Ulba was on the verge of bankruptcy. According to Pogozhev, a Yak-42, formerly owned by Ulba, will be transferred to the Saratov Aviation Plant in order to offset a debt of $225,000. The new company still retains four Yak-42s that, it considers, is sufficient for its present level of traffic. On November 5th, Irtysh-Avia resumed the weekly flight Pavlodar-Aktyubinsk-Moscow, which had been suspended in October. In December, it is planning to start a second route Ust-Kamenogorsk-Pavlodar-Moscow, given the cost of flying to Moscow via Omsk, as a result of ticket price hikes in Russia. The new airline has yet to receive permits either to re-establish international flights or to launch routes to the oil regions of Western Kazakhstan. Reports at the beginning of September suggested that the united airline was suffering sevcre fuel shortages with reserves down to less than one week. The situation appears to have been caused by problems with the refineries supplying the airline, initially Pavlodar, which had its crude supplies cut and latterly Russian refinery Omsk, which reportedly stopped trading according to Kazak sources, although others say the refinery continues to operate at reduced capacity. Additionally the Kazak refinery at Shymkent, also a supplier, has been having problems with crude supplies due to a conflict between Canadian owned producer, Hurricane Hydrocarbons and the refinery.

Article ID: 1097