Vnukovo 10 month figures show signs of further detioration for Russia's increasingly weak major player

Published: 12/24/1999

It seems that the condition of Vnukovo Airlines is not improving according to 10-month operating figures published by the Association of Air Transport Operators. Passenger volumes fell by 41.8% during the period over the first ten months of 1998, with a substantial part of the decline coming from the airline"s international traffic which fell by 71.1% from 392,700 passengers to 113,500, a decline far outstripping those experienced by other in the sector. In domestic traffic, at a time when many of its competitors have been seeing a small recovery, Vnukovo saw its volumes fall by 31.2% to 744,800. The reason for the decline at Vnukovo are a combination of factors including as with other airlines fuel costs, but the principle reason is a very poor image among passengers due to a perception of ongoing problems at the airline, ranging from a fleet that is considered to be in poor condition and a staff who have threatened strikes on a number of occasions over the last few months. The fleet is a particular problem due to the number of large aircraft such as the Il-86, which deliver double the financial pain in the current environment in terms of fuel cost and load factor. The airline has also been clearly targeted on some of its routes by Sibir and other competitors, which is causing problems on its Ural and Siberian routes. For new General Director Alexander Krasnenker, it seems that his predictions of carrying 1.4m passengers in 1999 are very unlikely to be met and that the rumoured declines of 30% on 1998 may be overly optimistic. Elsewhere in the business substantial declines have been recorded in cargo business with volume down by 46% to 3,400 tonnes. Associated articles www.concise.org5th November 1999, 16th November 1999

Article ID: 1242