Aeroflot is opening new routes to the CIS and southern Russia.

Published: 5/11/2000

It seems that the stated strategy of Aeroflot to develop its business in its home market within the CIS is gathering momentum with the support of some of the governments in the region. Commenting on the opening of new routes, Serik Burkitbaev, Kazakhstan Minister of Transport and Communications, said that Aeroflot"s access to the market would improve competition and lower ticket prices. The troubled state carrier Air Kazakhstan signed an agreement with Aeroflot in March this year for cooperation on routes to and from Moscow. However, the prospect of falling ticket prices can bring little comfort to the embattled Air Kazakhstan Group, which was restructured in January 2000 and is struggling under the burden of $100m of debt. This is particularly galling when the Group has recently attacked the country"s numerous charter carriers for offering low prices and being ‘fair weather" flyers. By the middle of May, Kazakhstan plans to complete negotiations with Aeroflot about opening additional routes to the capital Astana and the major city of Almaty. Currently only Transaero and Air Kazakhstan offer flights between Russia and Kazakhstan, costing around $300 for the one-way trip. Transaero is reported to be considering an additional route to Altana. According to statements by Pavel Shishkin, Aeroflot"s representative in Kazakhstan, negotiations about Aeroflot"s new routes are close to completion, but he declined to comment on the frequency of flights. For Aeroflot, expansion of its route network in southern Russia is also proving to be successful. Flights started in the spring of 1998 to the resorts of Sochi, Anapa and the city of Krasnodar and carried 300,000 passengers in 1999, a considerable proportion of the carrier"s total volume. On the Moscow-Sochi route alone, Aeroflot carried 200,000 passengers and gained a 35% market share of the route"s traffic. During this summer, Aeroflot plans to operate the Il-86 wide body twice daily. A third flight will be introduced in June and, if it proves successful, will be extended for the key holiday months of July and August. On the Moscow-Anapa route, Aeroflot carried 44,000 passengers in 1999, a market share of 24%, while on the Moscow-Krasnodar route, it carried more than 64,000 passengers.

Article ID: 1749