Seven cities to be served by 737s by next summer(230 words)

Published: 11/3/2000

In yet another replacement of Russian aircraft on Russian domestic routes, Aeroflot has announced that from the 30th of October it replaced the Tu-154 on the Moscow-Nizhnevartovsk route with a Boeing-737-400. The operation of 737s by Transaero on the route has no doubt helped the increasingly domestically competitive flag carrier, in making the decision.

Opened in 1999, to service the large concentration of oil and industrial enterprises in the area, Aeroflot operates the route 4 times a week. It also believes that the aircraft replacement will attract other passengers transiting to Moscow through Nizhnevartovsk from other cities of Khanti-Mansiisk autonomous district.

According to Aeroflot the average seat load factor on the route during 2000 has been 72% and during the summer months has risen to 96%. On the 1st November 2000 Aeroflot opened a representative office in Nizhnevartovsk with the objective of further developing business in the region. The addition of the 737 flights to Nizhnevartosvsk from Moscow brings the number of destinations served by 737s to six including Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Ufa, and Krasnodar. With Aeroflot recently deciding to introduce the B-737 route to Murmansk at the end of March 2001. The choise of high volume routes for the operation of the aircraft reflecting Aeroflot's need, in contrast to its Russian aircraft, to meet monthly leasing costs. Efficient utilization is therefore a prerequisite for the airline.

Article ID: 2174