Airline remains upbeat over its prospects and confirms adjustments made to security procedures (740 words)

Published: 10/1/2001

Alexander Taranets, responsible for flight safety at Transaero, says that the airline has not felt the need to make significant changes to its security procedures, after 11th September, on the grounds that it had appropriate measures in place. Taranets added that the airline already cooperates with El Al on security measures such as passenger profiling on its flights to Tel Aviv and, following the terrorist attack on the US, the systems including profiling, were now being applied with great rigour across all flights. He said that the airline had reviewed its procedures in the light of instructions from the GSGA, and all aircraft were now searched, but pointed out that Transaero already had a policy of locking the door between the main cabin and the flight deck before the terrorist incident. The integrity of the doors, however, had since been checked and procedures allowing only authorised personnel to gain access to the flight deck had been tightened. Transaero has complied with GSGA instructions to remove emergency axes from public areas to locations on the aircraft known only to the crew, but Taranets dismissed calls for the removal of metal cutlery with the comment: “You can give passengers cosmonauts tubes instead of normal food and they can still use them as weapons". In terms of the forthcoming ICAO discussions on the use of air marshals, Taranets says that he does not think the widespread use of air marshals on flights is either necessary or advisable, given that they would largely be unable to use a weapon without endangering the aircraft. He acknowledges, however, that if the GSGA required air marshals on board, the airline would capitulate and employ them. It still seems unlikely that such a ruling will be made: officials of the GSGA, such as Valery Saleev, head of aviation safety at the GSGA, have pointed out that the presence of a weapon on the aircraft in the hands of one person who could be overpowered or fall asleep presented too much risk. Sergey Bykhal, Director of Public Relations, says that the business impact of the events in the US on Transaero was the cancellation of flights to Tel Aviv after Israel closed its airspace on 11th and 12thSeptember, requiring a larger A-310 on 13th September to clear the backlog. Commenting on the current market conditions overall, Bykhal said that along with Aeroflot, the airline had not seen any decline in traffic in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy but he accepted that international flights would be impacted, while domestic traffic is expected to remain stable. As for Transaero's business overall, Bykhal says that the 24th April move from Sheremetyevo to Domodedovo Airport saw some loss of passengers in May, but in June-August, passenger numbers recovered, rising by 4-5% year-on -year. Bykhal said that in 2000 Transaero carried 430,000 passengers and expects to carry more than 430,000 passengers in 2001, but would not be any more specific about the airline's expectations. Commenting on Transaero's legal dispute with Sheremetyevo, Bykhal insists that the airline had been looking for an amicable settlement, but Sheremetyevo had taken legal action, in what Bykhal believes was a response to the airline leaving the airport and an effort to attack the company's reputation. Transaero is also planning to open additional routes with a new route to Tyumen due to start at the end of October, introducing another competitor for the region's major player, Tyumenaviatrans (TAT). The company intends to open additional flights to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the Baltics, Berlin-Frankfurt, and Kazakhstan, where it believes that high load factors can potentially be achieved. While continuing to negotiate for the Tu-204 and Tu-214 for domestic routes, subject to the implementation of the government's leasing guarantees, Bykhal says that Transaero is having discussions over the acquisition of foreign aircraft, but as yet had nothing to announce. He confirmed that the airline has both domestic and international advisors working on what is described as a “financial stabilisation programme" due to be completed by the end of the year and focusing on optimising the airline's operations and fleet. He said he was reassured by market research showing that Transaero, along with Aeroflot, remains the choice of foreign travellers and was dismissive of the challenge potentially posed by Siberian Airlines (Sibir). Bykhal remarked that foreigners would not travel on an airline called after Siberia, but it is to be hoped that Transaero does not make the mistake of underestimating Sibir to the same degree as many domestic carriers have in the past.

Article ID: 2785