In a case of musical management chairs the position of General Director at Vnukovo chnages again for the third time in as many weeks

Published: 6/10/1999

In yet another upheaval in the troubled world of Russian airlines, Mr Vladislav Filev, General Director of Sibir, and a senior executive in Eurofinance - Novosibirsk, one of the largest shareholders in Sibir, has now also become General Director of Vnukovo Airlines. The change of management is even more surprising, given that the post of General Director changed only a few weeks ago, when Mr Vladimir Rubtsov, from Intourist, replaced Mr Tatevos Surinov, President of the Russian Aircraft Consortium, which has a 75% stake in Vnukovo. It has been reported that Mr Filev regards his job as organising the merger of the two airlines, in order to create Russia"s second carrier - just behind Aeroflot - potentially by the end of 1999. The fate of Mr Rubtsov has not been publicised, but according to some sources, he, along with the FAS, has acted as a broker of the deal. The FAS has made clear its belief in the consolidation of the industry and has reportedly used its holding in Sibir to that end. The FAS has also historically used Sibir as a vehicle of consolidation through its absorption of some of the troubled Western Siberian carriers. Mr Surinov, formerly General Director and now chairman of the Vnukovo board, is reported as saying that he approves of the move, suggesting that this is perhaps more of a rescue than a merger. For Sibir, control of Vnukovo would give it access to Russia"s largest domestic carrier, but one which is increasingly experiencing operational problems. Vnukovo is also Sibir"s main competitor on its major routes and has been aggressively undercutting Sibir"s fares from its centre in Novosibirsk. An example of the undercutting is illustrated by fares, at end March 1999, on the Moscow -Novosibirsk route. Vnukovo charged 800 roubles in contrast to Sibir"s 1200 roubles. Sibir is considered to be one of the most aggressive of Russia"s airlines. The management team, led by the highly regarded Mr Filev, are professional business managers, rather than the more aesthetic aviation veterans, who have simply inherited airline control from their previous employer, Soviet Aeroflot. The former are consequently far more oriented towards the bottom line and, to that end, have been reaping the benefits of Siberia"s collapsing carriers, by acquiring both aircraft and routes from the bankruptcy courts. In general, the move towards the consolidation and the ascendancy of a business culture can only serve the industry well.

Article ID: 580