Published: 3/27/1998

In March, Aeroflot-Russian International Airlines (ARIA) opened a scheduled service from Moscow's Sheremetievo-1 airport to Nizhny Novgorod. On 3 February, the company's Tu-154M performed a technical flight, also to celebrate the 75th anniversary of opening of this first Russian scheduled line. Depending on market demand, Aeroflot will fly this route using either Tu-134 or Tu-154. The Russian flag-carrier has long-term plans for Nizhy Novgorod airport as a hub in the Volga river region. Aeroflot general director Valery Okulov said, "We do not expect to get a big profit here immediately. Our aim is to restore the steady passenger flows that existed here in 1990. The necessity to travel cannot simply go away, so we just have to offer adequate services to restore them." The Volga river area is considered as the best in the country in terms of economic situation and growth potential. Nizhny Novgorod, which has a convenient geographic location, is chosen as a place for the construction of a large logistics centre which would provide an effective connection between river shipping, railways, air and automobile transport in the heart of Russia. Vladimir Gorin, mayor of the city, expects that the presence of Aeroflot in Nizhny will result in further increases in the business activities of the city. Valery Okulov said that Lufthansa arrived in Nizhny Novgorod well before Aeroflot (for over a year it has maintained a daily A319 service to Frankfurt) and that now Aeroflot is going to be a serious competitor to the western airline. In the future ARIA plans to fly direct flights from Nizhny to Europe. Okulov asserts that this practice proved successful in Novosibirsk: after Aeroflot began non-stop A310 flights from there to Moscow and then Germany, Lufthansa had to cease its Novosibirsk - Ekaterinburg - Frankfurt service. "We have a competitive fleet of modern aircraft which we intend to use for direct flights from the Volga river region to Europe", said Okulov, adding that for Russian passengers it should be a "natural choice" to fly a Russian airplane operated by Russian personnel. Aeroflot's advantages over Lufthansa are lower tariffs and a wide network of routes available from Sheremetievo. Valery Okulov said that the time has come for Aeroflot to concentrate on the domestic market. "Our analysis showed that the most promising market for us today is the inner CIS market. Western airliners also understand that, so we are in for a big battle for the Russian provincial passenger", he continued. Expecting an increase in its traffic via Sheremetievo, Aeroflot is to build a its own terminal at the airport, chiefly for intra-CIS flights.(VK) (AL398.12)

Article ID: 130