Krasnenker may have a job, but is he in charge?

Published: 9/28/1999

The Russian magazine, Company, has reported that Vnukovo Airlines may have taken active steps to prevent the creation of a Berezovsky 'diaspora' within Vnukovo Airlines (VA) with the appointment of Alexander Krasnenker as General Director (www.concise.org 22nd September 1999). According to the report, Krasnenker has been restricted under his five-year contract to employing only two people directly, an assistant and a secretary, and is specifically prohibited from forming his own team within VA. It is now suggested that Krasnenker has broken his links with Berezovsky and is seeking to carve a career for himself in the Russian airline business. In the absence of further evidence, it is difficult to challenge Krasnenker's career ambitions, but it is clear that a new Chief Executive, charged with reversing the fortunes of a struggling airline, is going to be significantly handicapped by such recruitment restrictions. Four of the airline's 14 operable planes reportedly require urgent action to remain in service and at least 100m rubles ($3.85m) are needed in the short term to maintain the present fleet. The airline's current action plan is expected to turn the airline around in 1.5-2 years. VA flies around 90 flights a week, but has suffered a marked decline in passengers in 1999, with numbers down by 30%. The airline's owners, Russian Aviation Consortium -reported as controlling 100% of VA instead of the previously quoted 75% - claim to have no intention of selling the airline in the short term. There are, however, potential buyers in the wings, namely East Line Group, among others.

Article ID: 910