Published: 4/24/1998

At the end of March, Transaero published official statistics on its activities in 1997. Last year the company carried 1.6m passengers, including 1.3m on scheduled flights. Seat-load factor rose from 59% to 63%. Cargo traffic was 8,000 tonnes, some 40% higher than in 1996. The Transaero fleet of three DC-10-30s (34 business and 256 economy seats in standard layout), five 757-200s (30 business and 156 economy), five 737-200s (24 business and 77 economy) and an Il-86 (30 business and 279 economy) performed 15,000 flights, or 50,000 flight-hours. In 1997 the company cut its personnel by 250, down to 2,650 employees. Since its foundation six years ago, Transaero has remained one of the safest Russian operators. In 1997, flight incidents on the company's aircraft occured on average once every 6,000 flight hours. Another important achievement for Transaero in the past year was a 14% improvement in the punctuality of flights, from 71% to 85%. Aleksandr Pleshakov, the head of the company, proudly announced that the current level is 15% higher than the Russian average. Transaero operational revenues in 1997, amounted to $60.2m. Sales of air tickets in 1997 brought $307.6m, 25% up on the previous year. Some $25m was generated on sales of tourist packages. Company research shows that 20% of its economy class passengers fly as tourists, whereas 38% do business trips. Out of all passengers 41% flew together with his/her family, 39% alone, 5% with colleagues and 15% with friends; 51% of passengers are men and 49% women. As of today, Transaero maintains 30 scheduled roues and makes regular charter flights to 12 countries. In 1997, it opened flights to New Urengoi in Russia, Utapao in Thailand and Hong Kong. In 1998, new international routes will be opened to Erevan and Cairo, while theMoscow-New York route will possibly be first flown in 1999, due to political and bureaucratic problems. Transaero also plans to expand its inner-Russian network by adding Volgograd, Samara, Surgut, Khabarovsk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski to the existing destinations. Transaero is at the edge of important changes in its fleet. According to Pleshakov, the company is not happy with its flagship, the 290-seat DC-10-30. He described it as "too large for Russia, not matching the market". Perhaps the only route for which it is appropriate is that to Los-Angeles. In 1997, the fleet of three DC-10s brought Transaero $18m of losses. Pleshkov told ConCISe that this made its company unprofitable last year, adding that he wants to get rid of them soon. The replacement will be the 767-300ER. The first of the type, leased from ILFC, is due to start passenger flights on 15 May. It will fly to Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and then to Hong Kong and New York. Pleshakov expects the first 737-700 to arrive in April, to be followed by two more in August and September. Transaero is also looking at new indigenous types, including the Il-114. Pleshakov described it as a "very good airframe", which needs more reliable engines. In the meantime, in-house analysis showed that the Tu-204, with Perm Motors PS-90 engines, promises to be more economically efficient than its variant with Rolls-Royce power plants. In 1998, Transaero is to inaugurate short-distance flights from Sheremetievo-1, for which it will take, in the form of an operational lease, three Yak-40 commuters. Pleshakov said this decision was preceded by a thorough economical analysis, which found the type capable of generating a profit. Relatively small Soviet jets are already operated by Transaero-Express, a daughter branch of Transaero. This specialist in VIP conveyance uses specially-configured Tu-134s for flights from Sheremetievo-1. Among its clients were President Clinton's mother-in-law, the famous Russian singer Josif Kobzon, as well as managers from UNEXIMbank, Norisk Nikel, Menatep, show-business people, football and hockey teams. (VK) (AL498.1)

Article ID: 141