Russian flag-carrier Aeroflot's chief executive believes that the country needs no more than around 30 airlines given its relatively low passenger mobility.
Federal aviation regulator Rosaviatsia has 168 air transport enterprises listed in its registry.
But speaking at a briefing in London today, Aeroflot chief Vitaly Saveliev said the total passenger flow last year amounted to just 45 million passengers.
"This is less than the transportation of British Airways alone," he says, pointing out that - during the era of the Soviet Union - the flow was some 130 million passengers.
"In Russia, 160-plus airlines is too big for the country."
Saveliev says that a comparative calculation based on the relative number of airlines operating in the European Union suggests that far fewer carriers are needed in Russia.
"Thirty to 35 would be pretty much enough," he says. "This is our assessment."
Aeroflot is in the process of taking over six other carriers in the country, including Rossiya and Vladivostok Avia.
"Certainly we support consolidation," says Saveliev. "We welcome [prime minister] Putin's decision to merge six airlines with Aeroflot.
"Probably this is the first start to consolidation of the airline industry in Russia."
Source: Cirium Dashboard
