The former director of Moscow Sheremetyevo airport has teamed up with the owner of Russian holding company Kaskol in a bid to start an air taxi service in Russia.

Sergei Generalov, a deputy in the state parliament and the main shareholder in Industrial Investors, and Sergei Nedoroslev, owner of the Kaskol group and former Sheremetyevo manager, plan to start the service by the end of this year with eight aircraft, including the Myasischev M-101 Gzhel seven-seat turboprop (produced by Nizhny Novgorod-based Sokol, part of the Kaskol group), reports Russian newspaper Vedomosti.

Neither has commented on the formation of the service, but registration documents for the new firm have reportedly been submitted by Nedoroslev to Rostransnadzor, the Russian transport supervisory body.

The partners plan to expand the fleet to 45 aircraft within two years and it could grow to up to 200 aircraft, industry sources say.

Generalov will hold a 75% stake in the new company, with Nedoroslev holding 25%.

The main market for the service is expected to be mid-level managers. Annual revenue is forecast at $150-200 million.

Bureaucratic hurdles could scuttle the plan. Last year, the Moscow city government wanted to start its own air taxi service, but was prevented from doing so by rules forbidding flights over the capital.

These rules, and wider problems with administration of the national air traffic system by the military, may block the proposal.

HOWARD GETHIN/MOSCOW

Source: Flight International

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