Kaliningrad Avia has signalled plans to expand and launch international services by signing a lease deal for five Boeing 737 Classics. It aims eventually to operate 19 of the type.
Based in the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad, the airline has signed an operating lease deal for five ex-Aer Lingus 737s - one -400 and four -500s - from leasing company Barkham. Four aircraft will be delivered this year and one next. The airline aims to avoid paying taxes on the 737s because they will operate only international routes and Kaliningrad is designated a free economic zone.
Kaliningrad Avia executive director Leonid Itskov says the deal marks the launch of the airline's project to establish an international hub at Kaliningrad Khrabrovo airport to function as a transfer point between mainland Russia and Europe. The carrier aims to eventually operate a fleet of 19 737s as part of the hub project, says Itskov.
The airport is currently undergoing major development with the construction of a new international passenger terminal complex, the first stage of which is due to be completed in the second quarter of next year, with the whole project to be concluded by 2007.
Loss-making Kaliningrad Avia now operates an all-Russian fleet of seven Tupolev Tu-134s and two Tu-154s. It is being restructured by its major shareholder, Moscow River Steam-shipping.
VLADIMIR KARNOZOV / MOSCOW
Source: Flight International
