Paul Duffy/MOSCOW
Western Russian regional carrier Karat Airlines is expanding its fleet and network.
The Moscow Vnukovo-based airline recently added seven aircraft to its fleet of six Yakovlev Yak-42s and one Antonov An-24 - two Tupolev Tu-134s, a Tu-154, two Yakovlev Yak-40s and two An-24s.
The Tupolevs will support Karat's development of longer-range services to domestic and international points, while the smaller aircraft will be deployed on shorter, thinner regional routes.
Since it began operations in 1994, Karat has concentrated on developing a network of regional routes in western Russia, initially from Vnukovo and later from other cities, including Krasnodar, Ingushetia and Hanti Mansiisk. It operates on 26 routes, and has filed applications for 17 more.
It also operates seasonal holiday charters on international routes, but like other Russian companies, saw business fall last year. Karat's total traffic has grown steadily, from 170,000 passengers in 1997 to over 275,000 in 1999.
Meanwhile, Bykovo Avia, the smallest of the former Aeroflot divisions based in Moscow, has changed its name to Tsentr Avia to reflect its former position as the principal operational section of Aeroflot's Central Regions division. Tsentr's fleet of An-24/An-26 turboprops and Yak-42 jets has been augmented by two Yak-40s to enable services to resume on thin regional services.
The renaming comes at the end of a difficult year for the airline, in which its traffic plummeted by a quarter to just over 120,000 passengers. This was despite the successful introduction of scheduled services to Germany last summer.
The airline suffered from the rouble collapse in 1998 which badly affected its international holiday charter traffic.
Tsentr has joined the AT Alliance, a group of aviation and industry companies working to develop a synergy for their businesses. Partners include several airlines, aviation overhaul facilities, component manufacturers, metal manufacturers and banks.
Source: Flight International
