Two state-owned Russian airlines, St Petersburg-based Pulkovo Airlines and government carrier GTK Rossiya, are expected to be merged by year-end.
"We will get a new strong player on the market, which will be much more attractive to investors," says head of the Russian civil aviation authority Alexander Neradko. He expects government approval "shortly", allowing completion of the merger by the end of 2004.
The as-yet-unnamed airline will be headquartered in St Petersburg and operate from hubs at St Petersburg Pulkovo and Moscow Vnukovo airports. Pulkovo's airport operations and air traffic control businesses will be split off and will remain under state control. The merged airline will become the second largest airline in Russia after Aeroflot.
Both airlines operate fleets comprised mainly of Soviet-era aircraft. Rossiya flies Ilyushin Il-62s and Il-96-300s, Tupolev Tu-134s, Tu-154s and Tu-204s, Yakovlev Yak-40s and Antonov and Ilyushin turboprops while Pulkovo operates Il-86s, Tu-134s and Tu-154s. Rossiya operates the country's VIP transports and airborne command posts, which may be formed into a separate government air detachment.
The airlines have been linked for over two years through an alliance which allowed "the transfer of crews and aircraft", says Neradko.
Source: Flight International
