Vladimir Karnozov / Moscow
Russia's largest domestic carrier identifies need for up to 50 more regional jets
Sibir has identified a need for up to 50 regional jets as part of its long-term expansion plan, and is favouring the Sukhoi-led Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) over the Tupolev Tu-334.
The rapidly expanding airline, which is headquartered in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, returned to profitability last year and is finalising its new strategy as it seeks to maintain its position as Russia's second largest international carrier, and the biggest in the domestic sector. To meet this aim, a fleet renewal plan is being developed, which will be funded using credits from domestic and foreign capital markets.
"Our current borrowed capital/ income ratio is 25%, against the income of $280 million last year. We feel comfortable to increase it to 50%, and thus raise the money for fleet renovation," says Sibir general director Vladislav Filyev.
The current fleet is made up predominantly of Soviet-built aircraft, including 12 Ilyushin Il-86s, 32 Tupolev Tu-154s and two Tu-204-120s. A single Airbus A320 is operated by Sibir on behalf of its Armenian subsidiary Armavia. "The current fleet has sufficient technical resources to operate for another 10 years," says Filyev, but he adds that "the continuing traffic growth in Russia, expected to stay at 8% annually, will require double the seating capacity in the next 10 years".
The airline has identified a need for regional jets to feed its Siberian hubs in Irkutsk and Novosibirsk, and at Moscow Domodedovo airport. Although the Tu-334 is being evaluated, the RRJ is favoured as it is "the first proper jet airliner programme ever attempted in Russia, for which the economics - not politics - is the major consideration", says Filyev.
Sibir's traffic soared by almost 40% in 2002 to 2.7 million passengers, largely as a result of the takeover of bankrupt Moscow-based carrier Vnukovo Airlines. In the first five months of this year it carried 1 million passengers and is on track to reach 3.2 million over the whole year. After three years of losses, it recorded a profit of Rb56 million ($1.8 million) in 2002.
In the near term, Sibir is expanding its network from Domodedovo, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk. The fast-growing Domodedovo operation remains in the centre of activities, with new services being opened to Düsseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany, and Kiev, Tbilisi and Yerevan in the CIS, with transfer links within Russia.
Although Sibir says it has improved the performance of its Tu-204 fleet by increasing monthly utilisation from the "zero-profitability" level of 200h to 250-270h, it complains that "considerable technical problems" remain with the twinjet. The airline is yet to decide whether to continue with a plan to return five grounded ex-Vnukovo Tu-204s to an airworthy condition or take new airframes from the Aviastar plant in Ulyanovosk.
Source: Flight International
