TRAFFIC VOLUMES in Russia have fallen for the fifth successive year, according to the Russian Transport Department's 1995 annual report, due to be published on 16 February. The latest decline leaves passenger numbers at barely one-third of 1990's peak, when 90.7 million boardings were recorded in Russia, then part of the former Soviet Union.
Total passenger numbers in 1995 were down by 5.6%, compared with 1994, at 30.9 million. Revenue passenger kilometres fell to 71.4 billion, a 1.3% decline from a year earlier. Freight tonne kilometres, meanwhile, were up by 7%, to 1.56 billion, despite a 1.6% fall in overall freight tonnage.
Just ten of the 37 airlines listed by the report as being the top carriers in Russia recorded increases in passenger volumes. Transaero, the only passenger airline listed which was not formerly a division of Aeroflot, nearly doubled its traffic during the year, to 1.03 million.
Aeroflot-Russian International Airlines and Domodedovo each saw passenger numbers grow by 16.3%, to 3.47 million and 2.82 million, respectively.
Surprisingly omitted from the top 37 are other commercial, non-Aeroflot airlines, including Aviaenergo, AJT Air International, ALAK and Orient Avia, each of which carried more passengers in 1995 than did several of the listed carriers. The top 37 listed airlines transported 90% of Russia's air traffic in 1995.o
Volga-Dnepr says that it captured 60.5% of the world outsize cargo market during 1995, with sales of $87.3 million. The company's fleet of six Antonov An-124-100 Ruslans and six Ilyushin Il-76TDs carried 39,600t of cargo during the year.
Source: Flight International
