Venture to save Don-Avia starts flights (390 words)

Published: 7/17/2000

On14th July, Aeroflot handed over a Tu-154M to the new Aeroflot-Don airline, owned jointly by Aeroflot (51%) and Don-Avia (49%) and based in Rostov-on-Don, in Southern Russia. Speaking at the handover ceremony Vladimir Chub, the Rostov regional governor, commented modestly that the new airline, which received its operator license from the FSVT in April, is a result of his initiative to save the struggling Don-Avia from bankruptcy. Valery Okulov, Director General of Aeroflot, said that the new venture was steadily being incorporated as part of Aeroflot, where it is joining a number of other regional carriers in Aeroflot's expanding coverage of Russia. Okulov said 'We are all set to make Aeroflot-Don an effective company able to generate a profit' and sees Rostov as having a considerable potential for air traffic growth, as the region's economy begins to recover. For Mikhail Kritsky, Aeroflot-Don General Director, the issue for air traffic in the region, particularly for traffic between Rostov and Moscow, is the competitiveness of the service offered against the train, which despite the 24-hour journey, has taken a substantial share for the airline's market. Aeroflot-Don flies to Vnukovo six times a week with a one-way ticket priced at 1750 rubles, the cheapest round trip tariff being 2500 rubles. According to Okulov, the service is to become daily and be split between Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo, to provide convenient connections between Aeroflot-Don and Aeroflot flights. The Tu-154M has undergone a major overhaul according to Okulov, and is equipped with a modern avionics set and Soloviev D-30KU-154 engines. These meet environmental and noise regulations for flight in Western Europe allowing the airline to provide a direct service to a number of German cities, most notably Dusseldorf. The new aircraft will also be considerably more fuel-efficient than Don-Avia's Tu-154Bs with Kuznetsov NK-8-2s, the newest of which was built in 1982, compared with 1989 for the Tu-154M. According to Chub, Aeroflot is also contemplating putting a Boeing 737-400 on the German routes and potentially to provide Tu-334s when the aircraft becomes available. The Aeroflot-Don fleet with the new aircraft now has eight Tu-154Bs, five Tu-134As and three An-12s, although not all the aircraft are flyable. They are due to receive an additional Tu-154M later this year and nine NK-8-2s from Aeroflot's inventory to restore three Tu-154Bs to airworthy condition.

Article ID: 1946