Speculation in the Russian media (300 words)

Published: 10/13/2000

Russian daily Kommersant has reported that it is possible that Alexander Krasnenker left his position as General Director of Vnukovo Airlines because of a “misunderstanding” with Tatevos Surinov, the head of Russian Aviation Consortium, the owner of VAL and formerly General Director of the airline. In contrast to the official line from VAL, that the parting was due to the fact that Krasnenker felt he had achieved his initial goals and felt that the airline was on the road to recovery. The newspaper reports disagreements between Surinov and Krasnenker concerning the airline's direction and reportedly controls of the airline's cashflow. The latter point reflects a concern that has surrounded Krasnenker since his appointment as general director, that as an associate of Berezovsky at Aeroflot, he could not be trusted and there were reports that his hiring powers at Vnukovo were severely limited for fear he would introduce his cohorts into the airline. Despite the announcement that Krasnenker would remain on VAL's board, sources believe that he will depart shortly. Kommersant however, reports that he will be involved in selling a stake in the airline internationally. Russian newspaper Vedomosti thinks that Krasnenker might have decided to leave because turning the ailing carrier around did not stimulate him and preferred the challenge of developing Centreleasing, 100% owned by VAL. Sources within the airline however, report a different version of events, saying that the cause of the dispute was the decision by RAC to sell 75% of the VAL owned leasing structure Centroleasing that contains 19 of the airline's 50 aircraft, to an undisclosed party.The effect of the sale is to remove both control of the aircraft and the assets from the company. This has led to the concern that this may be a traditional Russian asset strip leaving the company's substantial number of creditors with little to call upon in the the event of a bankruptcy.Krasnenker significantly resigned the day after the sale of theleasing company was reported to have taken place. Centroleasing was reported to have been established earlier this year as a vehicle to secure a Sberbank loan against the security of the airline's Tu-204s. The deal subsequently failed due to the fact that only one aircraft was flying. It seems at this point one can take a pick of possible reasons for the departure, but still come to the conclusion that the airline lacks a capable and experienced manager with the skill to turn around what remains a difficult situation.

Article ID: 2125