Charter business keeping Saransk State Aviation Enterprise prospering (730 words)

Published: 11/22/2000

Saransk State Aviation Enterprise (SAE) has taken delivery of a refitted An-24 from the Rostov Overhaul Plant according to the Anatoly Zakharov, General Director of SAE, as part of plan to expand the airline's charter business. Zakharov said that despite the aircraft's age, it was produced in the late eighties; it has used less than 10% of its frame life and had recently been overhauled at Rostov. The plant had improved navigation equipment, radar and additional radio equipment, making the aircraft, according to Zakharov, as “good as new” and the only An-24 to undergo such an extensive refit in Russia. Due to have made its first flight on the 20th November, the aircraft will be employed initially on the Surgut-Cheboksary-Moscow, where Saransk State Aviation Enterprise is assisting Cheboksary Aviation Enterprise, one of its neighbouring state owned airlines in the Volga region, in keeping the route operating after Cheboksary's An-24 was withdrawn after an incident at Cheboksary Airport earlier in November. The crash has added to the problems of the Volga airline. According to the Deputy General Director of Cheboksary Aviation Enterprise, Valentin Motorkin, the airline has a second An-24, but it is currently held at Irkutsk Aircraft Repair Plant awaiting payment of 2.6m rubles for its overhaul, which the carrier is unable to pay. The company's two Tu-134s making up the rest of its fleet of four aircraft, are currently being leased to airlines from Moscow and Tatarstan, both of which overhauled the aircraft at their own expense in return for the leases and the aircraft cannot be recovered. SAE purchase of the aircraft, says Zakharov, is the fifth of a planned six. The last aircraft's purchase currently being negotiated as part of a strategy to grow the airline's business. SAE believes that there is demand both for wet leased aircraft to service other airline's routes due to a lack of serviceable aircraft and from passengers on its own scheduled routes. The latter to date largely operated in the summer season to Sochi, Mineralny Vody and St. Petersburg, with the possibility of adding Moscow as a destination. The airline's major customers for leased aircraft are BAL and Nizhegorodsky Airlines, with one aircraft has been under a long-term charter for the regional ice hockey team Sokol from Saratov. The company also provides aviation services to auto producer AutoVAZ in Togliatti. Over the last twelve months the airline according to Zakharov, has visited 258 different airports with a scheduled international route to Baku this summer, which it plans to run during the summer 2001. In the view of Zakharov the airline's state ownership has not hindered its operation and in fact until quite recently the carrier has not received subsidies from the regional government and the region's involvement has not hindered the airline's efforts to seek revenue further a field. This has led to a focus on charter flights in more prosperous regions than Saransk able to pay for the airline's services not sensitive for the lessee at least in the short term, to low load factors. The company also believes that it will benefit from the regional government's decision to finance the reconstruction of the runway and lighting equipment at Saransk Airport, part of Saransk State Aviation Enterprise. The tender for the work will take place on the 29th November, 2000 with four bidders already registered according to reports and the improvements are anticipated to boost revenues as the airport will be able to handle heavier aircraft such as the Il-76 and Tu-154. According to Zakharov, several airlines that expressed interest in using Saransk Airport, although he would name only Moscow-based Ilavia. According to Zakharov the life of the fleet's An-24s excluding the aircraft recently acquired is about five years and they see the only viable candidate for their replacement as being the An-140. The cost of the aircraft, according to Zakharov, at $2.5m would be acceptable, but only if the aircraft was produced in Russia, as he sees Ukrainian production as expensive, primarily due to unspecified problems and costs relating to maintenance. If the An-140 was not available Zakharov said they would review foreign aircraft.

Article ID: 2206