Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport

Jeppesen working to transform Russian airports

Russia’s airports are looking abroad to increase capacity, efficiency and safety, both on the ground and in the air, to cope with rising traffic and to upgrade ageing infrastructure. Basel Aero Company, operator of Sochi Airport, in cooperation with the Moscow State University of Geodesy and Cartography, has signed an MoU with Boeing to help Russian airports analyse and optimise their ground operational plans. The objective is to introduce new airport and airspace procedures with the goal of improving the safety and efficiency of Russian airspace.

European airlines ramp-up capacity to China

Asia Pacific, particularly China, is one of the current destination hotspots for European carriers, with connections between Europe and China improving in recent months and over the past couple of years. The initial focus was obviously on providing connectivity between key European hubs and the capital city of Beijing, with services to Shanghai also quite extensive, although a number of carriers are adding service to secondary, albeit still large destinations in China, such as Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqin, Urumqi, Sancha, Dalian and Harbin.

Приватизация (Privatisation) – the new Perestroika or Glasnost for Russia’s airports?

The Russian Government has, according to reports, confirmed plans to privatise 14 airports including Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Ekaterinburg Koltsovo and Novosibirsk Tolmachevo, as part of a wider privatisation programme. If accurate, this development is a natural extension of recent privatisation activity, the most notable of which has been the St Petersburg Pulkovo Airport PPP project, which reached financial closure in Jun-2010.

Turkey’s air travel demand continues to grow, albeit at a slower rate

With a population of over 75 million, a dynamic economy, a relatively large geographical area (779,450 sq km) and increasing disposable income among its population, Turkey’s air travel demand continues to grow, at a time when the majority of Europe is experiencing sharp reductions.

VTB Bank-led Group Wins St Petersburg Pulkovo Airport PPP Bid

The Northern Capital Gateway Consortium, comprising Russia’s VTB Bank (Russia’s second largest financial institute), Fraport AG (35.5%) and Horizon Air Investments – part of Kopelouzos Group, a.k.a. Copelouzos Group (Greece), which has a minority stake in Athens Airport and interests in marketing Russian natural gas in Greece and in the wider Russian oil industry - has won a 30-year concession for Russia’s Pulkovo Airport. Under the PPP contract with the city of St. Petersburg, which will be signed by the end of 2009, it will focus on constructing a new passenger terminal, expanding ramp areas, developing real estate and modernising the existing airport infrastructure. Two other bidders included a consortium comprising Flughafen Wien, Lider and Gazprombank and another led by Russian aluminium oligarch and billionaire Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element and Singapore's Changi Airport International.

Eastern Europe Airlines no.4: S7s Tupolevs, Ilyushins and high fuel prices dont mix

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S7, Russia’s largest domestic airline, last week reported solid year-on-year traffic growth for the month of May. But the airline’s continued heavy reliance on old and fuel-thirsty Russian technology, in a market which is now highly competitive, means that it will be struggling to stay profitable – unless it can re-fleet quickly.