Sberbank and VTB will create an airline for regional flights. The largest Russian banks received the corresponding order from the Russian government in early 2018, according to the Vedomosti newspaper.
According to a source close to one of the banks, at the moment A business plan for the airline is being developed. Experts are also working on defining the future carrier's profile and shareholder composition. Bain & Company has been brought in to work on the project; by the end of the year, their experts are expected to analyze which airports the banking airline should partner with—unpaved ones for small aircraft or large ones for long-haul airliners. Only then will a network of cities and routes for Sberbank and VTB aircraft be developed and a fleet formed.
According to a source, the new regional carrier intends to carry between 6 and 10 million passengers per year. This passenger traffic will place the airline among the three largest in Russia, behind Aeroflot Group (Rossiya, Pobeda, and Aurora) and S7 Group (Sibir and Globus). Bank officials are currently refraining from commenting on the matter.
As a reminder, in 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to develop a strategy for the development of regional and local air travel through 2030. The strategy provides for a comprehensive solution to the development of the air transport sector, including the aviation industry, infrastructure, airlines themselves, and the training of highly qualified professionals.
Source: news.turizm.ru
