FLEET DEVELOPMENTS: Transaero Could Use A380s on Domestic Russian Routes

At the end of last week independent Russian carrier Transaero Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus to acquire four A380s becoming the launch customer for the SuperJumbo in Russia, the CIS and Eastern Europe. At the time the carrier revealed it would use the aircraft on its “long-range network of high density routes from Moscow,” configured in a three-class cabin layout, seating about 700 passengers (only Air Austral has committed to fitting more seats on its A380s).

But, can we narrow down which destinations the airline is likely to serve with the aircraft? Transaero’s network currently encompasses around 70 destinations, which are served by more than 790 weekly flights. A senior executive at the airline confirmed to The HUB that the A380s will be used on “high density routes to leisure markets” and there are possible examples in the Caribbean, South East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.

In the Caribbean, Transaero currently flies to Punta Cana twice weekly from Moscow Domodedovo and twice weekly from Moscow Sheremetyevo, while it offers charter services to Varadero in Cuba. It also has flights to Cancun in Mexico City, a strong potential candidate for A380 services. In South East Asia it is introducing new flights to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, but its largest leisure flows are to Bali in Indonesia and Phuket in Thailand. In the Middle East and North Africa, Egypt is the stand out market with high frequency services to Hurghada and Sharm el Sheikh.

The table below shows the routes that Transaero currently flies with its largest aircraft, the Boeing 747-400 – all possible candidates to be up-scaled to the A380.

However, it is also likely that we could see the A380s utilised on domestic schedules within Russia. When Transaero first introduced its Boeing 747 models around six years ago, nobody would believe that they are now used on daily flights from Moscow to Khabarovsk and Vladivostok during peak periods. The airline has worked closely with airports across the country to upgrade infrastructure to handle the Jumbo and anticipates something similar with the SuperJumbo. “Many other Russian airports we fly to and from are now certified for the 747. Why not to think of something similar for A380, as the demand for domestic air service is constantly growing?” the executive told The HUB.

“Transaero is experienced in operating long-range wide-body aircraft, and is now ready to offer the A380. I am sure that the operation of this high capacity aircraft will stimulate the development of Russia’s aviation sector, in particular airports infrastructure while passengers will benefit from a completely new experience.” added Olga Pleshakova, Chief Executive Officer, Transaero Airlines.