Although Transaero is continuing to fly, operational control of the airline has already been passed across to Aeroflot and bookings are no longer being taken beyond December 15, 2015. Although nothing has been formally confirmed on the likely bankruptcy of Transaero, these actions and an ongoing unscheduled safety audit by Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia, will likely lead to the closure of the carrier, with creditors such as Sberbank and Alfa Bank set to bring bankruptcy proceedings against the carrier.
The reciprocal bans have the potential to hit both nations' already struggling economies, reroute flights across a large part of Europe and lead to further economic disentanglement between the neighbouring states. Latest data from the World Bank's shows Ukraine's real GDP was expected to fall by over 7 per cent, making Russia and Ukraine the world's two worst-growing economies.
The airline had for a long-time used Domodedovo International Airport as its main scheduled base in Moscow, supplemented by leisure-based operations from Sheremetyevo International Airport. However, in May 2012 it introduced flights from Vnukovo, until then known mainly for its domestic activities within the Russian Federation.
The surprise announcement this week, driven by the country’s ongoing financial crisis, has been approved by the Russian Government and will continue the recent airline consolidation in the country which has already seen Aeroflot take over a number of its regional rivals.
Transaero announced plans to debut the Airbus A320 Family variant into its fleet from July 2015 in March last year when it confirmed a deal with ICBC Leasing, part of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, to introduce six A321 aircraft on operating leases for delivery through March 2016. These are the first of up to 30 A321s that are due to enter the Russian carrier’s fleet within the next five years.
The Independently-owned full-service carrier currently operates five flights per week to Blagoveshchensk but from Moscow Domodedovo, but from May 26, 2015 it will increase to a daily schedule. It will further boost capacity between the Russian capital and the destination from June 22, 2015 with the launch of a new twice weekly offering from Moscow Vnukovo.
Transaero’s new itinerary will be the only scheduled offering between the two cities and will represent the first scheduled link since Yakutia ended a short-lived Boeing 757 operation on the route in January 2014 after just three months of service. Prior to that S7 Airlines had served the route in 2012 and Vladivostok Air between July 2008 and October 2011.
Transaero will offer a daily flight to the Czech capital as part of its growing Moscow Vnukovo international network from March 29, 2015 using a Next-Generation Boeing 737. The route will complement the airline’s flights from both Moscow and St Petersburg to Pardubice which have been in operation since 1996 and which witnessed a nine per cent year-on-year rise in passenger demand in 2014.
Transaero Airlines is set to launch a new route between Moscow and Prague next summer if it can secure the traffic rights next month. The Russian carrier revealed the news at the 20th World Route Development Forum in Chicago yesterday, writes Justin Birns for The HUB.
The weekly service, operated by a two-class Boeing 767-300ER, represents the return of a link first served by Transaero in 2002 and served up until October 2004. This was originally flown from Domodedovo Airport in the Russian capital but is now being served every Wednesday from Vnukovo Airport.
