Azimut airline will come to the Russian charter market

The Russian airline Azimut intends to come on the charter market by the next summer season. The airline, which in August received an operator's certificate, has big plans for the development of its fleet and route network. On October 10, 2017 the carrier opened flights from Pulkovo on the most popular domestic destinations from St. Petersburg: Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don. Airports of these cities are the base for carrier. As Dmitry Zvonarev the Director for strategic development of the airline said, there are 4 Russian-built Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ-100) aircraft today in the Azimut air fleet, and by April 2018 there will be eight of them. According to the company's business model, in 2018 the carrier must fly in 30 directions. "We are planning a large network of routes, primarily a regional one. Many airports in Russia want to see us as a carrier and work on special incentive programs. Interest to us is great", - reported Mr. Zvonarev. According to him, it is wrong to position Azimut as a low-cost carrier, since the airline, in spite of low tariffs, offers more services than low-budget companies usually do. According to the estimations of Director General of Vipservice tour operator D. Gorin, Azimuth can transport 500-800 thousand passengers next year. The carrier hops to enter the international transportation market: the flights abroad are in the company's business plan and the carrier's management is waiting for such permission from Rosaviatsiya. According to Dmitry Zvonarev, the question of opening flights from Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar to EU countries is being worked out. Additionally Azimut is already negotiating with several major players of the tourist market about the possibility of charter flights in the interests of tour operators.