Sibir revenues double

Sibir airlines, rated No. 8 among Russian carriers last year, says its revenues almost doubled from January to August year-on-year, reaching 1,972.3 million rubles.

The airline also reported a 4.1 percent increase in the number of passengers and 3.3 percent growth in cargo transportation volumes.

This year, the company purchased a Tu-204-200 aircraft, which it previously used under a leasing agreement with Perm Airlines. Sibir's fleet is now made up of 29 aircraft, including seven Il-86s and 22 various Tu planes.

Alexei Isaikin, general director of Volga-Dnepr, one of Russia's leading cargo airlines, has been awarded a Tsiolkovski medal. The award was given in recognition of Isaikin's contribution to the modernization of the world's biggest cargo craft, the An-124-100 Ruslan, according to Volga-Dnepr.

Isaikin has been with Volga-Dnepr since its foundation 10 years ago. He joined as chairman of the board, went on to become executive director, and in 1996 was appointed to his present position.

Volga-Dnepr has 10 An-124-100 aircraft, which account for about 50 percent of the worldwide fleet. The company specializes in super-heavy and oversized cargo transportation.

Krasair, Russia's third airline in last year's ratings, is in the process of negotiations with Airbus Industrie and Boeing on acquiring regional A-320 and Boeing-737 planes, Interfax reported.

The airline, based in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, also intends to purchase new Russia-made Tu-334 and U.S.-made Starliner aircraft, according to the report.

Krasair has no foreign-made aircraft in its fleet, which is made up of 4 Il-86s, 11 Il-76s, 5 Il-62s, 17 Tu-154s, 4 An-26s, 5 Yak-40s and 18 An-2s, according to the Transport Clearing Chamber. KrasAir mainly focuses on domestic passenger transportation.

Aeroflot said it plans to make an extra $100 million a year in profits at the end of a three-year period of reforming its route network, Alexander Zubarov, the first deputy general director, said during a meeting with tourist-company representatives, Interfax reported.

Aeroflot also said that it would take seven Il-96-300 liners under a leasing scheme of at least eight years through Ilyushin Finance. Nikolai Kuznetsov, the airline's deputy general director of financial planning, said that an exact financing scheme had not yet been worked out, according to Interfax.