Vnukovo eyes Iraqi service

Russia's Vnukovo Airline said it is ready to conduct regular flights to Baghdad's newly opened Saddam Hussein international airport, a company official told ITAR-TASS.

The flights can be handled by the Tu-154M, Tu-204 or Il-86 aircraft, said Sergei Isakov, deputy chairman of the board, after a visit to Baghdad.

The company has made six flights to Iraq to deliver humanitarian cargo since Dec. 25, 1997. Russian national carrier Aeroflot also is expected to compete on the route, Isakov said.

Aeroflot sets dividend

Russia’s flagship carrier Aeroflot will pay 1999 dividends to the government, which holds a 51.7 percent stake in the airline, and to other shareholders within the next three months, Interfax reported.

The airline's board approved the payments at its recent meeting, the company said.

The board also approved Executive Secretary Anatoly Brylov for the post of deputy general director. And it instructed managers and the general director to reach an agreement with Sheremetyevo airport by Sept. 15 on the main points of a program to build a new passenger terminal. The next board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 26.

The company also announced that cargo and passenger volumes were up strongly in the first seven months of this year, compared to the same period in 1999. A company spokeswoman told Reuters that cargo traffic had jumped by 24.3 percent to 57,400 tons over the period, while passenger volume was up 7.5 percent to 2.78 million. This July alone, Aeroflot carried 566,200 passengers, up 10.8 percent over July of last year.

Aviastar to deliver

The Aviastar aviation complex of Ulyanovsk intends to deliver two new planes next year, officials said. It will hand over an Antonov An-124-100 Ruslan freighter to the Volga-Dnepr airline, and a Tupolev Tu-204-120 to Kato Aromati of Egypt.

The planes cost a total of $76 million. It is thought Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the ceremony in Ulyanovsk on July 22-25. Volga-Dnepr was set up in 1991 to operate Ruslan aircraft.

Volga-Dnepr credit

Volga-Dnepr airline of Ulyanovsk and Sberbank of Russia have signed an agreement on a $10 million credit line for four and a half years, Interfax reported. Most of the credit will be used to purchase a new Ruslan plane.

Hearing postponed

A Russian arbitration court deferred the hearing of bankruptcy proceedings against Baikal of Irkutsk to Dec. 19, 2000, Interfax reported.

Urals sale fails

The auction of a state-owned 13.93 percent share of Urals Airlines failed due to a lack of bids, Interfax reported.

The lot was 22,233 common shares with a nominal of 1 ruble. The starting price was 16.2 million rubles, the deposit, 3.24 million rubles. The auction was open to foreign bidders. The property fund already attempted to auction the stake May 18, 2000 at a starting price of 18 million rubles.

Flights to Israel

Israel's IsraAir announced it will open regular flights on the Tel Aviv-Moscow route Nov. 3. Another Israeli airline, Arkia, will also begin flights to Moscow soon, officials said. Previously, Russia's Transaero and Israel’s El Al had a monopoly on air connections between Moscow and Israel. As a result of competition, prices on air tickets may fall by 40 percent, according to Kommersant.