S7 Airlines regains its position as Russia’s second largest carrier
The carrier had lost the status in February 2017 (Fyodor Borisov / Transport-Photo.com)
Operational results of S7 Airlines (Sibir) in January positioned it to reclaim its title as Russia’s second largest commercial air operator after flag carrier Aeroflot. The position had been held by Aeroflot’s sister company Rossiya Airlines since February 2017.
Rossiya carried 644,900 passengers in January, sliding 4% year-on-year, the Federal Air Transport Agency (FATA) reports. S7 Airlines outperformed its January 2017 result by 15.4% with 797,900 passengers.
Igor Veretennikov, CCO of S7 Group (S7 Airlines’ parent company), earlier revealed that the carrrier had “registered steady traffic growth on both domestic and international routes” in January this year. With the mountain skiing season in full swing, the operator saw an increase in traffic to Sochi, Munich, and destinations in Austria and northern Italy.
Other than that, the top-five list of Russia’s largest airlines by passenger traffic stayed the same: Aeroflot ranking first with 2.455 million (up 6.6% year-on-year), UTair Aviation coming fourth with 587,100 (up 21.6%), and Ural Airlines in the fifth place with 566,600 passengers (up 19.7%).
Top 5 Russian airlines, by passengers carried in January 2018
| N | Airline | Passengers carried | |
| January 2018 | Change vs January 2017, % | ||
| 1 | Aeroflot | 2,454,707 | +6.6 |
| 2 | S7 Airlines | 797,881 | +15.4 |
| 3 | Rossiya | 644,924 | -4.0 |
| 4 | UTair | 587,082 | +21.6 |
| 5 | Ural Airlines | 566,605 | +19.7 |
Source: Russia’s FATA
In the cargo segment, LCC Pobeda Airlines grew at a breakneck pace in January and made it to the top five for the first time, ranking third with 2,500 tons (142 times up year-on-year). The growth was achieved through fleet expansion, and also thanks to bringing turn-around times down to 30 minutes.
Pobeda actually managed to surpass one of traditional market leaders, Volga-Dnepr Airlines, which ranked sixth with 1,900 tons in January (down 29% year-on-year).
The cargo leaders remained unchanged from January 2017: AirBridgeCargo led the pack with 46,100 tons (up 9.3%), followed by Aeroflot with 16,400 tons (up 14.3%).
Top 5 Russian airlines for cargo and mail carried in January 2018
| N | Airline | Freight and mail carried, tons | |
| January 2018 | Change vs January 2017, % | ||
| 1 | AirBridgeCargo | 46,092.64 | 109.3 |
| 2 | Aeroflot | 16,445.29 | 114.3 |
| 3 | Pobeda | 2,453.04 | by 142 times |
| 4 | S7 Airlines | 2,096.66 | 96.8 |
| 5 | Rossiya | 1,982.30 | 103.5 |
Source: Russia’s FATA
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