Aurora Airlines makes it to TOP-10 list

Aurora's fleet includes ten A319s (Photo by Fyodor Borisov / transport-photo.com)

Aurora Airlines, Aeroflot’s subsidiary (51% owned by Aeroflot Group, 49% by the administration of Sakhalin region) operating in the Far East of Russia, has gained 19,9% traffic during the first six months of 2016 compared to the same period last yeat. Having served over 607,000 passengers, the carrier secured a place in the TOP-10 list of Russia’s largest airlines by traffic.

Domestic flights grew by 17,9% YoY, to 468,800 passengers while international flights have seen a 28,7% growth, reaching 138,200 passengers. By contrast, the cumulative traffic served by Russian carriers in the fist year-half was down by 7,9%, according to the country’s Federal Air Transport Agency data.

Aurora, in the meantime, also reported mail and cargo volume growth in January-June by 42,7% and 25,6% respectively, to 322.4 tons and 3 137.3 tons. Total flight time of the airline’s fleet was up 17,4%, to 18,446 hours.

During the first half of the year Aurora took delivery of five aircraft: two Airbus A319 and three DHC-8 Q400 entered service with the carrier. Its fleet now counts 21 aircraft.

“We are expecting a total growth of not less than 20% by the end of the year, which is a significant result against the general backdrop of the industry,” said Konstantin Sukhorebrik, Aurora CEO. According to him, the company is counting on the gradual fleet and route network expansion.

The airline performs regular flights to international destinations including Seoul, Busan, Harbin, Dalian, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Sapporo. Its domestic network includes destinations along Russia’s east coast (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Magadan, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) and in Siberia (Yakutsk,  Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk).