Pobeda anticipates Russian growth from Cologne Bonn

The LCC’s new link will result in the German airport offering close to 300 flights to Russia this summer (Leonid Faerberg / Transport-Photo.com)

Pobeda Airlines, a sister company of Aeroflot and Russia’s only low-cost carrier (LCC), has commenced a twice-weekly service from Germany’s Cologne Bonn Airport to St. Petersburg.

Pobeda, which is the German airport’s only scheduled operator to Russia, has launched the 1,753-kilometer connection utilizing a Boeing 737-800.

Commenting on the latest announcement, Athanasios Titonis, managing director of Cologne Bonn Airport, said: “We are very pleased that Pobeda is expanding its involvement at our airport. The new connection is not only attractive for those who want to stay in the exciting city of St. Petersburg, but also for those who are traveling [elsewhere] in Russia.”

The airline made Cologne Bonn its first German operation by joining the gateway’s airline portfolio two years ago. The operator has no competition on the route to St. Petersburg. Already having a presence at Cologne Bonn with a daily rotation to its base airport at Moscow’s Vnukovo, the LCC’s new link will result in the German airport offering close to 300 flights to Russia this coming summer.

At the same time, the carrier has started selling tickets to its fourth German destination from Vnukovo, Leipzig/Halle. The new thrice-weekly service will be launched in mid-April.

Overall, Pobeda Pobeda is planning to service some 80 destinations during the 2018 summer season, up from last year’s 58, utilizing a fleet of 20 Boeing 737-800s.