S7 Group’s traffic grew 5.6% in 2015

Photo by Leonid Faerberg / Transport-Photo.com

Two Russian carriers – Sibir and Globus – that operate under the S7 Airlines brand and make up the S7 Group served 5.6% more passengers in 2015 than in the previous year. Last year’s traffic amounted to 10.63 million passengers, as compared to 10.07 million in 2014, according to a statement from S7 Group.

Domestic traffic growth increased 11.7%, reaching 7.596 million passengers; the remaining 3 million passengers were carried on international flights (-7.7%).

Both carriers operated 88,700 flights in 2015, 3% more than the year before. Revenue passenger kilometers stood at 21.8 billion. The cargo segment grew 2.5% to 2.1 billion tonne-kilometers.

The results of the year matched the company’s forecasts. Notably, at the end of 2015, S7 became Russia’s de facto second-largest airline after the exit of Transaero. Nonetheless, before leaving the market in October, Transaero served more passengers in 2015 than the whole S7 Group did during the entire year (11.219 million).

This year, there is another candidate for second place in Russia’s air transport rating. Top-management of the newly-formed Rossiya Airlines, made up of three of Aeroflot’s subsidiaries, claims its traffic will hit the 10 million mark by the end of 2016. The carriers that merged to make up the new Rossiya Airlines (Donavia, Rossiya and OrenAir) served cumulatively 8.583 million passengers. Aeroflot remains the unbeatable market leader with 26.1 million passengers carried in 2015.

In 2016, S7 Airlines expects to begin offering service from Moscow to several new international destinations, including Berlin, Dusseldorf, Malaga, Ibiza and Rhodes.