The largest Russian banks are preparing their own airline
At the beginning of this year, the largest Russian banks Sberbank and VTB received an instruction from the Russian government to open an aviation company for regional transportation.
One of the close sources in the banking sector reports that a business plan is being developed to create an airline. Specialists prepare the image of the future carrier and the composition of shareholders.
Bain & Company joined the project, its specialists analyze which airports should cooperate with the banking airline - with dirt for small aviation or large for mainline airliners. Then a network of cities and routes will be prepared, where Sberbank and VTB aircraft will go, and an air fleet will be prepared.
The new regional carrier will be able to carry 6 to 10 million people a year. With such passenger traffic, the airline will be in the top three in Russia after Aeroflot (Russia, Victory, Aurora) and S7 Group (Siberia and Globe). Bank officials have not yet commented.
In 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to develop a concept for the development of regional and local air transportation until 2030. The plan may provide for a complete solution to the development of the air transport industry, including the aviation industry, infrastructure, airlines and the training of qualified professional personnel.