On the Record With
Evgeny Bakhtin, President, Russian
Business Aviation Association
For several years Russia has shown a surprisingly large
increase in business aviation activity, with a 40-50% annual rise in VIP
charter traffic and the number of aircraft acquired. A 100-strong bizav fleet
is a pessimistic estimate for the number of Russian-owned aircraft in
operation. Some industry sources put it as high as 300 jets, Evgeny Bakhtin,
president of the Russian Business Aviation Association (ADA), told Show News.
He is here at this year's NBAA.
Demand will develop at that same 40-50% annual rate for
three or four years, until the Russian fleet numbers 300-500 aircraft, says
Bakhtin. "As the industry is very opaque and most owners prefer 'flag of
convenience' registration, it is very hard to identify Russian owners," he
says.
According to ADA, within the last three years Russians have
spent about $1.5 billion on private and corporate aircraft, but unfavorable
import taxes and a poor legislation base keep all these aircraft based abroad.
Russian private owners are keen to buy brand-new long-range aircraft, while
domestic operators are stuck with used Hawkers and Falcon 20s/50s. A vivid
example: there is a rumor that Russian private customers have already placed
orders for two Boeing 787s in VVIP layout. It is impossible to check this out,
but there is other quite clear evidence of private owners' preferences. According
to industry sources, one Boeing 767, nine BBJs, 12 Falcon 900s, nine Falcon
2000s, five Gulfstream IVs, nine Gulfstream Vs, some 38 Global Expresses and
Challenger 601/604s, and five Embraer Legacys have been delivered to Russian
customers. On the other hand, a couple of months ago one local operator leased
a 30-year-old BAC-111 in VIP layout — the best he can afford.
Though there is still room in the market, because of fleet
restrictions local operators are focused on short- and medium-haul routes,
while foreign operators take the bulk of the most lucrative international
operations. Not all of them are true 'foreigners', as Russians prefer to
register and base aircraft abroad. According to ADA, European operators
currently account for 75% of Russian bizjet operations' market share. In
financial terms they have already taken about 85% of revenues from the Russian
market. "Today up to half of the 1,500-strong European bizjet fleet caters to
Russians' needs," says Bakhtin.
This year Russian airports will handle about 30,000 bizav
flights, but Russian fleet growth has overtaken the development of poor airport
infrastructure, notes Bakhtin. The most sophisticated airports are in the
Moscow area, but even in the Russian capital there is still no real one-stop
FBO. Because of airport monopolies, the handling infrastructure in Russia
differs significantly from that in the U.S. and Europe. Hangarage, and even
line MRO facilities, are scarce, and high import taxes on spares and equipment
hamper any attempts to set up maintenance bases within Russia.
