OREANDA-NEWS. The airline’s revenues (exclusive of VAT) grew by 20% - up to 451,000,000 USD in the first half of 2007. Also all the basic performance indicators of S7 Airlines, including effective airplane payload, have increased. The growth is the result of route network and flight frequency optimization, modernization of the aircraft fleet and considerable reduction in expenses for fuel.

In the first half of 2007 the number of passengers, transported in S7 Airlines flights came to 2,233,000 which is 5% higher than the rates for the similar period last year. The number of flights grew by 11%, and reached 20,100. Passenger traffic came to 5.5 billion passenger miles which is 1.1% more than the rate during the first half of 2006.

The seat occupancy rate in the reporting period was 77%, which is 0.7 percentage points more than in the first six months of last year. The volume of transferred cargo and mail in the first half of 2007 grew by 8% and was 13,630 tons.

“We are placing the main emphasis in the airline’s development this year on increasing airplane loads and reducing expenses for fuel, which in the end, will increase the efficiency of our business and secure the growth in income”, noted Vladislav Filev, Managing Director of “Siberia” Airlines OJSC.

The airline’s aircraft fleet modernization program, planned for the next 7 years has been considerably developed in the first half of 2007. The S7 Group of Companies signed several major contracts for purchasing new aircraft from the world’s leading civil aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, and became the first Russian customers of the latest modern aircraft. Boeing 787 Dreamliner: "25 - Airbus A320 delivery to start in 2009;
    "10 - Boeing 737-800 delivery to start in 2010;
    "15 - Boeing 787 Dreamliner delivery to start in 2014;

Also the operational leasing contracts were signed with the ILFC Company for 4 new Airbus А320 planes (delivery in the beginning of 2008) and with Cramington Leasing Company for 9 Airbus А319 planes, which are going to be received in the second half of 2007.

The decision was taken to replace by 2009 all the IL-86, and by 2013 all the Tu-154 airplanes in the airline’s fleet. This is the result of low fuel efficiency of these old aircraft and the toughening of environmental protection standards at large tourist destinations.

Modernization of the S7 Airlines aircraft fleet, enlarging the percentage of modern foreign-made planes allows the lowering of fuel consumption by 22%, down to 34.7 grams per seat-kilometer. This will allow saving more than 100,000,000 USD in comparison with 2004.

Also since the beginning of 2007, the electronic ticket (e-ticket) program has been actively developed. All the systems, connected to this program, worked in test mode in March, and in April the electronic ticket sales to many destinations started being used through S7 Airlines own reservations offices and through the company’s website www.s7.ru.