OREANDA-NEWS. December 8, 2009. Mr. Oleg Usmanov, Director General of the JSC “Nordavia – Regional Airlines”, has given a press conference in a new Moscow representative office of the Airline.

Mr. Usmanov has told the reporters that beginning form December 1st, 2009, the Airline is to use its new brand name – “Joint Stock Company “Nordavia – Regional Airlines”. The Airline will keep its traditional routes network, schedule and flight numbers, as well as fare system, frequent flyer programs, systems of bonuses and corporate agreements. “The main message we want to deliver to our passengers is that the Airline will not lower quality standards of its services. On the contrary, brand name will provide stimulus for further development and service quality improvement,” stresses Mr. Usmanov.
 
On Brand Name Change
The brand name change is connected with the definition of the subsidiary’s role in the strategy realization of its parent company “Aeroflot - Russian Airlines”. Operation under the new own brand name will allow “Nordavia – Regional Airlines” to better position itself as a regional airline focusing its attention on the market of North-Western Russia.
“We will continue our active cooperation with the mother company using opportunities of regional basing,” told Mr. Usmanov. To confirm the above mentioned statements, Director General of “Nordavia – Regional Airlines” Mr. Usmanov has listed a number of key events and decisions prior to the brand name change.
Firstly, on October 13th, 2009, “Nordavia” has received IOSA certificate proving the fact of the Airline’s inclusion into IATA’s IOSA Register (IATA Operational Safety Audit) after the Airline had successfully passed the audit on compliance with international operational safety standards. Receiving of IOSA certificate is not only the proof of Aeroflot-Nord’s high operational safety standards, but also a certain mark of quality. The parent company “Aeroflot-Russian Airlines” has granted its competent aid which facilitated successful completion of IATA’s operational safety audit.
Secondly, on November 13th, 2009, the Board of Directors has approved the Airline’s Development Strategy for the period of 2010 – 2013. Characteristic feature of “Nordavia” strategy is the aim to develop both domestic and international regional air services in the North-Western Region. That is why the new brand name includes such elements as “Nordavia” and “Regional Airways”. The Airline will continue active cooperation with “Aeroflot”, including such issues as joint aircraft utilization and route operation programs and quality of service provision.
Thirdly, “Nordavia”  and “Aeroflot” have for the first time in the history of their cooperation signed an agreement on “Aeroflot’s” own flights operation by “Nordavia’s” aircrafts for more than one year.  The agreement came into force beginning from the winter schedule 2009/2010. “Nordavia” operates 8 “Aeroflot’s” flights from Moscow (Sheremetyevo) to 6 destinations: 1 daily flight to Astrakhan, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Anapa and 2 daily flights to Chelyabinsk and Krasnodar. In the nearest future all these flights, as well as all “Nordavia’s” own flights from Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, Syktyvkar and Naryan-Mar, will be transferred to the new Sheremetyevo Terminal D. It should be mentioned that “Nordavia” operates 30% of total flights from Sheremetyevo Terminal 1; it is planned to keep this share after transferring all flights to the new modern and comfortable Sheremetyevo Terminal D.
Fourthly, great attention is paid to the fact that “Nordavia” has passed PART-145 EASA certification procedures and has been granted the right to perform maintenance of foreign aircraft types Boeing-737 300/400/500.
Although this fact might seem insignificant for unprofessional people, this, together with “Nordavia’s” other achievements, is a very important step on the way to higher level of safety and service quality. Today “Nordavia” possesses its own certified foreign aircrafts maintenance base in Arkhangelsk, “Nordavia’s” base airport. The EASA certificate allows “Nordavia” to perform in due time and with high quality both base maintenance, including A-checks, and line maintenance of Boeing-737 aircraft types which are the main in “Nordavia’s” air fleet. “Nordavia” has the same opportunity in Sheremetyevo Airport, from where it operates the majority of its flights.
“Thus, we confirm that the Airline brand name change is part of the elaborate strategy, the key performance indicator of which should become traffic volume growth in the target markets – up to 2 million passenger per year in 2013,” says Mr. Usmanov.

On Market Positioning
Mr. Oleg Usmanov has commented the issue of “Nordavia’s” positioning on the market in the following way:
“We reasonably assess possibilities and demands of our regional passengers and strive to develop not only main-stream routes from the Northern airports, but also inter-regional and local routes; we see our social responsibility as the key carrier in the Russian North.
Having chosen this direction of our routes network development and having understanding of who our main passenger is we develop a more flexible fare system with both high comfort and low price fares. For example, we have the “budget” fare, and its popularity is constantly growing.
Among recent offers for passengers are monthly sales of tickets: on the 24th and the 25th of each month the Airline offers an increased number of low fares available at “Nordavia” sales offices and official web-site. Soon we are going to introduce special offers for people striving to fly, leading active life style and valuing their time. More information will be available after these offers are introduced into the market.”

On New Sales Technologies
Great attention is paid to electronic commerce. Recently “Nordavia” has introduced a new form of paying for tickets booked on-line.
All passengers have an opportunity to pay for air tickets booked on-line via payment terminals QIWI. Ticket payment via QIWI terminals is also aimed at passengers living in cities where no “Nordavia” sales offices or authorized agencies are available. “Nordavia’s” passengers have an opportunity to pay for the tickets booked on-line in any of 89 000 QIWI payment terminals situated all over Russia.   

On Air Fleet Modernization and Routes Network Development
Air fleet modernization plays the key role in the Airline’s development. As of today, we operate 14 Boeing-737, 5 Tu-134, 4 An-24. Up to the end of the current year we are planning to take all Tu-134 aircrafts out of service. In the nearest plans – purchase of 50-seat aircrafts for flights between and within regions.
When it comes to “Nordavia” routes network, it includes 16 Russian regions with 35% of the country’s population. “Nordavia” operates around 60 flights daily, 50 from which under code-sharing agreement with Aeroflot. Director General of “Nordavia – Regional Airways” has commented the Airline’s routes network development in the following way: “The main base airport for “Nordavia” is Sheremetyevo. However, we actively develop routes from Pulkovo (Saint-Petersburg), in the first place, to our Northern airports, such as Arkhangelsk, Naryan-Mar, Murmansk, as well as Perm. Recently we have resumed our flights from Saint-Petersburg to Syktyvkar. Traditional directions include Southern destinations popular among Northern people. We fly from Moscow to Omsk, in addition our aircrafts operate “Aeroflot’s” flights under an agreement with the mother company to Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk and other cities. In the international aspect the key role is played by the Scandinavian countries. We have regular flights to Tromso, Norway (via Murmansk), and charter flights to Finland.
We are planning to develop these routes. As has been traditionally established, the majority of our local routes (within one region) is performed in the Arkhangelsk region and the Nenets Autonomous region. These include flights to Kotlas, Mezen, Leshukonskoye, Solovki and Amderma 2. Moreover, we consider the possibility of inter-regional and local network development in the Republic of Komi and the Murmansk region. We actively develop cooperation with regional authorities and try to find understanding in the sphere of Northern transport infrastructure development. Thus, we have recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Murmansk Regional Administration.”

Nordavia – Heir of Northern Civil Aviation Traditions
In conclusion to the press conference, Mr. Oleg Usmanov has reminded the reporters of the fact that February 4th, 2010, will witness 80-th anniversary of flights in the Russian North. The first flight was operated in 1930 on the route between Arkhangelsk and Syktyvkar. “Our Airline is the direct heir of Northern civil aviation traditions. We realize the significance of air transport for the traditional “Nordavia” territories. We stand for flights availability for passengers of all categories, irrespective of their age or level of income. That is why our motto is “People fly”. And we want them to fly with us.”