A trilateral agreement on the development of air services based at Bolshoye Savino Airport was signed by Dmitry Makhonin, governor of the Perm Territory, Evgeny Klyucharev, CEO of Red Wings Airlines, and Sultan Dzharmukhanov, Managing Director of Perm International Airport. The cooperation agreement is aimed at developing the itinerary network of the Perm airport and making air travel more affordable.
Red Wings Airlines is implementing a large-scale project to create large air bases at leading regional airports and develop direct flights between Russian cities. Red Wings will use the latest Russian SSJ100 aircraft with a capacity of 100 seats on flights between the regions.
Dmitry Makhonin, the head of the region, said that the company is one of the largest air carriers and is actively developing.
— We want one of the airlines to base its aircraft at Bolshoye Savino Airport. We are considering Red Wings, which already operates flights from Perm to Moscow, Simferopol and Sochi, and intends to develop the route network from the region to cities such as Murmansk, Omsk, Tomsk, Makhachkala and Astrakhan. Our task is to make Perm an air hub. It will create extra convenience and comfort for our residents who will be able to fly directly to as many places in the country and the world as possible, rather than via Moscow or St. Petersburg. We have big plans with the company, and we have also planned to discuss the possibility of subsidizing flights from public funds, which would enable us to keep them during periods when they are less profitable. Within the framework of the agreement we will discuss in practical terms how to jointly develop air communication of the Kama Region with other regions and countries, emphasized Dmitry Makhonin.
— We see serious potential in the Perm Territory for passenger traffic growth and itinerary network development. This is why Red Wings plans to become the base airline of Bolshoye Savino Airport and, with the support of the regional government, build an extensive network of dozens of Russian and international destinations in Perm, said Evgeny Klyucharev, Red Wings CEO.
— It is an important task to get the base airline for the International Airport Perm. It is especially relevant due to the attention and support given by the federal government to the development of regional transportation. The base airline will connect Perm with many cities, allowing passengers to save money and time by travelling directly bypassing the Moscow air hub said Sultan Dzharmukhanov, Managing Director of Perm International Airport.
The airline is considering an option to base both SSJ100 regional jets and Airbus 320/321 medium-range planes at Bolshoye Savino. Astrakhan, Makhachkala, Murmansk, Omsk and Tomsk are to become Red Wings first regional destinations from Perm. In the future, a maintenance base may be established at Bolshoye Savino Airport for Red Wings Superjets.
Red Wings is one of Russia top ten largest airlines, specializing in scheduled and charter passenger services. The Red Wings fleet consists of 24 passenger aircraft: 15 Airbus 320/321, seven Russian regional SSJ100s and two long-range Boeing 777s. Base airports are Domodedovo, Koltsovo (Yekaterinburg), Balandino (Chelyabinsk), Pulkovo (St. Petersburg) and Zhukovsky.
