Rossiiskaya Gazeta: "Holiday Subsidies"
By Tatyana Shadrina
Between May 15 and September 15, the flight from the Far East to European Russia will cost 10,000-14,000 roubles. The remainder will be subsidised by the government, as Transport Minister Igor Levitin reported to Vladimir Putin yesterday.
The Transport Ministry has prepared rules for subsidising airfares from the Far East and the Far North between 2009 and 2011. The document is now to be approved by the Ministry of Economic Development. If it is adopted, about 120,000 Far Eastern passengers will enjoy a 50% discount next summer.
Such long-distance haulage terms will be offered to large and established carriers. "If our concept is adopted, we will hold a tender in February," Mr Levitin promised. As was reported earlier, only economy-class tickets will be covered.
Experts point out that the times are not so bad for aviation today, given that fuel prices are dropping; fuel prices dropped by 10% in Irkutsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Blagoveshchensk, and Kurgan.
Vladimir Spiridonov, a representative from a fuel company, thinks that the change in that market has already allowed some major air carriers to cut their fares and abolish fuel surcharges. In the current form, the number of discount fares on Far Eastern lines could increase.
Igor Levitin also reported to Vladimir Putin on plans to create a major transport leasing company with an authorised capital of 40 billion roubles, 15 billion of which will be disbursed this year. According to Mr Levitin, a tentative list has been made of 68 Russian enterprises in all regions from which 10,000 various technological items can be bought in 2009. "We have prepared the technological requirements and will organise a tender together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to select the enterprises that can provide such machines," the Minister said. "This order will create tens of thousands of jobs," he said. In the opinion of experts, the transport leasing company may become the largest operator, ahead even of Rosagroleasing, as early as 2010.
Mr Levitin also briefed the Prime Minister on the performance of the transportation sector. In 2008 the air companies, in spite of the crisis, carried 50.1 million passengers, 11% more than in 2007. By contrast, the railways experienced a drop in freight carriage in the last month of 2008, though passenger carriage increased by 1.1%. Cargo transportation on sea and inland waterways increased by 2.5%.
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