Kolavia (Kogalym) has announced plans to merge with Air Samara (Samara Kurumoch) the resulting company of which will be managed by a new Samara-based firm.
Among the terms and conditions of the agreement are that Kolavia, which operates MetroJet (Russian Federation) (Moscow Domodedovo), will move some of its Moscow Domodedovo operations to Samara Kurumoch where it will base an undisclosed number of its A320s and A321s. The move is aimed at positioning the carrier to better serve the southern Russian market.
In terms of fleeting plans, Air Samara, which has already taken delivery of three Beech (twin turboprop) King Air 350i for use on regional flights, will now cancel orders for an additional six. For its part, over the next three years, MetroJet plans to buy 10 more aircraft, likely similar to its current Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) fleet.
"The existing Beechcraft (Wichita Beech Factory) airplanes will be used for flights within Russia, but moreover, we want to develop flights to neighbouring countries in the CIS, in addition to strategic areas such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Crimea. Our biggest challenge will be pricing flights to Crimea to between RUB2'000 to RUB2'200. But, given a government subsidy, we can make it work," Air Samara Managing Director, Ismail Lepiev, said.
