Lufthansa Cargo Bets 3 More Months
Russian authorities have allowed Lufthansa Cargo to fly across Russia for another three months, to the end of February 2008. In exchange, the airline has promised to reroute its flights to Southeast Asia through Krasnoyarsk, canceling its Astana, Kazakhstan, stopover. Before that can happen, the airport in Krasnoyarsk has to be upgraded, which will cost at least $10 million. Russia has a lot more than that to gain by it, however. Lufthansa Cargo will pay $30-38 million per year just to fly over Siberia.
The German Transportation Ministry informed its Russian equivalent that Lufthansa Cargo “would be able to move to Krasnoyarsk” within six months of the airport's improvement. Lufthansa Cargo flew 2542 flights through Astana last year. It will pay $12,000-15,000 per flight when they begin stopping in Krasnoyarsk.
Lufthansa Cargo's direct competitor Volga-Dnepr Airlines has announced that it will step up utilization of the Krasnoyarsk airport as well. Volga-Dnepr group senior vice president Sergey Shklyanik noted that the presence of Lufthansa Cargo may encourage the opening of an airplane service center in Krasnoyarsk. Observers also note that the fact that Lufthansa has been granted a short-term temporary extension indicates that a final agreement between it and the Russian government is still far away.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 15, 2007
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