The government of Kaliningrad is pushing ahead with plans to establish its own low-cost carrier with a high-level meeting held this week to discuss a potential model for a regional airline. The results of the meeting were announced in a government press release.
The tripartite group was composed of Kaliningrad Region Government representative Alexander Derkach, Regional Director of Embraer Igor Voznyuk, and General Director of carrier Komiaviatrans (KMA, Syktyvkar) Alexander Ponomarev.
All three highlighted that Kaliningrad is well-located geographically to connect to both Russia and Europe. The Russian oblast is on the Baltic Sea, between Lithuania and Poland, and has no direct land connection to the Russian Federation. "We acutely feel the need to establish a budget airline in the territory of Russia and the EU countries," Derkach said.
Komiaviatrans' representative Ponomarev was positive about the project. "We are ready to take an active part in the Kaliningrad Region Government project to establish a regional air carrier," he said. Komiaviatrans is a scheduled carrier servicing primarily western Russia with a fleet of eleven E145s and three Let 410s.
Embraer, for its part, is also keen on the venture, with Voznyuk saying that the aircraft manufacturer is "very interested in such projects".
Kaliningrad previously had its own airline, KD Avia (Kaliningrad), which operated a fleet of thirteen B737-300s using Khrabrovo as a transit hub for flights connecting Western Europe and Russia. However, it ceased all operations in 2009 citing financial difficulties.
