The Russian Ministry of Development of the Far East and the Arctic is considering launching a new airline based out of Khabarovsk Novy and serving Russia's Far East with a fleet of SSJ 100/95s, regional news website DV-Novosti has reported.
While details are scarce for the time being, the government clearly stated that the airline would be flying only in the Far East and will not offer cross-country services to Moscow.
Russian-language newspaper The Moscow Post has further reported that the project is backed by state-owned industrial concern Rostec. The holding for all Russian aircraft manufacturers, UAC United Aircraft Corporation (Zhukovsky), which itself is majority-owned by Rostec, could then be tasked with operating the new airline.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (Zhukovsky), the manufacturer of the SSJ 100/95 regional jet, is a subsidiary of UAC.
Currently, the only local carrier in Khabarovsk is Khabarovsk Avia (KHF, Khabarovsk Novy). The airline, which is owned by the regional government, operates three Let 410UVP-E20s, three An-24RVs, and two An-26s. The region is also served by the joint venture of Aeroflot and the regional government of Sakhalin, Aurora (HZ, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk).
While two East Russia-based carriers, IrAero (IO, Irkutsk International) and Yakutia Airlines (R3, Yakutsk), currently operate SSJ 100/95s, there is no true regional carrier in the Far East operating this type.
