FBO FEATURE
RUSSIA AND THE CIS
UNDERSTANDING FBOs IN RUSSIA AND THE CIS
The major players in Russia’s capital are Avcom-D, headquartered in Domodedovo (DME), Avia Group (currently undergoing rebranding) with Finnish partner Airfix Aviation in Sheremetyevo (SVO), as well as a subsidiary of Gazprom in Ostafyevo (OSF). The most popular FBO in Russia and the CIS as of today is Vipport at Vnukovo-3 (VKO). The FBO is located near Moscow and served by two major motorways, and sits right next to the government airport terminal (which sometimes results in takeoff and landing delays while the airport is shut down). The modern main
The FBO is still a new concept in Russia and the CIS, where Business Aviation services are mostly concentrated around several big cities and are elsewhere confined to getting the passenger aboard the plane via a so-called VIP lounge, which used to be reserved for the leaders of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. As business grows and the industry matures, the situation is changing. By Anna Nazarova and Ivan Veretennikov Less than 10 years ago, comprehensive all-inclusive ground service for Business Aviation passengers and aircraft was a one-off product in Russia and the former Soviet republics. With more and more business jets entering this growing market, however, supply followed demand. Apart from Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Business Aviation clusters and maintenance centers are beginning to emerge in other parts of Russia. The Baltic States are also after Russian customers, creating convenient FBOs and luring them with attractive prices. Ukraine and Kazakhstan are developing fast, as business in these countries grows and the need for private and corporate travel increases. It is too early, however, to say that ground services are evenly developing in the region, or that there is a universal understanding of what an FBO should be.
As of today, there are two forms in which ground services are provided to Business Aviation: a proper FBO as a place where both passengers and the aircraft with crew get full service, and a business terminal offering luxurious amenities to just the passengers, but sending the aircraft and crew to fulfil all their needs via a handling agent at the airport proper. The Bright Lights of the Capital Moscow remains the most advanced city in terms of Business Aviation services in the whole region. It is one of the biggest bizav hubs in Europe, and Vnukovo-3 (VKO) routinely wins the first spot in Avinode demand surveys. It would have been high up in the Eurocontrol reports, too, if only Eurocontrol considered Moscow (or any city in Russia, for that matter), a European city.
building can process up to 50 VIPs per hour and has all necessary services such as customs and passport control, as well as a cafĂŠ, a duty-free shop (where one can find Faberge eggs for over 50,000 euro), and meeting rooms. There is a spacious parking area and heated hangars for business jets. The FBO also offers fuel and cleaning services. Its biggest advantage, however, is in the choice of the strategic partner that offers technical support: Jet Aviation Moscow. Thanks to this international tandem, owners can perform line maintenance for almost all Gulfstream, Bombardier, and Hawker models, as well as the local bestseller Embraer Legacy 600/650. Vipport customers have been heard to complain about high prices, but competition may lead the company to offer more for less.
MRO
Avcom-D, Domodedovo (top) offers interior repair and overhaul services. Vipport at Vnukovo -3 gives technical support through Jet Aviation Moscow (center).
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FBO FEATURE
The most aggressive competitor today is the Avia Group FBO in Sheremetyevo, a Business Aviation service center that has cost its parent company around 90 million euro and counting. Over the past two years Avia Group built and opened a stylish twostorey Business Aviation terminal that can process up to 35 departing and as many arriving passengers per hour, two hangars with a combined area of 15,000 sq m, and an MRO center. Airfix Aviation, headquartered in Finland and said to have the same beneficiary as Avia Group, is providing line maintenance for Dassault, Bombardier, and Gulfstream aircraft. Another first for the region is a helipad, certified for anything up to a Mil Mi-8 and a welcome solution for passengers who can afford to fly above the eternal traffic jam on the way to the airport. A third hangar is being constructed, and an interior design and refurbishing service in the works.
UPWARD
Sheremetyevo (left) is well on its way to becoming a Business Aviation hub. JetPort’s FBO at Pulkovo-3 (right).
The oldest FBO in Russia is AvcomD in DME. Although the main building is not as big as competing terminals, and the airport is the least accessible from Moscow, the company compensates with unique propositions. For example, in 2012 Avcom-D and Aviaprestige jointly offered business jet interior repair and overhaul services. The company is also the only service center for Hawker/BAe-125 aircraft in the CIS, certified even for major repairs, while others only offer line maintenance. The MRO also services Beechcraft King Airs, some models of the Cessna Citation range, and has been authorised for installations and upgrades of Rockwell Collins avionics.
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RUSSIA AND THE CIS
The least well known Moscow FBO is Ostafyevo. As a subsidiary of Gazprom it mainly takes care of parent company traffic. There is one terminal building and another one is in the works with a capacity of 100 pax per hour. Since the mid-90s the FBO is home for a Falcon 900 maintenance facility, and according to a source close to the FBO management it is now discussing an update of its maintenance certificate with Dassault and the creation of an MRO for all Falcon models. Business is good in Saint Petersburg, too. Pulkovo airport, recently home to just a very mediocre VIP lounge, now has not one but two separate FBOs, Pulkovo-2 and Pulkovo-3, created by the two competitors Avia Group and JetPort (subsidiary of Vipport), respectively. Both have their own terminal buildings, hangars, parking spaces, and offer ground handling and flight support services. Pulkovo-2 will concentrate on official delegations and government flights, while Pulkovo-3 will focus on private and corporate flights. Both facilities are fully functional, and Pulkovo-3 has serviced, among others, 20 delegations during the G20 summit. Gloomy Provinces Far away from capital cities of Russia and the former Soviet republics, the infrastructure for Business Aviation is underdeveloped to say the least. Where business is thriving, however, things are gradually improving. The world-famous Sochi, site of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, now has its own FBO, opened by Basel Aero this year. Separate road access, two lounges (one for business passengers, the other for official delegations), as
well as parking spots for 12 aircraft and luxury Mercedes sedans to deliver people to and from aircraft are among the highlights. Very unusually for construction in Russia and CIS, access for people with disabilities and reduced mobility was taken into account, making the terminal one of the few buildings of any kind where this was given a thought. JetPort South, another subsidiary of Vipport, offers ground handling and flight support services in Sochi, Anapa, Kransodar, and Gelendzhik. A proper FBO also exists in Samara (KUF) where, apart from a separate building serving passengers, flight support services are also offered for aircraft and crews. Kazan, as one of strongest provinces in terms of economy, is another center for bizav activity. One of Russia’s biggest maintenance, interior design and completions center, Tulpar Technik, is headquartered at the city’s airport. A separate terminal building is dedicated to business passengers, official delegations, and so-called VIPs, who get the whole 2nd floor to themselves. This is one of those non-FBOs that nevertheless keep business travelers happy while their crew and ops department interact with the local handling service to get everything they need from the airport proper (which, in some cases, takes time). A similar arrangement exists in Rostov-on-Don, where the business lounge is located in a separate building, and BMW 7 Series sedans take passengers to and from aircraft. The key city in the Urals, Yekaterinburg, now also has its own luxurious business terminal at Koltsovo (SVX) after the old airport
building was restored for that purpose. Such terminals also exist in Krasnodar, Minvody, Murmansk, Vladivostok, and Irkutsk. In the latter, Avcom-D, the operator of the namesake FBO in DME, is running a maintenance facility for Hawker aircraft that serves the whole of the Russian Far East. Shining Areas of CIS Companies in all three Baltic States are evidently interested in attracting customers from Russia (more to the point, Moscow). There are three companies, FBO Riga in Latvia, Avia Solutions Group in Lithuania, and Panaviatic in Estonia that either have a facility already or plan to have one running soon. The proximity to Moscow, availability of hangar space and maintenance facilities, and – importantly – Russian-speaking staff give them an advantage over companies in other Eastern European states. Panaviatic is set to have 5 hangars with a total area of 5200 sq m housing up to 10 large-cabin jets and one ACJ/BBJ liner by April 2014, according to company president Alexei Kulakovskiy. Expected investments are around 5 million euro, most of which will be financed by Tallin airport. Apart from storage, Panaviatic wants to provide maintenance and repair services, and it already has an EASA Part 145 certified subsidiary for the purpose. FBO Riga is up and running, with a 1200 sq m main building offering everything necessary to the business passenger, including a bar, duty free shop, and meeting rooms. In a major undertaking, parent company Flight
Consulting Group plans to build a hangar capable of holding up to 9 Global Express-sized jets, as well as a multifunctional office building by the apron to house Business Aviation companies. Investments in the new complex are estimated at 5 million euro, and the new buildings should be ready by autumn 2014. FBO Riga is supporting 85% of Business Aviation flights to and from Riga and already has signed contracts with five biggest bizav operators. Besides, an EASA Part 145 Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services (LBAS) line maintenance station is located at the site and servicing all Bombardier business jets. Ukraine is yet another major Business Aviation center, where the Borispyl airport (KBP) processes 20— 40 business flights a day. A new VIP lounge opened in August 2012, 5 times bigger than its predecessor, but the airport still lacks a separate specialised building for business passengers. What it boasts, however, is a Maybach 57 that can be ordered instead of the standard minivan – luxury sedans are rather popular at airports in this part of the world. Zhulyany, another airport near Kiev (and, according to its own data taking care of 7000 business flights in 2012), unveiled plans to construct a separate FBO in March 2012, with a tentative opening date in September-October 2013. No ribbon-cutting has been announced since, and in the current economic situation such ambitious plans may take time to materialize. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are two more rapidly developing economies and the centers of growing Business
Aviation infrastructure. Silk Way Business Aviation, a subsidiary of Azerbaijan-based Silk Way Airlines, not only operates a fleet of business jets and helicopters and owns a beautifully designed office block at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport, but also runs a separate terminal building and offers ground handling and flight support services. In Almaty and Astana, Kazakhstan, the services offered to Business Aviation are also shifting from just making the passenger happy to taking care of everything, from the crew and aircraft to flight plans, permits, fuel, catering, and transportation. Where FBOs in the CIS do exist, they team up with the best local restaurants, take customers to their planes in first class cars, sell outrageously expensive products in their duty free shops, and ultimately provide a truly luxurious experience. It is certainly over the top, and no false modesty is involved. There are not so many FBOs in the region, but the ones that do exist can easily compete with world class facilities. In conclusion it is worth coming back to the underdeveloped infrastructure. The reason is simple: airports, FBOs, and even Business Aviation itself grows only where business grows, in cities that trade a lot with others. In the former Soviet Union, where the distribution of wealth is rather uneven, major cities enjoy disproportionate wealth. More FBOs will appear as they are needed, and perhaps one day the region will even see its first dedicated Business Aviation airport that would be open for all.
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GAMES
Olympic site Sochi boasts its own FBO (left). Silk Way Business Aviation in Azerbaijan runs a terminal building at Heydar Aliyev Intl Airport.
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