Russian network airline traffic continues to rebound, but without LCCs

Russia is becoming a serious force in aviation through the significant growth reported in both passenger and cargo transportation over the last 11 years. It is no surprise, partly considering the massive land area the Russian Federation covers, that aviation is increasingly seen as an efficient way for mass transportation of people and goods across the nation and further afield.

2009 saw the first decrease in passengers carried in the century's first decade, with numbers declining 9.5% to 45.1 million. However starting in the following year, traffic rebounded with positive figures reported in 2010. The rebound is continuing in 2011, according to the latest traffic figures released by Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency. The figures show overall growth in both passenger and cargo volumes in the 10 months to Oct-2011, including a 12.3% year-on-year increase in passenger numbers.

This growth comes from the nation's network carriers, with low-cost operators making hardly any noise in the market. Despite the ever-increasing demand for air travel, Russia still does not have a significant level of low-cost carrier penetration from home or foreign carriers, and the LCC sector took a step back earlier this year with the bankruptcy of Avianova.