S7 Airlines Part 1: Russia's #2 airline's main focus is domestic, with pockets of strength in Asia

S7 Airlines, together with its subsidiary Globus, achieved a 25% increase in passenger numbers in the first eight months of 2016. Passengers flying the S7 brand totalled 10.6 million in 2015, making it Russia's second biggest airline after Aeroflot (thanks also to the collapse last year of former number two Transaero). This first part of CAPA's report examines S7's current network. A second part will analyse its growth, fleet and financial track record.

Moscow Domodedovo is S7's biggest airport and its main hub for the domestic market, which accounts for around two thirds of its seat capacity. Domodedovo is also its hub for international routes to Europe (mainly Eastern and Central Europe). Although it is the biggest airline at this airport, on a city pair basis on many routes from Moscow there is significant competition from the market leader Aeroflot, whose main hub is Sheremetyevo.

However, S7 also has a noteworthy network to cities in Northeast and Southeast Asia from regional airports elsewhere in Russia, in particular Novosibirsk and Vladivostok. Competition on these Asian routes is much less severe: indeed, S7 is the only operator on the majority of its routes to NE/SE Asia and its position is further boosted by codeshares (including with Aeroflot).