Norilsk Nickel and Krasnoyarsk Region Government to establish a new airline

Krasnoyarsk Region Government and Norilsk Nickel (a Russian nickel and palladium mining company) reportedly signed a Momorandum to launch a new airline in the Krasnoyarsk Region (PRIME-TASS/Itar-Tass, 29-Mar-2010). The airline will reportedly be created using the assets of Norilsk Nickel's Taimyr Airline and the Krasnoyarsk Region Government's KrasAvia. Norilsk Nickel is expected to invest USD60 million to purchase aircraft for the airline, with aircraft purchases to reportedly commence in Mar-2010 to May-2011. The airline is expected to purchase four ATR-4s and four B737-700s and be based at Krasnoyarsk's Yemelyanovo Airport.