Sheremetyevo sees itself as two-alliance hub with 65 million pax

Russia's Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport CFO, Dmitry Vyacheslavovich Kalinin, stated the airport sees itself as a suitable airport for two airline alliances to develop as a hub over the next 20 years (The Moscow Times, 21-Sep-2010). SkyTeam airlines currently operate from the airport. Sheremetyevo plans to handle 65 million passengers p/a by 2030, by which it expects to have two independent flying areas and three runways. Mr Kalinin stated he does not know which other alliance would operate from the airport.

• Construction: Mr Kalinin stated the airport has opened tenders for some construction and financial packages, but its main focus over the next two to three years is to be on service quality;
• Ownership: Sheremetyevo recently hired Credit Suisse and Troika Dialog to combine the airport's existing assets. All terminals now belong to the airport, except for Terminal D, which is owned by Aeroflot, VTB and VEB. The airport is now looking to merge Terminal D into its control, with the transaction to take place over the next six months.
• Retail: Mr Kalinin stated the airport's retail outlets performed "fine" during the global financial downturn, as passenger numbers did not significantly decline during the period. Rental rates were not reduced as a result;
• Cargo: Sheremetyevo expects to handle more than 200,000 tons of cargo this year, and close to 300,000 tons in 2011. The airport is expanding its cargo area to handle the increasing traffic.

Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport: "We will be able to serve up to 65 million passengers a year by 2030 and this will help us to accommodate SkyTeam, the alliance of which Aeroflot is a member, as well as perhaps another, international alliance, or indeed another type of business model. Nowadays, business models for aviation are changing - the idea of low-cost carriers is becoming more and more popular … I don't know yet - it could be oneworld, Star Alliance - or something else because the situation changes with mergers and acquisitions. Continental, for instance, initially was in SkyTeam, but is merging with United Airlines that participates in a different alliance," Dmitry Vyacheslavovich Kalinin, CFO. Source: The Moscow Times, 21-Sep-2010.