Russian agency, Aeroflot fail to agree on some Transaero passengers

MOSCOW, Oct 5 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, national flag carrier Aeroflot and tour operator Biblio Globus have failed to agree on transportation of some passengers of troubled airline Transaero, two sources close to the meeting’s participants told PRIME on Monday.

“A decision has not been made,” a source said, while the other source said that talks will continue.

Out of about 600,000 tickets sold by Transaero, 200,000 account for tickets sold with packaged tours. Biblio Globus, Transaero’s partner, sold the largest number of the packages.

Biblio Globus has also suspended sales of tickets for Transaero’s flights until October 25 or until the situation with the company’s flights is clear, Commercial Director Yuliya Tugolukova told PRIME separately.

Transaero failed to service its debts, which amounted to about 250 billion rubles including leasing liabilities. In September, the Russian government approved a bailout plan which included a transfer of 75% in Transaero to Aeroflot, but the plan fell through as the troubled airline’s shareholders were unable to consolidate the stake on time.

On October 2, Sberbank and Alfa-Bank, the airline’s creditors, notified Transaero of their intent to file bankruptcy claims. The only chance for Transaero is bankruptcy, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said. On Tuesday, Transaero cancelled 33 flights scheduled for the day.

(65.9414 rubles – U.S. $1)

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