Russia’s aviation sector entered the year mired in anxiety as the twin economic and currency crises threaten to stifle industry expansion following a banner performance in 2014. Insiders hope that cheaper fuel prices will bolster domestic travel now that a crippled ruble has made foreign travel a luxury for many Russians, but they say it is too early to predict the depth and duration of retrenchment. By year’s end the ruble had lost some 60% of its value against the US dollar and the euro. Russian economists are now predicting the federation’s economic output may fall 3%-5% in 2015. Last year passenger numbers jumped 10% year-on-year to 93.1 million, in line with historic growth trends. Foreign travel accounted for about half of that volume and now faces a setback, with overall January passenger traffic falling nearly 10% year-on-year to 15.2 billion kilometers. Russia’s suppliers expanded market share last year as jet fuel production increased 5.4% to 10.86 million metric tons. The third-largest producer of jet fuel, Gazprom Neft, was the clear winner as it boosted production by 7.3% to 2.33 million tons thanks to a surge at its Omsk refinery, the country’s largest (JFI Jul.21’14). Its aviation division, Gazprom Neft-Aero, expanded retail sales 20% to 2.6 million tons to retain its status as Russia’s largest jet fuel seller, the company said (JFI Jun.3’13).
展开▼
