Travel Notes

Take That!

Russia retaliates over

noise ban

On April 2, Russia retaliated for a European Union noise ban on its workhorse Il-86 passenger planes by announcing reductions to incoming flights by three Western airlines, Reuters reported. Finnair, SAS and KLM said they had been informed of the move by Russian officials after EU noise requirements came into force on April 1.

Despite the fact that the European noise reduction standards have been in the works for years, the IL-86 has not been upgraded or replaced to meet those standards, and Moscow said the ban could bar as many as 80% of its planes from European skies.

Finnair said a Thursday flight from Helsinki to Moscow and a return flight the following day had been canceled. Separately, SAS said it had been told its Stockholm-St. Petersburg flights were being cut to five a week from seven and its Copenhagen-St. Petersburg flights from five to four. KLM said its flights to St. Petersburg had been cut to three from seven a week starting the week of April 1.

“The basic reason for this retaliatory step lies in the decision to introduce noise restrictions from April 1 at European Union airports,” an SAS statement said. Russian officials said they were lobbying for permission to land the less noisy Tu-154M as an alternative to the IL-86, saying the younger Tu-154M could replace the IL-86s widely used on charter routes to Western Europe. The IL-86s could then be redesigned for flights to non-European countries or as cargo planes.

A True Gem

National Hotel again

wins top honors

On March 16, at the International Tourist Exchange in Berlin, the Hotel National was presented with a diploma from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences and received the most prestigious award in the hotel business, Diamond Star 2002, for “outstanding devotion to high quality service.” The award is an official recognition of the Moscow hotel as one of the best in the world. It is the second Diamond Star the Hotel National has received in as many years.

Meanwhile, Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts, which manages the Hotel National and Russia’s leading golf and conference resort, Le Meridien Moscow Country Club, announced the opening of a new sales and reservations office in Moscow on April 15. The office will be located on Trubnaya street and will accept bookings for all of Le Meridien’s 144 hotels and resorts worldwide. John Ryan, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Le Meridien, said that “Russia is an important growth market for Le Meridien, both for inbound and outbound business. We are already experiencing a 50% growth year on year.”

Sweet Dreams

Hotel planned on site

of chocolate plant

Russia’s most famous candy maker, Red October, has announced that it intends to build a four-star hotel near the site of its chocolate factory. If the plan comes to fruition, it could be a first “test” of the capital’s planned “Golden Ring” development project.

The land plot occupied by Red October could be compared to the Parisian island of Cite, as it is quite close to the Kremlin, and just a stone’s throw from Savior’s Cathedral and the  Tretyakov gallery on the Krimsky embankment. In 1998, top management of Red October ordered the demolition of some factory warehouses which stood on the river embankment. The site was earmarked for a business center. But then, according to Red October Vice-president Yuri Klapovsky, management concluded that a hotel would be much more attractive to potential investors than a business center.

The idea for the hotel fits perfectly into the Golden Ring development plan recently unveiled by the Moscow City Government. The plan foresees the transformation of downtown Moscow into a pedestrian zone and provides for the construction of 17 hotels.

Needless to say, if the hotel is constructed, there is no doubt which company’s chocolate will grace guests’ pillows when they check in for the night.

Under New Ownership

On January 16, Corinthia Hotels International (CHI) took over the management of St. Petersburg’s Nevskij Palace Hotel after ownership of the hotel changed hands. Vladimir Shitarev, vice-governor of St. Petersburg, attended a reception introducing the new management company and said the appearance of a new investor in St. Petersburg marked a considerable step forward in the realization of the City Investment Program, which has taken on added importance in light of St. Petersburg’s forthcoming 300th anniversary celebration.

A Capital Idea

A new informational website molnet.ru was launched in late February. The site—in Russian only—offers online directory access to commercial and official organizations, plus an interactive map which visitors can use to pinpoint any building by address. Users can also search for a local printer, cinema or dry cleaner, contact local officials and even find out if their apartment building is slated for demolition under Moscow’s general reconstruction plan. The project is sponsored by the Comcor corporation, a major Moscow telecom company which also builds and services fiber optics networks. Comcor is more than 50% owned by the Moscow city government.

Airports Face Upgrades

By April 2003, the state enterprise Pulkovo, which unites the airline company of the same name and St. Petersburg’s airport, will finish the first stage of reconstruction at the airport’s international terminal, Pulkovo-2. In 2002, $25 million will be invested in the project. The final goal is to double airport capacity for passengers by 2005, up to 3 million passengers per year.

Meanwhile, in March, the board of directors of Sheremetevo airport approved a $864 million development program for the airport. The program will be completed by 2020 and includes construction of a new terminal, a third runway and the renovation of the domestic terminal. An airport official told Prime-TASS agency that passenger traffic at Sheremetevo is expected to rise 40% by year’s end, to some 12 million passengers per year.

Charging Forward

Visa International announced that there are over 2 million VISA cards in Russia today. VISA has 164 member banks in Russia. This year, VISA plans to actively develop chip technologies and is expected to issue some 150,000 “smart cards” in Russia.

Safer Utensils

In the wake of September 11, Aeroflot has reviewed its standards regarding use of metal eating utensils. Aeroflot Deputy Head of Aviation Security Azar Zaripov said that all forks and knives used in Aeroflot first and business classes “will be smaller and more rounded in shape.” Aeroflot economy class only uses plastic utensils.

Trading Up

Aeroflot will upgrade its fleet of 27 foreign-built aircraft by replacing them with more recent models, the Moscow Times reported. Aeroflot Deputy General Director in Charge of Public Relations Lev Koslyakov said that, “given that the conditions for leasing aircraft and receiving loans are more favorable now, we have the opportunity to restructure our fleet of foreign jets within the number that we already have.” Among Aeroflot’s more than 100 aircraft there are 11 Airbus 310s, 10 Boeing 737s, four Boeing 767s and two Boeing 777s. Aeroflot is also finalizing a deal to lease the first of a planned four D-10 cargo jets.

New Plane Planned

The Russian government will grant Ilyushin Finance, the leasing wing of the aircraft construction company Ilyushin, $80 million to finance the launch of a new transport aircraft, the Ilyushin-96-400, company officials said. The first planes will roll off the assembly line in spring 2003, and the company aims to obtain flight certification for Europe and the US. The state acquired a majority holding in Ilyushin Finance at the end of last year.