• 

  S7 Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  S7/SBI

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Moscow Domodedovo Airport

  Year Founded:

  1992

  CEO:

  Vadim Klebanov

  Country:

  Russia

S7 Airlines has announced that it has put plans for a new low-cost subsidiary on hold for the foreseeable future. The airline was set to launch in July under the brand of Citrus, which is short for Cities of Russia, with the goal of connecting less-served cities in the country.

Parent group S7 Airlines cited a lack of available aircraft as a reason for suspending the project. The airline's anticipated order of four Airbus A320neos was not delivered, forcing the S7 Group to shift approaches as the launch date nears. S7 Group spokeswoman Tamara Nikiforova confirmed to the RBC the order was not expected by the end of the year:

“In the current circumstances, S7 Group is freezing the Citrus low-cost airline project. In 2022, the deliveries of the aircraft required to launch the low-cost airline will not take place, so the development of an airline with such a business model is now, unfortunately, impossible.”

S7 has announced that further decisions on the project will be forthcoming by the end of this year.

The birth of the Citrus brand

S7 Airlines, the second-largest largest domestic airline in Russia, announced its intention to create a new low-cost unit in the autumn of 2021. The LCC initially targeted one million passengers in its first year, using four Airbus A320neos. The ultimate goal was the addition of four to six aircraft annually to transport up to seven million passengers by 2024.

S7 had planned for Citrus to focus on direct inter-regional routes which bypass Moscow and St. Petersburg, mainly in central Russia. In December 2021, S7 announced the first two operational base airports for the new low-cost airline to be Kazan International Airport and Omsk Tsentralny Airport, neither of which has an existing airline base.

Last year, the airline began hiring for positions before suspending recruitment this February. A statement from the S7 group confirmed that existing staff would continue to work for the group, noting the "full complement of the Citrus team" will continue to work in the holding, including the joint flights of Globus Airlines (part of the S7 Group) and S7 Airlines.

Citrus was initially planned to be created based on the Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) received by Globus Airlines in February of this year, utilizing three Airbus A319 aircraft.

The future for S7 Airlines and Citrus.

The low-cost airline would have been the second domestic low-cost carrier in the country. It faces competition in the sector only from Pobeda, which Aeroflot owns. The LCC commenced operations in 2014 and quickly became one of the busiest domestic carriers in the country.

Pobeda primarily targets routes based in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, leaving Central Russia with a low LCC penetration, multiple medium-sized cities, and long overland distances.

Citrus parent group S7 Airlines also saw aircraft redirected recently. Five Boeing 737 MAX 8 initially ordered by S7 are now registered in Turkey, where they have gone to Turkish Airlines subsidiary AnadoluJet. The Turkish flag carrier also recently took delivery of the Airbus A350 bound initially for Russian carrier Aeroflot, resulting in an interesting mix of liveries on the new aircraft.

Source: RBC