‘Austrain’ Innsbruck is late

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   Austrian authorities try to obtain permission from the Ministry of transport of the Russian federation for Austrian flights between Moscow and Innsbruck. They are planning charters, relevant in the period of ski mountain season, reports ‘Prime-Tass’. It is believed the situation will clear up by January 2006, while at the moment is being studied. In November Russian aviation authorities gave permission for only 4 flights of Austrian to Innsbruck. It did not satisfy the company which planned the whole program of flights so it cancelled all flights till the end of March where Moscow operators already planned to book blocks.(see news as of 23.11)
   ‘BANKO’ correspondent asked the Moscow representative office of Austrian to comment on the situation. Elena Makagonova, press-secretary of the air company, confirmed the fact of holding negotiations, yet she refused to give detailed explanations until they are finished. Meanwhile, players of the Austrian destination, interviewed by a BANKO correspondent, did not express their enthusiasm concerning the prospects of using Austrian flights Moscow-Innsbruck this season. After it was cancelled, operators found an alternative in other air companies and now they do no changing it again. ‘Now the company will not take up risks which are normally 80% anyway. Everything is planned several months ahead and no one is going to change the flights they have already paid for’, says, for example, Ksenia Rekshinskaya, commercial director of UTE Megapolus group. Evgeniy Sudbin, head of the charter department at ‘Ascent travel’ comments: ‘It does not worth raising the question in the mid November. This season everything has been already decided.’
   Experts also doubt the negotiations will be finished soon. No wonder, as judging from the example with Alitalia flights, it takes the authorities a long time to solve issues with air transport. (see news as of 7, 7, 15, 24, 29th of November). On the other hand, there is hope that the problem is solved on the government level, it will not occur again in the near future.