MOSCOW – PJSC Aeroflot announces the results of a meeting of the Board of Directors held on 28 August 2018. The meeting was chaired by Mikhail Poluboyarinov.
The Board approved appointments to the management team.
- The Board of Directors elected Vitaly Saveliev as CEO of Aeroflot for a term of five years.
- The Board approved Andrey Chikhanchin as Deputy CEO for Commerce and Finance. He previously headed the Corporate Finance department and was serving as acting Deputy CEO for Commerce and Finance.
The agenda of the meeting also included the following issues:
- New Aeroflot Group strategy. Aeroflot achieved the key goal of its Strategy-2025 ahead of time by becoming one of the 20 largest global airlines by passenger traffic. The Board approved the following approaches to updating Aeroflot Group’s Strategy-2023:
- ensuring a significant increase in passenger traffic;
- faster growth of international transfer traffic;
- launching new regional bases and hubs;
- increasing the proportion of Russian aircraft in the company’s fleet;
- continuing digitalization of the business. - Aeroflot Group’s updated Strategy-2023 will be presented at a meeting of the Board of Directors in September 2018. IT development at Aeroflot Group. Aeroflot is successfully implementing the core components of its IT strategy. As well as automating key business processes, the Company is also actively increasing its online presence through online sales (Aeroflot’s website is Russia’s leading online store, with online sales increasing by approximately 35%). Mobile devices are becoming ever more significant for passengers (sales through mobile devices have doubled) and Aeroflot staff (new Crew Tablet functionality is being introduced for flight attendants and Electronic Flight Bag extended for pilots). The Company is further developing key operating systems including NDC for travel agents (the system has been certified and meets the highest international standards). The Company’s top priorities include cloud solutions (44% of processing resources already virtualized by own data centers) and Big Data (economic benefits to date are 3.8 times higher than expected). Data management efficiency has significantly improved (including the Data Window project, a new format for data representation in the Manager’s Monitor tool).
- Operating and financial performance of PJSC Aeroflot. The Board reviewed budget planning and updated macro assumptions for the current year. The Group continues its operational growth, development of its network and fleet. The company has launched a number of optimization initiatives to improve its financial performance in the current economic environment. Aeroflot plans to execute these initiatives as well as implement new ones in order to offset macro headwinds for Group’s financials.
- The Board also approved a number of transactions, including the terms of a transaction with Pobeda Airlines regarding the leasing of ten new Boeing 737-800 aircraft contracted in 2017.
Vitaly Saveliev re-elected as CEO of Aeroflot
The Board of Directors of PJSC Aeroflot has re-elected Vitaly Saveliev as CEO for a term of five years. The appointment was approved on 28 August 2018 at a meeting of the Board of Directors chaired by Mikhail Poluboyarinov, pursuant to a Directive from the Russian government.
Vitaly Saveliev has led Aeroflot since his appointment on 10 April 2009. At that time, the Company was considered a regional carrier by global standards with passenger traffic of 8.6 million (11.1 million including subsidiaries). Aeroflot together with its subsidiaries ranked 68th internationally.
In 2010 President Vladimir Putin tasked Vitaly Saveliev with creating Russia’s first full-fledged airline group. The state transferred a number of regional carriers to Aeroflot’s management, and from these assets the construction of Aeroflot Group began. Following the transformation the Group included Russia’s second biggest airline Rossiya Airlines (created from St. Petersburg-based regional airline Rossiya, as well as Donavia and Orenburg Airlines) and Far Eastern airline Aurora (created out of SAT Airlines and Vladivostok Avia).
The creation of Russia’s first-ever genuine low-cost carrier, Pobeda, as part of Aeroflot Group represented a genuine breakthrough. Thanks to Vitaly Saveliev, important amendments to Russia’s Aviation Code were passed, including the introduction of non-refundable tickets, the ability for airlines to charge for baggage and hire pilots from abroad, and the introduction of blacklists for disruptive passengers. It was these changes that harmonised Russia’s Aviation Code and made it possible for low-cost flights to take off in Russia.
Pobeda launched its first flight on 1 December 2014. Since then it has had an enormous impact on making air transport accessible to ordinary Russians, with more than a million people flying for the first time in the low-cost carrier’s first two years of operations. Since its first flight, Pobeda has already carried more than 15 million passengers.
In 2011, Vitaly Saveliev presented Aeroflot Group’s Strategy-2025 to President Vladimir Putin. The key goal of the strategy was to establish Aeroflot as one of the world’s leading airlines, ranking in the top flight of global aviation. By 2025, Aeroflot Group was called on to become one of Europe’s top five and the world’s 20 largest aviation groups.
These goals were achieved significantly ahead of time, with Aeroflot becoming one of the world’s top 20 airlines and one of Europe’s five largest as early as 2017 (among legacy carriers). In 2018, Aeroflot confirmed its place among the 20 leading airlines worldwide, according to two authoritative global aviation publications, Flight Airline Business and Air Transport World. Over the years Aeroflot airline’s passenger traffic has significantly increased, from 8.6 million passengers in 2009 to 32.8 million in 2017. In total, Aeroflot and its subsidiaries carried a record 50.1 million passengers in 2017.
This year, Aeroflot was named the world’s strongest airline brand for the second time by Brand Finance, the leading independent brand valuation consultancy. Aeroflot’s brand value is growing steadily and today amounts to USD 1.429 billion.
Aeroflot is a recognised premium carrier, holding 4-Star Airline status from Skytrax and a 5-Star Global Airline rating from US aviation association APEX. The Company regularly wins prestigious international awards: it was named Best Airline in Eastern Europe for the seventh time at 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards, and has twice been recognised as China’s Favourite International Airline at the Flyer Awards. Russia’s flag carrier was also named the world’s leading airline brand at World Travel Awards 2017, known as the Oscars of the tourism industry.
Under Vitaly Saveliev Aeroflot has become the largest operator of modern Russian aircraft. The company operates 50 of the latest Sukhoi Superjet 100. In the coming years the Company is expected to take delivery of 50 MC-21. Aeroflot is considering further expansion of its fleet of Russian aircraft.
Aeroflot intends to strengthen its status as a leading global airline. Vitaly Saveliev and the Company’s management team have prepared an updated Aeroflot Group Strategy-2023, which will be presented in the near future to President Vladimir Putin.
Aeroflot appoints Andrey Chikhanchin as Deputy CEO for Commerce and Finance
Andrey Chikhanchin has been appointed Deputy CEO of PJSC Aeroflot for Commerce and Finance. His nomination was approved by the Board of Directors on August 28. Andrey Chikhanchin has worked at Aeroflot since 2009. He joined the Company shortly after the new senior management team headed by Vitaly Saveliev was appointed to reinvigorate the Company and improve its financial results. Andrey Chikhanchin has been directly involved in implementation of a number of initiatives that have helped Aeroflot to retake its place as one of the world’s leading airlines.
He previously served as Deputy Head and later Head of Aeroflot’s Corporate Finance department, where he oversaw the number of key financial functions, including budgeting and accounting, investment and risk management, corporate insurance, debt financing and investor relations. More recently he has served as acting Deputy CEO for Commerce and Finance. Andrey Chikhanchin has earned a reputation as a senior manager who fully understands the complexities of Aeroflot’s commercial and economic activities and has consistently achieved greater efficiency in this area of the airline's business.
Before joining Aeroflot, he worked at Vnesheconombank (VEB) and held various positions in financial and economic planning departments across a number of companies. He graduated from the Academy of Budget and Treasury of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, and holds a PhD in economics. As Deputy CEO for Commerce and Finance Andrey Chikhanchin will oversee all financial functions of the company as well as network and revenue management, and loyalty programmes.