Ukraine's largest air carrier UIA presents business recovery strategy

Ukraine International Airlines, Ukraine's largest air carrier, is about to implement a business recovery strategy aimed at resuming operations. The airline expects to resume operations by referencing the best case scenario provided that the entry exit restrictions for both Ukrainian and foreign nationals are lifted effective June 15, 2020, the company press service reports. According to the carrier's forecast, UIA's passenger traffic will decrease by approximately 46%, down to 1.9 million passengers (of which 0.986 million have already been carried before the lockdown). At stage 1 – through April 2021 – the carrier intends to operate medium-haul international point-to-point flights capable of demonstrating substantial passenger load without transit feeding. Ukraine international expects to resume domestic operations. At stage two, as soon as passenger traffic is regenerated, the airline will restore minimal international route network. Long-haul operations may be resumed after critical feeding flights are re-introduced to the schedule – in or about April 2021. The press service adds that right after UIA resumes operations, the carrier plans to operate 14 aircraft, gradually increasing the number up to 28. The long-haul fleet will be optimized with due allowance for the necessities of stage one. Later on, based on the traffic and market landscape (namely drop in demand for long-haul aircraft), the carrier will decide on extending its widebody fleet. Also, to perform efficiently on the post-pandemic market, UIA introduces changes to its base product. The airline plans to facilitate its fare policy, cut down business class capacity, increase the sales share via the website, and offer customers full-cycle service on the website providing passengers with an opportunity to make changes in bookings. The airline is committed to increasing fleet operation and cutting costs while preserving substantial transit potential. "On March 17, Ukrainian authorities banned scheduled passenger air services. Therefore, Ukraine International was forced to put operations on hold," as noted by Yevhenii Dykhne, CEO at Ukraine International. "Currently, the company's management makes every effort to cut costs and generate revenue from leg flights. We aim at sustaining the business and key staff, especially cockpit personnel. We deeply regret to have stopped employing 900 highly qualified professional because of the substantial decline in the airline's operations."

Ukraine's largest air carrier UIA presents business recovery strategy

UNIAN Web subscription