MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti)
Economic considerations could have caused Russian liner crash/ Russian weapons to protect UAE coastline/ Yukos to be sold in six months/ Transport Ministry seeks to demonopolize aviation fuel sales
(RIA Novosti does not accept responsibility for the articles in the press)
Novye Izvestia, Vremya Novostei
Economic considerations could have caused Russian liner crash
Experts say a heavy storm in the Donetsk Region, Ukraine, August 22 could have provoked the crash of the Russian Tu-154 airliner. Others believe the tragedy could have been caused by the captain's decision to fly through the storm for fear of being sanctioned for wasting too much expensive fuel by returning to Anapa.
"All pilots try to save fuel," an air safety expert said on condition of anonymity. "The plane left St. Petersburg with enough fuel for a return flight, because fuel costs more in Anapa." He said crews, including flight hostesses, are sanctioned for using too much fuel.
The expert said airlines do not actually refer to fines as such. But crews are reprimanded for lost revenues. They are told they could have ascended to a higher altitude or changed course to bypass a storm. All crew members have their salaries cut, and the plane's captain can be fired. "Pilots do not earn much, about 30,000 rubles, or $1,100, a month if they fly, and 5,000-6,000 rubles (about $200) if they are idle for a month," the expert said.
Members of the Avia.ru professional forum are now considering the possibility that the flight's captain might have been trying to avoid such sanctions, but Pulkovo Airlines has declined to comment, saying the matter is not for public discussion.
The air safety expert said the former motto in civil aviation, "Safety, Regularity, Efficiency", has been cut to one word, "efficiency," which translates into earning revenue for the companies' management. "The market can kill off civil aviation," he said.
Viktor Ilyukhin, deputy chairman of the Security Committee of the Russian parliament's lower house, shares this view: "Two factors influence flight safety in Russia - the lack of new modern aircraft and commercialization, which means simply striving for gain at all costs."
Since May 2006, three major air crashes, claiming 408 lives, as well as several minor accidents involving sports planes and two Mi-8 helicopters, were registered in Russia.
Kommersant
Russian weapons to protect UAE coastline
The United Arab Emirates is currently negotiating the purchase from Russia of the Club-M mobile coastal missile system, and a memorandum of understanding may be signed when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Abu Dhabi in October. The deal, estimated to be worth $250-300 million, follows the settlement of a conflict between Russia and the UAE over the delivery to the Emirates of the Pantsyr S-1 anti-aircraft missile and gun system.
A source in the defense sector has described the pre-contract talks. He said the Bereg self-propelled artillery system, and the Redut and Bal-E missile systems have been shown to Emirates representatives over the past few years. The UAE has tentatively opted for the more modern and effective Club-M, recommended by Russia. The contract involves two or three launchers, each of which can carry up to six missiles.
The Club-M system is a high-precision weapon that engages both coastal and water-borne targets at a distance of up to 250 kilometers. Its developer - OKB Novator (affiliated with Almaz Antei PVO Concern) - obtained an export license for the system early in 2005. It was first demonstrated abroad by Rosoboronexport, the state's intermediary agency, at DEFEXPO-2006 in India in January.
Talks to establish a Russian coastal defense network in the UAE began as early as the late 1990s, and its cost was then estimated at $100 million. Now the price may soar to $250-300 million.
Consultations hit a snag when Russia, among other things, was slow delivering the Pantsyr S-1 system to the Emirates. In May 2000, the UAE concluded a $734 million contract with Tula's Instrument-Making Design Bureau to buy 50 units in 2003-2005. But the contract faltered because the UAE changed some specifications and the manufacturer had testing problems.
Pantsyr deliveries were postponed until 2006-2009. As a result, the UAE said it would not sign any new agreements until deliveries began. The conflict is now settled: in July the UAE took delivery of the first battery, and in October it will be demonstrated to Vladimir Putin during his visit to Abu Dhabi.
Gazeta
Yukos to be sold in six months
On Wednesday, Moscow's Arbitration Court removed the last formal obstacle to the sale of bankrupt oil company Yukos. The sale will begin in February or March 2007, though some potential buyers had hoped the process could begin in late 2006.
Yukos management said the bankruptcy procedure was unjustified, because its assets were worth about 741-1,200 billion rubles, or $28-$45 billion, and its debt amounted to only 491 billion rubles ($18.4 billion).
Anton Ustinov, of the creditors committee, said Yukos has provided no proof of this assertion. "All we hear are words," he said.
State-controlled oil company Rosneft, Yukos's second- largest creditor after the Federal Tax Service, shares this view. Its spokesman said Yukos relied on its own 2004 valuation, increased by 150%, whereas under law assets must be valued not more than six months before the bankruptcy procedure.
Alexander Blokhin, an analyst with the Antanta Capital brokerage, said the sale was probably postponed to give potential bidders time to collect funds.
According to preliminary data from the bankruptcy administrator, Yukos's assets are valued at $16.7 billion, but they have not been divided into lots. His representatives say part of the assets can be sold as a package.
Biznes
Transport Ministry seeks to demonopolize aviation fuel sales
The Transport Ministry has been contemplating the idea of banning the sale of aviation fuel by airport fuel depots, a practice that accounts for 90% of their profits.
Market players, however, do not think the move will drive jet fuel prices up - the depots will compensate for their losses by raising fuel storage fees.
The situation involving fuel depots at Russian airports caught the attention of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service last spring, following numerous complaints by airlines.
Carriers said the depots took advantage of their monopoly position by refusing to store jet fuel bought from independent operators, and by insisting that airlines buy aviation fuel from them at inflated prices.
The service ruled the depots must accept fuel for storage if they have the facilities, threatening to fine violators a sum equivalent to 5,000 times the minimum statutory wage. The situation, however, has not changed.
The Ministry explained it was only soliciting proposals on how best to distribute responsibility, and has taken no steps to enforce its decision.
A spokesman for the fuel suppliers disagreed with the ministerial working group's suggestion. "This is impossible: an airport fuel depot exists to provide fuel, and part of this service is its sale," said Aerofuels General Director Vladimir Spiridonov.
Fuel sales account for more than 90% of a company's turnover, he said. An industry source said fuel depots skim off 1,000 rubles ($37.46) to 2,000 rubles ($74.92) per ton of fuel sold.
Operators agree the idea to demonopolize the market is sound, but that it cannot be realized in this way. "Airport fuel depots need not be stripped of their rights," said Yevgeny Ostrovsky, general director of the trading house Fuel for Airports. "It is enough to create a competitive environment. Operators and airlines should be allowed to sell fuel alongside the depots." Once competition is in place, fair prices will follow, he said.
Airlines, too, take a skeptical view of the initiative. Lev Koshlyakov, Aeroflot deputy general director, said fuel depots at most airports have a monopoly, and are able to charge whatever price they like. They will keep their monopoly, and will now set monopoly prices for their services - storage and fueling - rather than for fuel. Ilya Novokhatsky, spokesman for S7 (former Sibir), agrees.
