Utair did not run into subsidies – Newspaper Kommersant No. 210 (7411) of 11/14/2022

As it became known to Kommersant, Utair may not receive subsidies for flights within the country. Under an agreement with the Federal Air Transport Agency, the carrier claimed 4.6 billion rubles. and got most of it. But, according to Kommersant, Utair did not fulfill the conditions: the company’s passenger turnover in the Russian Federation did not reach 60% of the 2021 level, with a minimum of 72%. At the same time, Utair’s international passenger traffic grew by almost 300%. Now Utair, under the terms of the government, will have to return the money already received, but it is not clear how the airline is able to do this.

As Kommersant found out, Utair may be faced with the need to return subsidies for flights within the country due to its concentration on foreign transportation. We are talking about subsidies for flights in April-October in the amount of 100 billion rubles, which the Federal Air Transport Agency distributed among 32 airlines. As of November 10, according to the Ministry of Finance, 90.9 billion rubles were transferred. Initially, Utair (PJSC UTair) was supposed to receive 6.9 billion rubles, and its subsidiaries in small aircraft and helicopter transportation – another 32 million and 4.7 million rubles. respectively. But in September, the Federal Air Transport Agency deducted 2.3 billion rubles. and redistributed them to other carriers. As Utair confirmed to Kommersant, the company received most of the 4.6 billion rubles: “We received subsidies for the period April-September, we are preparing documents for October.”

But, as Kommersant found out, Utair did not fulfill the conditions of the subsidy: according to government decree 761, the minimum flight time in the country should be 72% of the level of April-October 2021, while Utair does not reach 58%.

According to the statistics of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Kommersant has it, their correctness was confirmed by sources in four airlines), the total passenger turnover on domestic routes (including subsidized flights) of Utair from April to September is 57% of the same months of 2021 (3.821 billion passenger-kilometers against 6.886 billion). The small aviation segment – a subsidiary of UTair JSC (flies on An aircraft) – showed a decrease of only 13.5%, but its passenger turnover is only 31.5 million passenger-kilometers. There are no data on the helicopter segment, but the volume of traffic there is insignificant.

In reality, the figure is less than 57%, since it is necessary to subtract from it the flight time under other subsidized programs (in particular, Utair receives funds from the budget for regional flights). It is impossible to catch up with October: according to Kommersant’s source in the Ministry of Transport, in October, Utair’s passenger traffic in annual terms decreased by 30%. According to a Kommersant source in the industry, in order to fulfill the conditions, in October “Utair would have to double its fleet and fly only within the country.”

Meanwhile, the carrier continued to build up its international program in autumn, increasing the number of flights from the regions to Baku in September, and launching an additional flight from Grozny to Dubai in October. Utair began to actively strengthen its international presence since the summer: passenger turnover on flights abroad increased from 210% year-on-year in April to 380% at a peak in August, and in general for April-October – by 290%. Utair was among the first companies to increase the number of international flights after the sanctions, buying 27 aircraft from lessors and deregistering Bermuda. In total, according to the register of the Federal Air Transport Agency, there are 46 Boeing 737 and 767 and 15 ATR-72 turboprops in the fleet.

Other major carriers, according to Kommersant, coped with the terms of subsidies: for example, Aeroflot increased domestic passenger traffic by 40% in the first half of the year (to 28 billion passenger-kilometers), Pobeda reduced it by 10% (11.2 billion) , “Russia” – by 17% (9.8 billion). Ural Airlines increased the figure by 7%, S7 – by 8%. S7 noted that the subsidy helped support passenger traffic in the Russian Federation, otherwise it would have been “at least 20% lower.” In the Aeroflot group, they did not answer “Kommersant”. Other major carriers, Red Wings, Azimuth, and Azur Air, did not apply for subsidies under regulation 761.

Utair did not answer Kommersant’s questions about the failure to achieve targets and the need to return 4.6 billion rubles. to the budget. To avoid liability, the carrier must return the subsidy if it has not fulfilled its conditions, Vladislav Rikov, adviser to BGP Litigation, emphasizes. In Rosaviatsia, Kommersant was only told that “they will check the results of the reports provided by Utair.” Kommersant sent a request to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport.

The question is whether Utair is able to return the subsidy without serious damage to itself.

According to IFRS reporting for the first half of the year, the amount of cash on the group’s accounts exceeded 6.5 billion rubles. At the same time, Utair’s passenger traffic in April-October fell by 35%, including 48% within the country (up to 2.1 million people), with an increase of 260% on foreign flights (up to 616,000).

Taking into account the difference in profitability of flights, analysts’ opinions on the current financial position of the company are divided. According to several interlocutors of Kommersant, if the subsidies were used to compensate for the cost of flights, as required by the conditions of the government, then “in fact, the company may be left without a livelihood.” If the company managed to get higher revenues on foreign flights, the available “money may be exactly enough to return the subsidy,” but then it will be difficult for Utair to cover operating expenses in the winter season. However, Igor Smirnov from Expert RA believes that “it will be difficult, but not dramatic, to return the entire amount of the subsidy to the carrier.” In his opinion, if the regulator decides to demand funds, then, taking into account the situation in the industry, “most likely, it will make concessions in the form of a restructuring of the return.” One way or another, the company will have to find money, analyst Elena Sakhnova summarizes.

Next year, the subsidies will be continued – 25 billion rubles are allocated for them in the budget – but the conditions for receiving them have not yet been determined. The practice of large-scale subsidies this year “does not demonstrate the possibility of reaching the figure of 100 million passengers carried” and causes dissatisfaction with the economic bloc of the government, says the head of Aviaport, Oleg Panteleev. Now, he emphasizes, the question arises whether it is worth continuing funding as before, or whether it is necessary to return to the principles of payback, and at the same time start saving aircraft resources.

Aigul Abdullina