Ekaterinburg prepares for Routes CIS

The second Routes CIS event will open in just four days time in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The event is hosted by Ekaterinburg Koltsovo Airport and will take place at the Airport Hotel Ekaterinburg, which is connected to the airport. The number of delegates registered to attend the event has already surpassed the expected number of 200 and for several of the companies registered so far, Routes CIS 2012 will be the first time they have attended any of the Routes events. Airlines such as Yakutia Airlines, VIM Airlines and Tartastan Airlines will make their inaugural Routes appearance in Ekaterinburg alongside Kazan Airport, International Airport Barnaul, Belgorod International Airport and Koeln Tourismus. Airlines currently registered to attend the event contain an, unsurprisingly, strong participation from the CIS based airlines. Attendees so far include S7 Airlines, Rossiya, Aerosvit, Air Astana, VIM, Yakutia, Tartastan, and Ural Airlines with more expected to confirm soon. Interest from the Middle East carriers comes in the shape Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways along with FlyDubai and Pegasus which have strong respective networks into the CIS region. Air Baltic will also be present and there will be a senior representation from Czech Airlines which operates 11 routes in Russia and the Ukraine combined from Prague. Other out of region attendees include European leading low-cost carrier Ryanair and SkyTeam member China Southern who also recently confirmed their attendance. Nigel Mayes, vice president and commercial for UBM Aviation Routes commented: “The unique location of Ekaterinburg makes it the ideal place for delegates from all over the CIS region to meet and we are delighted that this second event attracts the key decision makers from the region and plays an important role in shaping future networks within the CIS. Mayes concluded: “We expect the event to grow and develop in line with the expected market growth in the CIS region.”