Russian airlines economy: prospects and problems of development

Russian aviation industry consisted of 248 enterprises and organizations. Compared to 2010, when there were 350 enterprises, their number was reduced by 30% [1]. The average number of employees in the industry amounted to 300 thousand at the end of 2016 (516 thousand in 2010), which was 7.8% less than in 2015.

At the end of 2016, two large companies and two combined corporations were directly involved in the production of civil aircraft in the territory of the Russian Federation.

In general, the available data from Rosstat indicate that today in the segment of the civil aircraft industry there is a significant understatement of existing production capacities.

Table 1. The level of utilization of the average annual production capacity from 2010 to 2016 (indicator value for the year), in%

Rosstat open data contains a minimum of information on financial and economic indicators of the industry we are considering. So, in particular, the draft Strategy for the Development of the Aviation Industry until 2030 prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia says that, according to the results of 2015, the total revenue of the domestic aviation industry exceeded 1 trillion rubles, 156 aircraft and 212 helicopters of the total military and civilian purposes, labor productivity amounted to 3.1 million rubles. per person [4].

For the rest, find the dynamics of such publicly available sources as, for example, indicators such as the cost of output, its prof- itability, investment in fixed assets, etc., was failed.

Nevertheless, we can assume that the financial and economic performance of the industry (meaning its civilian segment) does not have a clearly positive character.

Thus, experts unanimously declare the continued loss-making of the main project in the Russian civil aircraft industry - the SukhoiSuperjet aircraft. According to RBC, the cost of the development project SSJ-100 amounted to about $ 2 billion. At the same time, as of June 2014, when the project was already supposed to be self-sustaining for a long time, the net debt of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft was $ 2.64 billion. Also, the RBC publi- cation indicated that the largest Sukhoi Civil Aircraft lenders were state-owned banks Sberbank, etc. And this only saved the company, since it had already violated covenants on loans issued several times. And creditors could file for bankruptcy [5].

In general, we can confidently say that, as in the case of shipbuilding, the aircraft industry today is almost under the direct control of the state, which is both its main customer and investor. Until recently, the industry showed a tendency to concentrate management and production. The result of this we see in the megastructures created in the industry: the ОАК, the Russian Helicopters Corporation, the United Engine Corporation. Nevertheless, the internal configuration of the ОАК is constantly undergoing changes.

As with other Russian craft sectors, the most urgent tasks of the aviation industry are import substitution and increasing the competitiveness of products in the world market. However, the solution of these issues largely depends on the efforts of the state and its ability to provide support to the industry [3].

Table 2. Key indicators of the four largest aircraft manufacturing companies

The initially planned and subsequently implemented industry consolidation was primarily aimed at resolving military aircraft issues. Perhaps this was one of the negative factors that contributed to the fact that the goals planned for the civil segment were not achieved. In addition, the apparent "directing" in the management of the industry, combined with the curtailment of market competitive mechanisms, create obvious prerequisites for reducing the economic efficiency of its work. And in this case, there is a threat of the need for the continuous expansion of various mechanisms of state support, without which the industry in its current configuration simply cannot exist.

Speaking objectively, it must be recognized that over the past ten years since the formation of the OAK, very significant changes have taken place in external factors that are significant for the state of the Russian aviation industry. And in these conditions it is difficult to demand strict implementation of the initial plans for its development. But on the other hand, these plans should also take into account possible risks, and also have a tree of strategies in case of the implementation of various scenarios.

Thus, the Russian aircraft industry did not achieve the planned results should be divided between external circumstances and shortcomings in the management of its work. The positive aspects include the stability and consistency of state policy in relation to the Russian aircraft industry - those goals that were chosen at the beginning of its current transformations and, albeit with a delay, are being steadily realized. A striking example of this is the work on the project “SukhoiSuperjet”. However, the industry is becoming increasingly dependent on government support. In addition, a critical moment in the prospects for its further development is the development of its own and access to advanced world technologies, as well as the growing demand for its products in foreign markets, without which it simply cannot be cost-effective.

The global aviation industry is in crisis, which could not but affect the aircraft industry. For example, companies were forced to stop production due to the need to rebuild it already taking into account new hygiene requirements, including not only the reorganization of production, but also the disinfection of workplaces. Note that aviation production occupies considerable areas.

In addition, if at least one sick person appears in the company’s staff, all those who contact him are automatically sent to quarantine.

The indirect impact of the pandemic was manifested in the fact that, as a result of a sharp reduction in air travel, aircraft manufac- turers revised plans for the development of the fleet and for the receipt of new aircraft.

Another indirect, but important factor is the fall in oil prices. As a result of all of the above factors, aircraft manufacturing corporations were forced to resort to the revision of aircraft production plans.