S7 has received the required approvals to start its airline in Cyprus which it will name Charlie Airlines after the 1970s "Charlie" a popular name the British used to call Cypriot immigrants who fled the island after Turkey occupied it.
The airline will start flights this year with two A319 aircraft from the S7 fleet. Russian shareholders will own about 40% in the new company with the remaining 60% held by as yet unnamed foreign investors, which allowed the airline to be created under EASA regulations.
So Cyprus has gone from having a national airline collapse to having four domestic carriers in under three years with TUS Airways, Cobalt Air and Fly Orion and now Charlie.
Vladislav Filev, co-owner of S7 stated today: "We had planned to begin flights in the spring, but underestimated the complexity of the organization, namely the severity of the approach of European aviation authorities. We thought that we knew all and would do everything quickly but it turned out different," he said.
This is great news for S7 but the question is can Cypriot demand and demand for travel to the island, sustain four airlines? Especially given that Ryanair, easyjet, Jet2 and others are carrying most passengers to the island at the moment. It looks like a low-cost war for travellers is on the cards and given the choice of name it seems that S7 is aiming at the British and/or diaspora for business. Charlie Airlines certainly has its work cut out to be successful, but of course this airline is not about simply making money – it is about giving S7 access to fly over and to the Ukraine once again and that is where the money is for S7. The question is where is the value for the 60% shareholders of Charlie from outside of Russia; the answer to that depends on who they are and what they may be supplying to S7 in the long run.