Mikhail Kritsky biography. Kritsky Mikhail Ivanovich What costs will the expansion of the route network require

Kritsky Mikhail Ivanovich

Mikhail Ivanovich Kritsky

Biography

Born April 5, 1957 in the village. October Republic of Moldova. In 1978 he graduated from the Leningrad Higher Military Combined Arms Command School. CM. Kirov, in 1999 - the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

In 2002 he received an education in the specialty "Information Technology" at the State University of Management. Ordzhonikidze.

1978-2001: Service in the GRU

From 1978 to 2001 served in the structure of the GRU of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. At the same time as Oleg Dukhovnitsky, he studied at the Academy of the General Staff.

In 2001-2003 worked as Deputy General Director for International Development in the MRKS Holding group of companies.

From 2003 to 2005 served as Deputy Director of the State Unitary Enterprise Design Institute "Mosoblstroyproekt".

In 2005-2006 he was the Deputy Director of the State Unitary Enterprise UGS.

From 2006 to 2008 Kritsky worked as an executive director of Multinet Holding Group, head of Infocom, a technical operator for the design and construction of facilities and communication systems under the Sochi 2014 Olympic program.

In 2008-2009 served as an adviser on international issues at Megafon International.

2009-2012: Svyazinvest

Since February 2009, Kritsky has been Deputy General Director of Svyazinvest OJSC, a member of the boards of directors of UTK OJSC, Dalsvyaz OJSC, and is responsible for internal control of the financial and economic activities of subsidiaries and affiliates, risk management and international project management.

In 2009, the Telecom-Lawlessness publication characterized Kritsky's activities as follows:

The decision to appoint Kritsky to Svyazinvest was made by Shchegolev on the recommendation of Dukhovnitsky. Has direct access to the minister.

In the company, Kritsky does not hide from the environment that, at the direction of the minister, he performs the functions of an “overseeing” and is responsible for appointing the entire top management of Svyazinvest's subsidiaries. Appointment to key positions occurs according to the following scheme: Kritsky selects a candidate and brings him to a conversation with K. Malofeev. With a positive assessment of the latter, an introductory meeting of the candidate with Minister Shchegolev is organized. Then comes Yurchenko's direct command to appoint this person to a vacant position. So, for example, it happened with the appointment of the general director of "UTK" Shipulin, "RTK" Kolpakov.

Candidate for the post of General Director of NWTelecom Kuznetsov A.A. was approved in the same way. According to law enforcement agencies, Kuznetsov has strong connections in the criminal world, is associated with a number of scammers and is suspected of being affiliated with the well-known recidivist raider Badri Shengelia. Given that connections with criminals were established by Kuznetsov in the early 90s and are maintained to this day, there is no reason to hope that in the foreseeable future Kuznetsov will leave the sphere of influence of criminal structures. A special role in the activities of Kuznetsov is played by the connections of his permanent business partner, Sepiashvili D.M., in the Jewish and Georgian diasporas.

At OJSC Svyazinvest, Kritsky forms his own “team”, which includes:

Nichiporenko Alexey Nikolayevich - Advisor to the General Director of Svyazinvest, former General Director of MegaFon-International. Kritsky is interested in Nichiporenko's career growth, because when moving from MegaFon, he guaranteed the latter a position corresponding to his previous position;
Potapova Olga Leonidovna – Director of the Regional Development Department
Kopyev Aleksey Evgenyevich – Director of the Internal Audit Department.

The former head of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise RTRS, Gennady Sklyar, who is an adviser to the general director of Svyazinvest OJSC Yurchenko, supplies Kritsky with information because of the "teeth" and the "White House". Sklyar has entered Shchegolev's "personnel reserve" and is being considered as a candidate for the post of head of the Federal Information Technology Agency.

Potapova O.L. is Kritsky's most trusted person in Svyazinvest. She actively introduces Kritsky to representatives of Russian and foreign companies (for example: RK-Telecom, Intercross, Tekhnovik, Infinity, Axis TD, etc.), with whom Kritsky negotiates “terms of cooperation”. In particular, after the meeting with Kritsky, representatives of the Chinese company Howey said that during the conversation, Kritsky declared his readiness to assist them, emphasizing the possibility of his direct access to the minister, but taking into account his “interest”, the size of which should be comparable with "kickbacks" that were previously paid when working through integrator companies - NVision and Technoserv.

In October 2009, bypassing the management of Rostelecom, Kritsky held talks with representatives of the Azerbaijani company Delta Telecom, outlining the conditions for their successful cooperation with RTK.

For a good remuneration, Kritsky lobbied for the interests of Borodino-Telecom CJSC (for Maxim Fedorovich Ermolaev) in Roskomnadzor; expands cooperation with the Satel company (Ainitdinov Artur) on the supply of equipment to RTOs of Svyazinvest.

Kritsky's business interests cover not only the telecommunications industry. So, together with his former colleagues, he participates in the selection of a construction company that will win the general contract for the construction of housing for military personnel in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories. The amount of allocated funds is more than 5 billion rubles, the remuneration of the participants in this "project" is from 5 to 10%. High-ranking employees of the Department of State Orders of the Moscow Region (the organizer of the competition) participate in the "project", and in the administration of the Krasnodar Territory, ex-vice-governor Nadiradze V.

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Mikhail Stepanovich, how is the volume of air transportation of your company growing? What factors contribute to this?

In recent years, a steady upward trend in passenger traffic has been observed across the entire aviation industry: last year, the all-Russian figure increased by 16% compared to 2006. Aeroflot-Don carried 588,000 passengers in 2006, and 957,000 in 2007, that is, an increase of about 63%. And in the first half of this year, there has already been a doubling of indicators. This significant growth is largely due to the start of our company's flights from Moscow.

In general, passenger traffic is growing with an increase in effective demand: business activity is increasing and, accordingly, the level of population mobility.

How much do you plan to increase passenger and freight traffic in the next few years?

This year we plan to increase the volume of passenger traffic by 42% to 1.36 million passengers, passenger turnover by 48.6%, to 2.5 billion passenger-kilometers. At the same time, the number of flights performed will exceed last year's figures by almost a third. Maintaining growth rates at a level higher than the industry level is part of our company's development strategy for 2008-2010. To do this, we will develop the route network and update the fleet. Plans for the next year include an increase in passenger turnover and the number of passengers transported by 1820% compared to 2008, and the planned growth for 2010 by more than 30%. thus, by 2011 the volume of passenger traffic will be more than 2 million people. This will allow us to strengthen our position in the top ten leading Russian airlines in terms of the number of passengers carried annually.

How many destinations are currently included in the Aeroflot-Don route network, which of them are the most promising (not counting Moscow)?

Now the airline operates flights from three base airports Rostov, Moscow (Sheremetyevo) and Sochi to 43 destinations in 19 countries. Indeed, for all major Russian airlines in the structure of passenger traffic, the Moscow direction occupies a significant part. Unfortunately, the trend has only intensified in recent years. The number of passengers who prefer to use air transport to travel to other regions is small relative to Moscow. But the current situation is due for the most part to factors that are not related to aviation.

Among the promising areas for flights across Russia, one can single out the so-called million-plus cities, industrial centers of the Urals, Siberia and the Far East.

What costs will the expansion of the route network require?

This implies serious capital investments: for the acquisition of new aircraft, additional recruitment of flight personnel, organization of a sales system, advertising support. In addition, in the vast majority of cases, it takes some time (sometimes quite a long time) for a new flight to break even, during which the airline's expenses significantly exceed revenues. This is due to the need to “roll out” the airline, that is, to achieve a certain level of fame and demand for the flight among its potential passengers.

What is the share of foreign routes in total traffic? What flights are open this year and what are your plans for the future?

A significant share: in the first half of this year, 59% of 567,975 passengers. Here, Aeroflot-Don is confidently among the ten largest airlines in Russia. Openings in 2008 year-round regular flight to Prague, as well as seasonal flights within the charter tourist program to Tivat (Montenegro), Heraklion (Crete, Greece), Naples (Italy). In addition, in the summer season, the frequency of flights to existing regular destinations has been increased: Frankfurt, Tel Aviv, Dusseldorf and others.

In the short and medium term, we plan to open flights to major international airports, the so-called hubs (transfer air hubs), expand the offer on the tourism market by opening flights to new destinations in the Mediterranean countries, continental Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. There are plans to organize flights to some capitals and major cities of the CIS countries, for example, Kyiv, Minsk, Alma-Ata.

Aeroflot-Don has recently started selling electronic tickets to foreign destinations. To what extent is it promising and in line with demand?

The active development of our online booking and ticket sales system shows the advantages and prospects of electronic sales. From April, when the system was opened, to July, more than 1,500 e-tickets were sold. An e-ticket cannot be forgotten, lost, damaged or stolen because it is a record with a unique code assigned in the airline's electronic database. In addition, the use of the Internet system makes it possible to save money: a ticket is bought directly from the air carrier, without various agency commissions and fees for the form.

We intend to intensively introduce electronic tickets in all directions of flights. I think that in the medium term, paper tickets will be completely replaced by electronic ones. This is a global trend.

A big problem in the air transportation market rising prices for jet fuel. How does this affect the company's financial performance?

Indeed, this is one of the most pressing issues for airlines around the world. If you look at foreign news reports over the past six months, you can find many examples of the bankruptcy of airlines that could not withstand competition in the face of rising fuel prices. We also note the influence of this factor on economic performance indicators. At the same time, conditions in Russia are somewhat different: the increase in fuel prices is offset by the growth in passenger traffic within the country and abroad. At the same time, the growth potential is quite large airlines are still very far from the traffic volumes that existed in Soviet times. compare: in 2007, the volume of traffic amounted to just over 45 million passengers, and in the late 80s, the volume of traffic exceeded 100 million people a year. Therefore, we are optimistic about the prospects for financial results for this year.

What proportion of ticket prices is the fuel surcharge?

The amount of the fuel surcharge depends on the duration of flights, so the share of the fuel surcharge in the total ticket price varies from 10 to 25%.

Is it somehow possible to regulate the situation with fuel prices?

Pricing for fuel supplied to airlines should be transparent. Only competition will allow prices to be at a level that reflects the level of supply and demand. Of course, several tankers should operate on the territory of airports offering services to carriers. Airports should also allow airlines to import, store and refuel with their own fuel, purchased at lower prices than at the airport.

In March, Aeroflot-Don received the sixth Boeing 737-500 aircraft under an operating lease. What is the company's fleet now and is it planned to be updated?

Now our aircraft fleet consists of 20 aircraft, including 7 Boeing 737-500 aircraft. Before the end of the year, we expect the arrival of one of the three planned Boeing 737-400 aircraft, which, in terms of a number of characteristics (including larger capacity), compare favorably with the Boeing 737-500. Starting from 2010, we plan to gradually put into operation Russian short-haul Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft. We are also considering options for the start of operation of Boeing 737 NG and Airbus A320 aircraft, which will replace the Boeing 737-500 aircraft currently in operation.

Name the planned costs.

This year, the volume of investments in the development of the fleet will amount to about 700 million rubles.

Foreign air carriers are entering the market of the South, and Russian airlines have plans to strengthen their positions. How do you rate the competition?

There are three large international airlines and at least three Russian ones on the market of international transportation from Rostov, which carry out transfer flights abroad through their hubs. Therefore, competition can be described as quite strong. In terms of the number of passengers carried by foreign companies, Rostov is second only to St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk among regional cities. At the same time, a number of major airlines are still not represented in Rostov, and given the forecasted further growth in traffic in Russia, we expect them to appear.

How much will the increase in airlines in the market affect ticket prices?

In itself, the emergence of new carriers will not affect ticket prices, because airlines already operate with relatively low profitability compared to other industries. However, like any other market, air transportation is subject to certain cycles: rapid growth, saturation, decline. Therefore, the entry of new airlines into the stage of current growth will accelerate the onset of the next stage of saturation, which is characterized by a rapid increase in traffic volumes and a decrease in the cost of transportation due to economies of scale.

In the program for the modernization and development of the Russian transport system, a large block is devoted to the development of aviation. How do you assess the current state of South Russian airports?

Given the volume of flights operated by our airline, we are quite satisfied with the capacity of the Rostov airport, if we talk about the throughput of the Russian terminal. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about the international sector: from time to time, we encounter difficulties when planning flights. Taking into account the development strategy of Aeroflot-Don, after 8 years, the capacities of the Rostov-on-Don airport may not be enough for Russian destinations. And in this situation, the presence of a new airport will be mandatory. A similar situation can be traced with other southern airports.

The prospects for small aviation in Russia are often discussed. Air taxi projects have already been announced, including in the South of Russia. How much do you think it will be in demand?

Aeroflot-Don has been dealing with the issue of resuming regular air transportation on the territory of the Southern Federal District for a long time and in great detail. But to launch the project, it is necessary to have a fundamental solution to a number of issues, including the aircraft fleet, pilot training, and airport infrastructure. The impetus for the development of small aviation on the scale of the Southern Federal District may be the construction and reconstruction of small airports in small towns, for example, in Taganrog, Volgodonsk, Yeisk But the main criterion, of course, is the availability of solvent demand for this type of transportation. And this is clearly not conducive to the recent situation in the aviation fuel market. Looking ahead in 35 years we forecast strong growth in this sector of aviation services.

Dossier

Mikhail Kritsky was born in 1950 in Zernograd (Rostov Region). Graduated from the Kharkov Aviation Institute with a degree in aircraft manufacturing, then the Leningrad Academy of Civil Aviation, and in 2002 Rostov State University with a degree in Business Administration. He began his work in the Rostov United Aviation Squadron (ROAO) in 1975 as an engineer, since 2000 he has been the General Director of JSC Aeroflot-Don.

Author: Oksana Lebedeva Kritsky Mikhail Ivanovich

Mikhail Ivanovich Kritsky

Biography

In 2002 he received an education in the specialty "Information Technology" at the State University of Management. Ordzhonikidze.

1978-2001: Service in the GRU

In 2001-2003 worked as Deputy General Director for International Development in the MRKS Holding group of companies.

From 2003 to 2005 served as Deputy Director of the State Unitary Enterprise Design Institute "Mosoblstroyproekt".

In 2005-2006 he was the Deputy Director of the State Unitary Enterprise UGS.

In 2008-2009 served as an adviser on international issues at Megafon International.

2009-2012: Svyazinvest

In 2009, the Telecom-Lawlessness publication characterized Kritsky's activities as follows:

The decision to appoint Kritsky to Svyazinvest was made by Shchegolev on the recommendation of Dukhovnitsky. Has direct access to the minister.

In the company, Kritsky does not hide from the environment that, at the direction of the minister, he performs the functions of an “overseeing” and is responsible for appointing the entire top management of Svyazinvest's subsidiaries. Appointment to key positions occurs according to the following scheme: Kritsky selects a candidate and brings him to a conversation with K. Malofeev. With a positive assessment of the latter, an introductory meeting of the candidate with Minister Shchegolev is organized. Then comes Yurchenko's direct command to appoint this person to a vacant position. So, for example, it happened with the appointment of the general director of "UTK" Shipulin, "RTK" Kolpakov.

Candidate for the post of General Director of NWTelecom Kuznetsov A.A. was approved in the same way. According to law enforcement agencies, Kuznetsov has strong connections in the criminal world, is associated with a number of scammers and is suspected of being affiliated with the well-known recidivist raider Badri Shengelia. Given that connections with criminals were established by Kuznetsov in the early 90s and are maintained to this day, there is no reason to hope that in the foreseeable future Kuznetsov will leave the sphere of influence of criminal structures. A special role in the activities of Kuznetsov is played by the connections of his permanent business partner, Sepiashvili D.M., in the Jewish and Georgian diasporas.

At OJSC Svyazinvest, Kritsky forms his own “team”, which includes:

Nichiporenko Alexey Nikolayevich - Advisor to the General Director of Svyazinvest, former General Director of MegaFon-International. Kritsky is interested in Nichiporenko's career growth, because when moving from MegaFon, he guaranteed the latter a position corresponding to his previous position;
Potapova Olga Leonidovna – Director of the Regional Development Department
Kopyev Aleksey Evgenyevich – Director of the Internal Audit Department.

Azur Air became the first charter airline in the list of the largest RBC companies

"Are you confused?" - Azur Air CEO Mikhail Kritsky asks an RBC magazine correspondent how the editors reacted to an unfamiliar name on the list of candidates for. It seems that Kritsky himself was not surprised by the news about the entry of the company headed by him into the rating. “I can't say that I'm the best manager in the industry. I think so, but I can’t say so,” he laughs.

Kritsky has been on the air transportation market for a long time: since 2012, he worked as an adviser to the CEO of UTair, before that, for ten years, he headed the small company Aeroflot-Don, based in Kritsky's hometown of Rostov-on-Don. The top manager is still a fan of the local football team, behind him on the shelf is a ball autographed by Rostov players, a gift from colleagues. This is his first interview in a position that Kritsky, 67, has held since 2014; thinking over the answers, he often sighs or laughs.

Azur Air is the successor of Katekavia, a subsidiary of UTair, which has been flying domestic flights since 1995. In 2014, the management of UTair decided to separate the charter route into a separate company, and Katekavia was taken as the basis for the new structure, says Kritsky. The negotiations were actively attended not only by UTair managers, but also by representatives of the Anex Tour travel agency, which at that time called UTair its main air carrier partner. Anex Tour was founded in Turkey in 1996 and entered the Russian market in 1998. The total revenue of companies operating under the Anex brand in Russia (Anex Shop, Anex Shop Region, Exclusive Travel, Horizon Tour, Boutique Tour, etc.), according to SPARK-Interfax, in 2016 amounted to more than 344 million rubles.

Kritsky explains the decision to separate the company by the need to separate different areas of business according to specialization. Many air carriers do this, he says: Aeroflot, for example, segments its business by the nature of demand: elite, middle class (Rossiya company) and budget (Victory). “Charter flights have specifics in terms of scheduling, market analysis and the nature of demand – basically it’s recreation,” he says. UTair abandoned the charter business due to "an overall decline in charter traffic in the industry."

The new airline was created for longer flights than the regional Katekavia had, so the fleet had to be updated. The old An-24s, An-26s and Tu-134s were withdrawn and handed over to Turukhan, another subsidiary of UTair, while Katekavia began leasing Boeing. The planes available to Katekavia could also fly abroad, but no further than 2.5 thousand km, explains Kritsky; besides, they are designed for 50-100 passengers. And the company was going to fly over distances of up to 12 thousand km and transport three times as many people.

The first charter flight on the new Boeing 757 took place on December 17, 2014. Two years later, following the results of 2016, the company with the new Azur Air brand received revenue of 21 billion rubles. - 14 times more than the revenue of "Katekavia" in 2011, the maximum for the entire "regional" history of the company.

Mystery shopper

“An aircraft is necessary to have only if you know that someone needs it,” says Kritsky. Anex Tour was going to sell tickets for Azur Air flights to its customers, so its managers participated in the process of forming a new airline. Anex Tour "had a clear goal, which is why it was chosen," says Kritsky. And immediately corrects herself: “Or rather, that’s why she was a participant in our project.”

When asked who came up with the idea to create a new charter airline, Kritsky answers evasively. According to him, in addition to business segmentation, there were other reasons for this, but the manager refused to talk about them. UTair decided to sell Katekavia back in October 2014, but by the end of the year, the subsidiary was “not ready for an immediate sale,” according to the company's financial statements. The deal took place a year later, in September 2015: according to Kritsky, its amount was about $3 million (about 200 million rubles). UTair did not disclose the buyer then.

In October 2015, UTair sold its Ukrainian subsidiary, UTair Ukraine: it was bought by Anex Tour, Serhat Kochkar, co-owner of a Turkish travel company, told Ukrainian Forbes. The new owners created the charter airline Azur Air Ukraine on its basis. Anex Tour created another airline with the same name in Germany, it began flying in July 2017.

The current owner of Azur Air in Russia is One2Fly. According to the SPARK-Interfax database, it was registered in Moscow in May 2014. She bought Katekavia in 2015. Legally, One2Fly belongs to two Russians - Anna Fukalova and Natalya Kochkar, who previously worked at Anex Tour. Among the former owners is a Turkish citizen Rustem Kochkar, who also owned the Boutique Tour company. According to SPARK-Interfax, now it is 100% owned by the Dutch structure ATLAS B.V., which also controls the Ukrainian business of Anex Tour.

The establishment of the Azur Air brand in Russia in 2014 Anex Tour lists on its website among the important dates in its history, as well as the creation of an airline in Ukraine. In Russia, the tour operator calls Azur Air its strategic partner, and Kritsky describes cooperation with Anex Tour as a "successful model" that unites "a service provider and a consumer in one bottle."

Photo: Arseniy Neskhodimov for RBC

The Russian Air Code prohibits foreigners from owning more than 49% of the shares of airlines. The representative of the travel agency in Russia did not answer the question of RBC magazine whether Natalya Kochkar is a relative of the co-owners of Anex Tour. He only clarified that the travel agency "is not the owner of Azur Air", and its employees are not involved in the management of the airline. Rustem and Serhat Kochkar also did not answer questions from RBC. Azur Air, according to SPARK-Interfax, is pledged to UTair and UTair-Leasing under pledge and sale agreements. “The pledge is related to the terms of the deal, this is its structure,” a UTair representative said, without revealing details.

Not only charter

Immediately after the change of ownership, external circumstances forced Azur Air to redraw its routes: in October 2015, after the crash of the Kogalymavia plane over the Sinai Peninsula, Russia suspended all flights to Egypt; a month later, charter flights to Turkey were banned after the country’s Air Force shot down a Russian -24. These two destinations accounted for about 38% of Azur Air's passenger traffic, says Kritsky. He explains the sudden problems and the loss received by the company in 2015 in the amount of 161.5 million rubles.

It took the airline a month and a half to make up for the losses: instead of Turkey and Egypt, Azur Air and Anex Tour refocused on the Asian market. “It is the same in price and quality, but a little further away. We needed an appropriate fleet. We got it - Boeing-767 aircraft, ”says Kritsky. Before the introduction of new flights, the company had to additionally train personnel, conclude service contracts with airports, obtain flight permits from the Federal Air Transport Agency, accreditation from destination countries and those over which they were to fly.

When Russia resumed charter flights with Turkey in September 2016, Azur Air did not cancel the flights to Asia introduced during the year, but instead sent new aircraft there. In 2015, the airline's fleet had 14 aircraft, by the end of 2016 there were 16 of them, and now there are 21. Kritsky also explains the sharp increase in revenue - from 1.9 billion rubles. in 2014 to 12 billion and 21 billion rubles. respectively in the next two years.

Revenue increased more than the company's managers expected, the CEO admits. The departure from the market of one of the largest players, Transaero, also helped. Azur Air's start-up investment, according to Kritsky, was an advance payment for future flights from Anex Tour, the amount of which he did not disclose. With this money, the company existed until the first own flight on December 17, 2014. It took three months to earn the same money ourselves.

Azur Air rents new planes already with funds received from payments for tickets, the manager says and explains the scheme simply: “After all, no one will get on the plane until the money is paid.”

Until the end of 2014, Anex Tour had its own Boeing aircraft under the flag of UTair, which the travel agency leased, RBC wrote. In November 2014, they began to be brought to Katekavia, UTair CEO Andrey Martirosov told RBC. In total, it was planned to transfer 11 cars.

Now Azur Air is going to segment customers more. A year ago, the requests of tourists were modest - "if only it were cheaper," Kritsky believes. Now travelers want to "fly in comfort, as in Aeroflot aircraft." The company plans to introduce new aircraft - Boeing-777, the first for the company with a business class, launch regular flights (so far there are two of them in its schedule - to Cuba and Hainan Island in China) and sell air tickets without intermediaries. So far, the share of such sales does not exceed 5%: almost all Azur Air flights are filled by Anex Tour.

“If the person who manages the enterprise does not think that he is the best, then he should not occupy this chair,” says Kritsky, but immediately adds: every manager considers himself the best. He is only happy about the competition in the industry: "It's a good thing, especially when you feel good."