Russia’s Meridian Air has been experiencing a growth in year-on-year business, according to commercial department manager Oleg Loguinov. He told EBAN: “We expect our flight hours to continue increasing over the coming year, as they have done over the last 12 months. I think the main reason behind this success is that Russian businessmen are becoming more and more interested in corporate flights.”

The company’s fleet currently includes two Tupelov 134s and an HS-125 700, which are generally employed in corporate and air taxi work. “Despite the increase in demand we don’t have any plans to expand our fleet at the moment,” said Loguinov. The aircraft are based at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport, which is apparently providing new facilities for business aviation.