Clintondale Aviation's director of operations, Blair Dyer, has been telling EBAN of the plethora of changes currently occurring at the Moscow-based company.

“We recently added a second Tupolev 134 to our fleet, based at Almaty, which will be dedicated to an oil and gas client. Sakhalin Aviation Services, our affiliated services company in Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, is currently assisting in obtaining a Dash 8 to support the Exxon Neftegas project in Sakhalin.

“A vip configured Mil-8 PS9 helicopter has recently been based in Atyrau and will be used for oil pipeline surveys and ad-hoc charters. Also, KazAir West has been offered a newly refurbished Yak-40D for operation in Kazakhstan,” said Dyer.

Clintondale Aviation celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. The company has three operating companies: RusAir in Moscow, Aviashelf in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia and KazAir West (which recently celebrated 5 years of operations) based in Atyrau, Kazakhstan.

Additionally, there is an affiliated service company, Sakhalin Aviation services, also based in Yuzhno Sakhalinsk.

Dyer said: “RusAir operates a Tupolev 134 and a Yak 40D, both of which are in vip configurations. These aircraft fly to destinations in the western and central CIS regions, mainly in support of clients from Russian and foreign governments, oil and gas, and space industries.”

Aviashelf primarily provides dedicated air charter transport services to Sakhalin Energy Investment Company in the Russian Far East. These include offshore helicopter support, using three Mil 8MTVs and international crew changes to Japan, using an Antonov 24RV. “Sakhalin Aviation Services, our affiliated services company in Yuzhno Sakhalinsk, is now assisting in obtaining Dash 8 aircraft to support the Exxon Neftegas project in Sakhalin. The first Dash 8 aircraft is scheduled for delivery in mid-October.

“KazAir West specialises in domestic and international air charters in and from Kazakhstan. For the last ten years, Clintondale Aviation and Kazair West have provided dedicated air support for Tengizchevroil, a large oil consortium of which Chevron-Texaco, Exxon-Mobil and the Kazakhstan Government are all part of. The support includes international crew changes and domestic vip services using a Tupolev 134, and short-range commuting using a Let 410UVP-E,” said Dyer. KazAir West also provides vip air charter services, using two Yak 40D aircraft, mainly to oil and gas companies, international financial organisations and national Government officials.

Dyer explained why western aircraft were being added to the fleet: “There is a lack of quality 40-50 seat turbo-prop commuter aircraft in the CIS. The Dash 8 is being added to meet a specific client request. We are also evaluating the use of western aircraft in Russia and Kazakhstan but, because of the high cost of introducing such aircraft into the countries, we need client commitment before their addition.”

The company’s growth is evident, particularly in Russia and Kazakhstan. “In the last ten years, the investment climate has improved, especially for the oil and gas, space and financial industries. In turn, the need for aviation support, particularly in the more remote sites, has grown and clients have sought reliability and identifiable safety discipline in the aircraft providers. There is no doubt that our business has grown, in part, by referrals from existing clients and such recommendations have been based on attention to safety, reliability and quality of service,” said Dyer.

The company's customers include oil and gas-related corporations, western and national government officials, major international financial institutions, Fortune 500 corporations and satellite/space related industries.

“We have also carried a number of high profile vips, including a president, British royalty, ambassadors, and national and foreign ministers,” he added.