KYIV. Dec 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Yanair airline (Zhytomyr) points out a serious problem with training flying staff in Ukraine, Yanair airline Director General Volodymyr Sobolev has said.
“Veterans like me are dying or retire, while young people are different. Someone has a desire, someone is dragged by the ears by parents and he does not understand what he needs this. Many persons are attracted by high wages, but they do not understand that the money is not paid for nothing. We end up with understanding that we need to train flying staff ourselves, from the green field. Unfortunately, training in Ukraine is of low quality, if to choose my words carefully,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Sobolev said that airlines train pilots themselves. For example, UIA does not train from the green field. The airline signed a contract with Lithuania and guarantees employment to students trained in Lithuania at Baltic Aviation Academy.
“We have own airport [Zhytomyr]. It is likely that we will create a flying school on its base. We have many proposals from pilots from Europe who cannot add flying hours and they are ready to pay to fly with us and get trained,” he said.
KYIV. Dec 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Dnipro-based Pivdenne Machine Building Plant named after Makarov (Pivdenmash) increased loading of its production facilities by 1.5 times in 2016 and the plant seeks to more than double it in 2017.
The press service of Pivdenmash told Interfax-Ukraine that this year the enterprise managed to pass the crisis peak over the breach in traditional cooperation in 2014.
“Today one can say that the crisis bottom has been passed: this year Pivdenmash boosted loading of production facilities by one and a half times, and next year, taking into account the contracts signed, the loading would more than double,” the press service said.
Expansion of cooperation with leading space states, in particular, the United States and the European Union, entrance to the new markets, production of defense products and participation in the import replacement program are the essential factors allowed to load the facilities, the press service said.
“This year Pivdenmash resumes production of the first stage of Antares launch vehicle (LV) in the interests of U.S. Orbital ATK. The company is involved in the implementation of the NASA contract to service ISS. NASA representatives visited Pivdenmash and remained pleased with what they saw. Some meetings and negotiations were held in the United States. Pivdenmash is also boosting cooperation under the European Vega LV. It is early to speak about the new projects, but we are ready for them,” the press service said.
This year the enterprise promoted the interests of Ukraine’s space sector in Southeast Asia.
“Contracts with partners, including from India and South Korea, have been signed or are being signed,” the press service said.
In the conditions of new challenges to the state’s defense capability one of the sources to load production facilities was the implementation of the state defense order, first of all, production of missiles.
Pivdenmash also worked hard in the import replacement area.
“Today we believe that the most promising is the project to create solar power plants and wind farms. Jointly with the global leaders in the sector an investment project is being designed. It would help to organize production of wind turbines and spare parts to solar power plants for up to EUR 500 million a year with attraction of European investment,” the press service said.
“As of late December, UAH 1.322 billion were sent to accounts of Pivdenmash in 2015, including UAH 194.6 million paid by Pivdenne Design Bureau,” the press service said.
KYIV. Dec 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Funding for the National Commission for Regulation of Financial Services Markets in the national budget of Ukraine for 2017 is determined in the amount of UAH 52.235 million, which is 90.99% more than the figure foreseen for 2016 (UAH 27.349 million).
According to the law on the national budget of Ukraine for 2017, posted on the website of the Verkhovna Rada, it is planned to allocate UAH 40 million for wages to the regulator employees, which more than two-fold exceeds expenditures for these purposes in the national budget for 2016 (UAH 19.713 million).
As reported, the national budget for 2017 was based on the forecast of a 3% rise in Ukraine’s real GDP and a 14.2% increase in nominal GDP, to UAH 2.585 billion, with inflation being 8.1%.
KYIV. Dec 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Public joint-stock company Odesa Port-Side Plant is offering its services to process gas into commodity ammonia and urea [fertilizers] on a tolling basis.
The announcement was posted on the company’s website on December 27. However, it says that bids can be submitted only before December 20, 2016.
According to the announcement, the plant is ready to operate using two schemes: process 60,376 cubic meters of natural gas into 7,967 tonnes of ammonia and 74,400 tonnes of urea during one calendar month (31 days) or process 117,366 cubic meters of gas into 57,480 tonnes of ammonia and 80,969 tonnes of urea during one month.
KYIV. Dec 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The distribution of budget subsidies to develop farmers will be automatic proportionally to the cost of agricultural products they sold.
According to the law on the national budget for 2017 posted on the Verkhovna Rada website, subsidies will be distributed using the data from the register of recipients of budget subsidies and information of the State Fiscal Service, taking into account the following criterion: proportionally to the cost of agricultural products farmers sold
Some UAH 9.44 billion was provided for management to the Agricultural Policy and Food Ministry for 2017, including UAH 5.8 billion for staff maintenance. Some UAH 122.25 million was provided for general management in agriculture, UAH 120 million for research and staff training, UAH 18.99 for specialists training in the sector, UAH 108 million for regulation of operations of institutions in the agricultural sphere and the Agrarian Fund, UAH 60 for financial support of measures taken in agriculture and UAH 51.4 million for expenses of the Agrarian Fund related to storage, transportation, processing and exports of goods regulated by the state.
A total of UAH 300 million is envisaged for the program to compensate credit rates to farmers, UAH 170 million to support cattle breeding and UAH 75 million for hop growing, new gardens, vineyards and berry fields.
Some UAH 1.899 billion is foreseen for operations of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Rights Protection, UAH 378.1 million for operations of the State Fish Agency, UAH 247.93 million for the State Forest Agency, UAH 1.1 billion for the State Service of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadaster and UAH 714.14 million for the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine.
KYIV. Dec 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Yanair airline (Zhytomyr) seeks to expand regular flights in summer 2017 thanks to Tel-Aviv, Yanair Director General Volodymyr Sobolev has said.
“We have been assigned for Lviv-Tel-Aviv and now we are trying to have assignment for Odesa-Tel-Aviv. There are all preconditions for this. We plan to launch Chernivtsi-Tel-Aviv and Kryvy Rih-Tel-Aviv flights which the airline was assigned for. On should not forget about a sort of monopoly for the flights to Tel-Aviv, where the monopolist can set any prices and it is harder to work here,” he said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
He also said that recently some airlines stick to low-cost airline’s rules on many routes, while Yanair is a conventional airline.
“Thanks to this, for example, on the Tbilisi route, we managed to draw around 80-85% of point-to-point passenger flow. At the cost of what? At the cost of the arrival airport – Zhuliany. This is convenient, thanks to the fact that we are flying in the time convenient for passengers and that we have free food and drinks on board. We want to leave the same things on the flights to Tel-Aviv,” he said.
He said that Georgia is a commercially good destination.
“Next year we were assigned for flights from Lviv to Tbilisi and Batumi. There is a flow of passengers from Georgia and Azerbaijan for this destination who traditionally come for treatment to Truskavets. In summer Georgia is viable, especially thanks to Batumi. Many passengers go there for holidays. This is a good alternative to Bulgaria and Turkey. By the way, Turkey is several kilometers far from Georgia and one can visit it without any problems [and without visas],” Sobolev said.
Asked what passengers would be on the flights to Tel-Aviv, tourists or businessmen, he said that the ratio will be 50 to 50 and maybe there will be fewer tourists.
“These are mainly people who have relatives. These are people who came from Ukraine and who lives there. For some time it was ‘re-export’ when people started coming here and buy houses. It is expensive to live in Tel-Aviv and with Israeli pensions one can live in Ukraine. In addition, we rely on Chernivtsi in the issue where they have a group of people interested in the flights to Tel-Aviv. We want to take a small plane [Boeing 737-500] and it might fly from Chernivtsi, as the airport does not suit to larger planes,” he said.
Yanair was registered in Zhytomyr on June 15, 2012. In July 2013 it received a certificate for operations. The airline is based at Kyiv Zhuliany International Airport.
At present, the company’s fleet consists of three Saab 340 planes, three Airbus A320 planes, one Airbus 321, two Boeing 737-300 and two Boeing 737-400s.
