Airport, Baltic States – CIS, Direct Speech, Forum, Latvia, Transport

- You started your work in Belarus and Latvia; you became a vice-president of the Sales Department in a new and highly successful airline airBaltic. It would be logical to assume that your career will continue in a western direction but you are heading east. And for us, the people of Riga, the east is very distant. Why have you chosen Novosibirsk?

– I had been working in the airline airBaltic for fifteen years. And I passed a very interesting way of dynamic development together with airBaltic. It could be said that I developed myself as a professional together with the company. The company started its work in 1997 having 3-4 airplanes and 10 destinations. And by 2012, the company’s fleet grew to 34 aircraft, and the airline flew up to 70 destinations throughout the Eurasian region. At the same time the company’s model itself changed several times: starting from a “feeder carrier” with a full range of services linking Riga with several centers in the Baltic region and directing a passenger flow into the SAS route network through Copenhagen and Stockholm and ending with a “hybrid” model of direct routes “from top to bottom” and focusing on transfer service through Riga. It was an invaluable experience of successful and rapid development for me which I would like to use in other market conditions. When it was time for a change, I chose Novosibirsk.

Why did I choose Novosibirsk? I like to compare travelling around the world with moving into a multiroom apartment wherein all the rooms are designed in various styles. And each room is beautiful and unique in its own way what makes it curious to live in. Riga, London, Beijing, Moscow, Dubai… The east is equally interesting to me as the west where I have spent the most of my professional life. Novosibirsk has never been an unfamiliar, distant and “mysterious” city to me because it is the city of my childhood. I was born there. I have always been interested in changes occurring in it and I have always had an inner desire to once again plunge into the atmosphere of the native city. And thus, having received the shareholders’ offer to become a commercial director of the International Airport of Novosibirsk (“Tolmachevo”), I accepted it with joy and interest.

– Which cities and countries is Novosibirsk connected with through flights?

– The International Airport of Novosibirsk (“Tolmachevo”) is the largest aviation center of Russia beyond the Urals. Novosibirsk has a favorable geographical position as it is located in the center of Russia and Eurasia, at the intersection of routes between Europe and Southeast Asia. The route network includes about 100 domestic and international passenger destinations including such world famous tourist and business centers like Frankfurt, Beijing, Hong Kong, Dubai, Istanbul, Bangkok, Hurghada, Barcelona and others. In addition, the airport has an extensive network of domestic destinations and develops regional flights to Siberia.

– In which directions does the largest passenger flow move from Novosibirsk?

– The largest passenger flow moves from Novosibirsk towards Moscow. In 2013, the number of passengers on flights Novosibirsk - Moscow exceeded 1 million people and accounted for almost 30% of all the “Tolmachevo” airport passengers. The most popular international flights are directed to Bangkok, Istanbul, Bishkek, Beijing.

– What is the difference between working in Riga and in Novosibirsk? Is there a need for other methods of managing a team or different approaches to business? Did you have to rearrange yourself?

–  “Tolmachevo” is a private airport, so there are no real differences in business logic, understanding of the goals and objectives of the company, as well as the distribution of roles of a management team. At first, I had to get used to a large scale of geographic coverage, as well as a huge document circulation in a large enterprise. Unlike Riga, where during the day I had to equally speak English, Latvian and Russian, in Novosibirsk I mostly communicate in my native language.

– The phrase “a tourist trip to Siberia” sounds to us either as a bad wish or a fantasy. What do you think about the development of tourism in Siberia?

–  I think that there are great opportunities and prospects for development of incoming tourism in Siberia. The term “Siberia” is plainly recognizable around the world and it raises certain associations connected with snow, frost and untouched nature. It is a popular brand that can and should be used. Siberia is a huge wide space with an incredible variety of climatic, biogeographic and landscape areas, with unique traditions and culture. All four seasons are brightly expressed with the temperature amplitude from -60 to +40˚С in different regions, and the number of days of sunshine a year is more than, for example, in Barcelona or on the Italian resort of Rimini. The rapid development of regional flights from Novosibirsk provides the travelers with an excellent opportunity to get to Lake Baikal, Altai and other scenic places with transfer in “Tolmachevo”.

– What is your vision of the future passenger aviation? What should we expect?

–  Despite the economic crisis, the volumes of passenger traffic continue to grow worldwide. These trends will undoubtedly continue their way. The Boeing Company predicts that in the next 20 years the demand for new planes will be more than 35,000 units, assuming an annual growth of passenger and freight traffic by 5%. It is obvious that there will be a process of liberalization of international agreements in the field of commercial aviation although with a different pace.

– Will planes become some sort of suburban buses that are simple and cheap? Or does the future stand for comfort and high-class?

–  The future stands for the comfort and high class, however, not in the way we are used to imagine it. The importance is not in the choice of dishes, drinks or magazines on board, but in the efficiency of technological processes of passenger service throughout the service chain, starting from choosing an airline and buying tickets, check-in, waiting at the airport until the flight and finishing with the baggage claim upon arrival. Quickly, easily and with care for a passenger – all the flights must pass in such a way. Passengers expect flawless and qualitative system and process work of airlines and airports at each stage of a journey regardless of a ticket price. At the same time airlines will endeavor to offer an even wider range of services and prices, so that a client will always have a choice between simple inexpensive flights and first-class service for corresponding price.

– What place does intuition occupy in your work and is there a place for intuition in a precise calculation?

–  Undoubtedly, it is particularly important to analyze and constantly perform calculations, check indicators and perform the most accurate forecasts in the aviation business. Taking into account high production costs, an incorrect prediction can lead to huge economic losses. However, intuition is also important at work. It often helps to find innovative solutions, to predict the development of a situation in dynamic market conditions. Sometimes intuition points at emerging opportunities but all the findings of intuition have to be analyzed in detail.

– In your opinion, what does“to predict the future”mean? And whether it is necessary to predict it at all?

–  As for the future, I would not rather talk about its prediction but I would rather talk about the relationship between the natural laws of development or “rules of the game” with the existing trends and tendencies. But the choice of predicting or not doing so depends on the purpose you have.

– It is said that there is no difference for a good manager what to manage - the approach is the same everywhere. What do you think about this?

–  In my opinion, these kind of statements are somewhat superficial. Of course, there are certain universal management approaches. However, while understanding and using these approaches, a good manager should be flexible, insightful, able to grasp and understand the characteristics of other spheres, environment, and culture, to use the best of one’s past experience, effectively linking it with the best that exists in a new field. There are many examples from the world of “global business” when universal methods did not work in certain local conditions.

– Is business a cruel thing? Is it possible to stay humane in it? And is it necessary?

–  Business for me is not just finding a solution of development issues, increasing key figures and profitability, and winning the competitive struggle. Just like our whole life business is primarily connected with the relationship between people. Therefore, the moral and ethical norms accepted in society must be respected in business. Of course, one may disregard social, environmental and ethical norms and rules in the pursuit of income, but as a rule, the consequences of such an approach say about its short-sightedness leading to a sad final.

– What did you think about most often last week?

–  I thought about new projects and the best way to harmonize and connect them with my main job, as well as with the interests of my family.

– How important is your family to you? How do you set priorities in your life?

–  Perhaps it may seem strange, given the fact that my wife and three children are now several thousand kilometers away from me in Minsk, but the family is still uppermost in my life. Work in aviation became a lifestyle, avocation, hobby, but it still constantly has to reckon with the opinion of my family…

– What do you expect from the future?

–  Just like reading a good book – I expect an exciting plot development, vivid impressions, interesting acquaintances, implementation of plans.

– What do you expect from the forum in Riga? New ideas, new business contacts?

–  Undoubtedly, I expect to have new acquaintances, business contacts, interesting discussions and new ideas.

– What would you like to wish the participants and the organizers?

–  Good luck and success!

Gregory Pomerantsev is married and has three children - a daughter and two sons. He loves travelling which is not surprising due to his profession choice. His hobbies are football, historical literature, a guitar, and, what is somewhat unexpected, choral singing.