Flight International - January 13, 2015

WORKING WEEK

flightglobal.com 13-19 January 2015 | Flight International | 47

Stepanyuk founded charter and management company Sfera Jet in 2005

Domodedovo does the business

A trained engineer, Andrey Stepanyuk runs the private terminal at one of Moscow’s big two airports, as well as

an aircraft charter and management company, and has high hopes for Russia’s young corporate aviation sector

WORK EXPERIENCE ANDREY STEPANYUK

have a “critical mass” of general

aviation clients yet.

How can the Moscow help?

Though these are early days for

the industry, I can assure you that

here in Russia business aviation

will become as highly developed

as the USA in due course. I am a

market participant, so I cannot ad-

vise on any changes that can be

made by the government. Howev-

er, in my opinion we need to har-

monise our national aviation reg-

ulations with the other

internationally recognised sys-

tems. There is no business jet pro-

duction here and maintenance

provision is limited and insuffi-

cient. To help improve and devel-

op the country’s business aviation

industry, there needs to be more

Russian aircraft owners and a

much stronger charter industry.

We can also help to improve the

current situation. We plan, for ex-

ample, to concentrate business jet

maintenance in one place to re-

duce the cost of services and cre-

ate new qualified jobs. The

Domodedovo Business Aviation

Centre fills this niche. As the mar-

ket grows and becomes more ma-

ture, we can take new business

and move on to the next stage of

development. Q

What are your duties?
As with any general manager I am
responsible for the company’s op-
eration. Business jet ground ser-
vice is a complex living organism
which consists of different com-
ponents. These are production,
economical and organisational is-
sues, as well as communications
with the base airport.
Why is Domodedovo an ideal
destination for business jets?
Moscow Domodedovo airport is
Russia’s major hub in terms of
passenger traffic. However, busi-
ness aviation is comfortably es-
tablished and developing here,
despite airline activity, and does
not interfere with its main traffic.
The point is that unlike the other
Moscow airports, there is no pri-
ority here for special flights –
presidential and governmental –
and neither does national flag
carrier Aeroflot get special treat-
ment. So our clients do not face
problems getting slots and are
not left waiting to take off or
land. The Domodedovo Business
Aviation Centre also offers full
fixed-base operator services at a
high standard. We have just con-
ducted a feasibility study with
the airport for the reconstruction
of the centre with a new terminal
and additional hangars.
Did you always want a career
working in aviation?
Both my parents are aviation en-
gineers, so my career choice was
never in doubt. I am an aviation
engines specialist, but unfortu-
nately I have never worked as an
engineer. Due to the dramatic
changes in our country in the

early 1990s, engineers were not

widely in demand. However, it

gave me a chance to pass all the

necessary civil aviation grades,

from apron personnel to top

management. I joined the busi-

ness aviation world in 2005

when I founded charter and

management company Sfera Jet,

of which I am the director gener-

al. The Domodedovo Business

Aviation Centre owns Sfera Jet,

which operates Gulfstream and

Embraer business jets.

Is the industry supporting the

growth of business aviation?

Sfera Jet, along with more than

100 other companies, are mem-

bers of the Russian United Busi-

ness Aviation Association, which

is developing into a strong and

efficient lobbyist for the industry.

Since 2009 its membership has

grown fivefold, and it has suc-

cessfully fought to remove duties

on imported aircraft under 20t

maximum take-off weight. It

would be fair to say that Russia’s

business aviation industry is still

in its infancy. While the fleet is

growing and demand is strong,

the country still lacks the infra-

structure – such as airports – to

support general aviation aircraft

and their passengers. We do not

Sfera Jet

If you would like to feature in

Working Week, or you know

someone who does, email your

pitch to kate.sarsfield@

flightglobal.com

Check out our listings of the

latest jobs in aviation online at

flightglobal.com/jobs

“While demand is

strong, the country

lacks infrastructure

such as airports to

support general

aviation aircraft”

Training courses to take you there

ZZZÀLJKWJOREDOFRPWUDLQLQJ

7U\)OLJKWJOREDO7UDLQLQJ¶VQHZVLWHIRUWKHIDVWHVW

URXWHWREXLOGLQJ\RXUDHURVSDFHDQGDYLDWLRQFDUHHU

Build your career