The Englishman will strategically advise the Russian airline

The Russian budget airline Sky Express has invited William Bolter, former commercial director of Virgin Atlantic, to the position of strategic consultant to the board of directors. Virgin is negotiating a partnership with Sky Express in Russia, and experts suggest that Mr. Bolter's arrival may be connected with Virgin's purchase of a stake in Sky Express.

The fact that Sky Express airline has hired the former commercial director of Virgin Atlantic, William Bolter, was reported to Kommersant by one of the co-owners of the Russian airline, the general director of Krasair, Boris Abramovich. Sky Express confirmed to Kommersant that William Bolter has been working for the company since May 1, 2008, as a strategic consultant to the board of directors. “Finally, Sky Express shareholders managed to attract a top manager with extensive international experience, whom they had been looking for for so long,” says the airline’s general director Marina Bukalova. According to her, Mr. Bolter will not only oversee the commercial unit of Sky Express, but also participate in the management of all activities of the carrier.

William Bolter began his career in aviation in 1979, working for Cathay Pacific as head of the airline's regional offices in the Philippines, Japan and India, and head of the IT and revenue management department. In 2000, he became the general representative for Europe of South African Airways, and since 2002 he has worked as commercial director of Virgin Atlantic.

Sky Express is Russia's first low-cost airline. The largest shareholders of CJSC Heavenly Express are the general director of Krasair Boris Abramovich, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a number of Western funds. At the end of 2007, the airline carried 680 thousand passengers, with a turnover of about $70 million.

British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group, known around the world for its bold and unconventional projects in emerging markets, already has business in Russia. In May, under the Virgin Connect brand, a wireless broadband Internet access network based on WiMAX technology began operating in 32 regions of Russia (see Kommersant on May 16). During his visit to Moscow in January, Mr. Branson told Kommersant about his desire to create a low-cost airline in Russia in partnership with a local operator. Mr. Branson said that he was negotiating this with Russian market participants, in particular with Sky Express (see Kommersant of February 1). Boris Abramovich confirmed to Kommersant on Friday that “negotiations on cooperation with Virgin are continuing,” and added that the arrival of William Bolter at the airline is “very good.” Marina Bukalova told Kommersant that there are currently no changes in the composition of the company's owners.

Experts do not rule out that the new appointment could be the “first step” towards the British billionaire acquiring a stake in Sky Express. Sergei Vorobyov, managing partner of the Ward Howell recruitment agency, says that a company's takeover is sometimes preceded by the appointment of a top manager from potential partners. The head of the analytical service of the Aviaport agency, Oleg Panteleev, believes that foreigners’ entry into the Russian market is still possible only through the acquisition of an existing carrier. “The arrival of a top manager from Virgin is the first acquaintance with a company that can serve as a good springboard for expansion into Russia,” says Mr. Panteleev. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Branson really has such plans, it’s exactly the same scheme – acquiring a small airline and turning it into something bigger – that Virgin operated all over the world,” says Boris Rybak, CEO of the Infomost consulting agency. Co-owner of Aeroflot and another Russian budget airline Red Wings, Alexander Lebedev, believes that the transfer of a top manager from Virgin to Sky Express can indicate both success and failure in negotiations, after which the Russian company could decide to at least invite a Virgin manager . However, Mr. Branson’s interest in the Russian market is high, admits Mr. Lebedev, with whom Virgin also negotiated.

Alexey Kommersant-Ekimovsky, Peter Kommersant-Mironenko

Virgin circling Sky Express

Virgin circling Sky Express