Lufthansa Systems, Russian Carrier Sign Contract

S7 Airlines, Russia’s largest domestic carrier, and Lufthansa Systems signed a five-year contract for the deployment of IT solutions from Lufthansa Systems to support S7’s schedule management processes.

S7 Airlines has been flying with Lufthansa Systems’ flight management system (FMS) data since 2004 and has now decided to extend the cooperation, the latter company said. This is the latest in a series of contracts that Lufthansa Systems has signed in the recent months with major Russian carriers.

“I am very pleased that we have steadily increased our customer base in this important growth market. S7 Airlines is seen as a role model for many other carriers in this region and we are confident that this contract will be a further signal to others," said Stefan Auerbach, senior vice president for regional sales at Lufthansa Systems.

S7 Airline's major hub is Moscow-Domodedovo. Its fleet consists of 60 aircraft of Western and Russian types. Total revenues in 2006 were $899 million, according to a Lufthansa Systems release.

Lufthansa Systems, based in Kelsterbach, Germany, recently announced a major cooperation with Russian cargo carrier AirBridge Cargo to optimize its processes in the field of network management. Among Lufthansa Systems’ other customers in the region are VIM-Air, Volga Dnepr, SkyExpress, AIRUnion, and Vladivostok Air.