The record-high number of passengers was recorded in December 2009: 738 thousand people used Aeroexpress’ services (a 63% growth against the same period in 2008), brining its December’s share to 23% (+7%).
Despite 2009’s fall in overall passenger flow in the Moscow air hub’s airports (which made about 6% or 2.5 million people), LLC Aeroexpress has demonstrated positive results on almost all of its lines. 168% more passengers (or 1.5 million more people) than in 2008 travelled by Aeroexpress on the Belorussky Railway Station – Sheremetyevo Airport line, 35% more passengers (or slightly under 1.5 million more people) travelled on the Moscow – Lobnya suburban line against the general decline in the suburban train service. Domodedovo Airport’s passengers (4.1 million people) account for the highest passenger flow of Aeroexpress as at the last year end with 1.2 million passengers being delivered to Vnukovo Airport and back by high-speed Aeroexpress trains.
It is not only Aeroexpress’ goal-oriented work that helped it achieve the last year’s results; they also became possible thanks to the company’s partners involved in intermodal transportation: CJSC Russian Railways and its branch Moscow Railway, the Moscow airports and the leading airlines, the Moscow Government and the Moscow Region’s Administration. Another important event of the previous year was LLC Aeroexpress’ cooperation with SUE Moscow Underground, which enabled the companies to offer their passengers to buy both the underground and the Aeroexpress tickets in one place. This was another step of the company to introduce a single ticket concept in the intermodal passenger service.
Developing its infrastructure, elaborating a high-frequency train schedule, introducing new services, refurbishing the rolling stock, developing sales technologies and getting continuous feedback from its consumers, Aeroexpress managed to work efficiently during the decline in the air travel market and to finish the year of 2009 with significantly improved key performance indicators.
According to the experts in the railways sector, LLC Aeroexpress is a young actively developing client-oriented company with impressive growth potential. Today Aeroexpress is becoming a more and more popular means of transport to get to the airport avoiding ever-lasting traffic jams.
Meanwhile, everybody in the company is convinced that while being offered reliability, comfort and guaranteed travel time, passengers should also feel secure and understand that the carrier is responsible for their safe journey. Thus, at the beginning of 2010 LLC Aeroexpress became the first railway carrier in the history of suburban train service who purchased optional liability insurance against harm to life, health or property of its passengers. To make a high-speed journey more affordable, Aeroexpress is planning to remodel its coaches in 2010-2011 to increase their seating capacity while preserving the same level of comfort for passengers as before.
Aeroexpress strives to provide the highest level of comfort for all groups of passengers. Passenger saloons of electric trains have soft arm-chairs, seats for disabled people, baggage racks and shelves, video and audio broadcasting systems, climate control and environmentally-clean vacuum toilets. Business class coaches are going to be introduced in Aeroexpresses running on the Belorussky Railway Station – Sheremetyevo Airport line in February 2010. Higher comfort and extra services included in the price of journey will make the new coaches different from the conventional ones.
According to its strategy of development, LLC Aeroexpress aims to become an international-level company in the short run. The first step has already been taken. In December 2009, the independent certification authority Bureau Veritas Certification Rus together with the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) issued a certificate of compliance to LLC Aeroexpress for its Quality Management System as complying with the international standard ISO 9001:2008 (Railway Passenger Transportation).