The Ukrainian postal operator “Nova Poshta” has ambitious plans to conquer the European market. According to the co-owner of the company Vyacheslav Klimov, in the first half of 2023 the company’s branches will appear in Germany, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Romania. In a year, the number of branches in Poland will increase to 48, and the number of international parcels will increase by 1.5 times. Own airline Supernova Airlines should help to master the European market.
Supernova Airlines airfield
The airline will use two An-26 aircraft leased from Expedition Aviation from the UAE to transport shipments. These are not new boards, they were released back in 1978 and 1982. However, they will help speed up delivery and provide control over logistics. Now the company will not depend on the freight of free space in the planes of other companies, and will also be able to reduce the cost of delivery. The first flights of Supernova Airlines planes should take place already in March.
According to the plan, An-26 aircraft will transport cargo only within Europe and will be based in Poland until the end of the war. Probably, their logistics center will be in Rzeszów. Such a base will allow serving almost all of Europe. Since the airspace of Ukraine is closed during the war, parcels will be delivered from European airports to Ukraine by road transport. After the war, NP planes will deliver cargo to Boryspil and Lviv airports.
In addition to the specified An-26, “Nova Poshta” intends to lease two more aircraft that will be able to perform long-haul flights – from the USA and China. At present, relevant negotiations are underway. Before the war, Nova Poshta wanted to lease Boeing 737-800, B757 or Airbus 321. But now the plans have to be revised due to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, because it is difficult for Ukrainian companies to negotiate with international lessors.
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“We plan to maintain such a fleet of 4 aircraft until the end of 2024, and its further expansion will depend on demand and cargo volume,” the company’s press service reported.
Advantages and disadvantages of An-26
The NP believes that An-26 aircraft are the optimal solution for a new Ukrainian airline. Aircrew with experience in their service is currently available. The advantages include the availability of a repair base and specialists in Ukraine, as well as the versatility of the aircraft. They can land even on a dirt strip only 600 meters long. Although there are a large number of airfields in Europe, not all are capable of receiving Boeing aircraft.
Also, the cost of leasing An-26 is much lower than Boeing 737. In fact, Nova Poshta could afford to buy these planes, since the cost of one An-26 is about $100,000 (against $200,000 per month for Boeing 737 leasing). However, in the long run, these old planes have no value.
Among the disadvantages of the An-26 is a carrying capacity of only 5 tons compared to 20-60 tons in the Boeing 737-800, a range of up to 1,000 km compared to Boeing’s 5,000-10,000 km.
Prospects
Nova Poshta set its goal to enter the European market. In October 2022, the company opened its first branch in Poland in Warsaw. Today there are 18 of them in the largest cities of the country: Krakow, Lublin, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznań, Lodz and Rzeszów. By December, the average number of deliveries through all Polish branches increased to 2,500 per day.
The company does not yet deliver parcels between EU countries, but only from Ukraine. This may change in the future. Although delivery between EU countries requires much larger investments than delivery to Poland. In addition, in some European countries there is already a considerable offer of relevant services.
However, the company has an advantage – millions of Ukrainians who have moved to the EU. A significant part of them sends (and/or receives) goods to their relatives in Ukraine, and also sends a “volunteer” from Europe. These potential clients will allow us to gain a foothold in the European market. In 2023, Nova Poshta plans to open at least 30 more branches in Poland, both its own and through a franchise. The amount of investment in one department, according to the company, is €40-60 thousand.
Nova Poshta plans to reach the break-even level of Supernova Airlines in at least 3 years.
“New Post” airline – Supernova Airlines – received permission for cargo flights
Source: forbes
