A Russian budget airline is the fastest growing carrier in Europe, new figures have revealed.

Pobeda, based at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, will increase its capacity by more than a third (34.3 per cent) this winter, putting it streets ahead of any other airline serving the continent.

The second largest growth (23.5 per cent) has been registered by Wizz Air, the low-cost Hungarian airline that connects British airports with a number of destinations, both popular and offbeat, in Eastern Europe.

For comparison, Ryanair is set to grow its number of seats by 4.4 per cent, British Airways by 3.7 per cent, while EasyJet’s capacity will remain flat.

The analysis of winter schedules by Cirium for the Anker Report shows that despite the collapse of Thomas Cook, and the failure of airlines such as WOW air and Flybmi, there will be 2.5 per cent more flights from European airports this year and an increase of 3.7 per cent in the number of available seats.

Who is Pobeda?

Pobeda is the low-cost spin-off of Russia’s flag carrier, Aeroflot. Founded in 2014, the airline – whose name means “victory” – already serves nearly 70 destinations, using 30 aircraft, with a focus on links to regional Russian cities, including Sochi, Yekaterinburg, and St Petersburg.

Last October, Pobeda launched a connection between St Petersburg and London Stansted, with fares starting from £35 one-way. It suspended the route in March after barely six months.

A route from the Essex airport to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad was also on the cards, but scrapped before it was launched.

Pobeda is actually the second budget effort from Aeroflot, one of the world’s oldest airlines, after the failure of Dobrolet in 2014. The current incarnation proves to have been more successful, now flying more than five million passengers to destinations including Rome, Salzburg and Dubai.

SOURCE YAHOO The Telegraph, read more..