Russian regional carriers to merge with Aeroflot

Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot is set to merge with several of the country's regional carriers, a Russian transport official announced last week.

Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin said Tuesday the merger would see the state's fragmented aviation assets roll into one single state-owned joint stock company which would then be merged with Aeroflot.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reported that regional carriers may include St Petersburg-based Rossiya, Kavminvodyavia and Orenburg Airlines.

The move follows the government's scrapping of plans to set up a second big state airline.